DAMN: The Cannabis-Infused Show That Feeds Latin America’s Hip-Hop Culture
Tata, Veeyam and Pluzito (L-R)
Irish Suarez
Over the last few years, hip-hop culture has actually become big in Latin America, after decades of being ignored.
Nowadays, rap artists and trappers from the area rack up actual billions of views on their YouTube videos, while freestyle rap competitors fill arenas with 40.000 people every week, all throughout the continent– prior to COVID-19, that is.
While still permeated by the American rap culture, the motion is quite autochthonous; it is primarily Spanish-speaking artists who are revered in the neighborhood.
Out of the objective to incentivize a two-way cultural crossover, DAMN! was born.
The hip hop program, developed by the people behind the very first viral freestyle battle competition of the Internet period, has numerous thousands mesmerized – their YouTube channel, boasting almost half a million customers.
Hosts Veeyam, Tata and Pluzito state they were inspired by the renowned 90 s program, “Stretch and Bobbito.” This becomes apparent when you see their show
NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 15: (L-R) Joey Bada$$ performs with Bobbito and Stretch Armstrong at the … [+] Adidas Super Star Experience at Adidas Shop on January 15, 2015 in New York City City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
WireImage
Back for its third season, DAMN! promises to step up its game to an entire brand-new level, informing its audience on the whole hip hop culture, from graffiti to b-boying. The hosts share information on devices, tips on career structure, news and analyses, in addition to (of course) tons of music, live interviews with the biggest stars of the area, and freestyle.
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Interested in learning more about what fuels this cannabis-infused phenomenon, I caught up with Veeyam, Tata and Pluzito and asked them about entrepreneurship, self-management, success, and how marijuana suits everything.
Flying High, On Air
” We’re typically ‘flying high’ when we’re on air,” jokes Pluzito, a popular rapper in the scene, displaying his expertise with words.
What does interest him is the business behind marijuana, which is still mainly foreign to the Latin American area. Whatever, from technology to packaging style, has Pluzito flipping out.
Tata is one of the OG freestyle rappers of Argentina. Nowadays, he’s a judge for the biggest competition in the Spanish-speaking world, the Freestyle Master Series. The tournament is held throughout eight Spanish-speaking countries and swaggers over 4 million customers on its YouTube channel, with some fights reaching a million views within hours.
For Tata, cannabis is a lifestyle. And he is a conscious consumer too.
” In my personal life, cannabis is necessary. Not only for all things creative, but also as a day-to-day medication,” he states. “And I feel like it makes me a better dad too. I’m a lot more patient and in touch with my kids.”
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Veeyam has a different relationship with marijuana – it’s more of a social activity. Still, he is a strong advocate for safe access to medical cannabis, which is yet not easily available in Argentina, despite it having been legislated back in 2017.
The host shares a personal experience about how difficult it was to access CBD oil for a close relative with cancer. He needed to leap through limitless hoops simply to get poor quality, illegal products, which he feels should have never been prohibited in the first place.
” I attempted to get in touch with individuals who knew a lot about the topic, since I required assistance. Even connected to individuals in the U.S. and Europe. And I pertained to the realization that we’re rather behind in terms of safe access, which false information reigns in our area,” he voices.
” There are individuals who require marijuana now. Not in five years … We need immediate access to the health advantages of cannabis … These are truly serious conditions and individuals can’t get their medication in exceptionally crucial situations,” the music producer adds, requiring immediate policy of marijuana products throughout Latin America.
Living Off Your Enthusiasm
In timeless hip-hop fashion, Veeyam, Tata and Pluzito are making a living – and a killing- off their greatest enthusiasm.
” You have to take a leap, risk it,” says Tata when triggered about the practicality of developing a task out of the important things you enjoy most. “Everybody can prosper at this, however not everybody wants to take the danger and face the potential consequences.”
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Of course, a great group is always basic, Tata adds, recognizing his manufacturers, Julo and Colo. Both his peers, nod in contract.
DAMN!
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Pluzito, thoughtful and incredibly articulate, brings up a lesson he’s found out about entrepreneurship: if you put your energy into something, it grows.
” But you need energy and heart, determination.
Circling around back on love, Veeyam adds: “it’s all about individuals and union. Human capital and human quality.
” When you spend every day putting love, devotion, attention, and effort, into a project, it constantly bears fruit … That’s our secret sauce: love and commitment.
The 2 previous seasons of the program were produced by one of the biggest radio and podcast stations in Latin America. The new season is self-produced, thanks to the assistance of Move Performances, the MAD music school and the DAMN! production group.
” One frequently attempts to accomplish in life what one would have wanted to have as a kid … If in the past, we [the hosts] had actually had an area like DAMN!, we would have grown much faster. That’s what we wish to accomplish now, for up and coming artists. We want to pass the torch,” Veeyam continues.
” DAMN!, like cannabis, needs care and love. It’s our medication, and we grow it ourselves,” he concludes.
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