Ricanstruction was a New York City based Puerto Rican

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

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salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

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reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

fusion musical group and artist collective. When Ricanstruction first started, the band consisted of lead vocalist Not4Prophet (also known as N4P, Zero Prophet and Alano P. Baez, born in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

), bassist Arturo "R2O" Rodriguez, drummer Joseph "SickFoot" Rodriguez from Harlem, and guitarist Eddie "Alsiva" Alsina. Other members of Ricanstruction through the years have included vocalist Taína Asili (formerly of the punk band Anti-Product), percussionist Roger Vasquez (who left the band to join Latin Rock band

Ill Niño Ill Niño (Spanish for "ill child"; stylized as ill niño) is an American nu metal band formed in Union City, New Jersey, in 1998 by drummer Dave Chavarri, who remains the band's sole original member. They have released seven studio albums, two ...

), and guitarists Fidel Paulino and Steven "Albizoo" Maldonado.

History

In the 1980s Arturo Rodriguez (bassist), Joseph Rodriguez (drums), Eddie Alsina (guitar) and the late Gary Cintron (vocalist) formed an all-Puerto Rican hardcore rock / salsa band called 'Strange Seed'. They would later work with singer John Joseph, of the

Cro-Mags The Cro-Mags are an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band, which has garnered a strong cult following, has released six studio albums, with the first two considered the most influential. With a Hare Krishna background, they ...

, in the band 'Both Worlds'. In the mid 1990s, the brothers Rodriguez met with Not4Prophet ( Alano Baez, who had recently left the US Army) in order to start a new band fusing their funk rock style with Not4Prophet's soulful vocals and politically infused anti-corporate lyrics. Ricanstruction performed for the last time on 23 September 2006 at a United Nations rally, demanding independence for their homeland,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The band resurfaced in 2010 for one surprise show in East Harlem, New York, performing as "The Dynamite Bros.", featuring Arturo and Joseph Rodriguez, Not4prophet, and Fidel Paulino, along with DJ " Johnny Juice" Rosado from X-Vandals on percussion, and John Restrepo of the Welfare Poets on saxophone.

Gigs and tours

Ricanstruction began to gig in local New York City clubs and squats in the mid 1990s at places such as

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

, The Continental,

ABC No Rio ABC No Rio is a collectively-run nonprofit arts organization on New York City's Lower East Side. Founded in 1980 in a squat at 156 Rivington Street, following the eviction of the 1979–80 Real Estate Show, the center featured an art gallery s ...

Webster Hall Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significant ...

, The

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment and is co-owned and co-operated by Knitting Factory Entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United Stat ...

Wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

and many other venues. They developed a loyal cross-cultural cult following, and in 1998 were the first artists signed to CBGB Records by club and label owner Hilly Kristal. They began to tour in support of their albums while continuing to gig at local clubs, empty lots, and block parties as they felt it important to reach the common people. The band played shows in Central America, the Caribbean, and across the United States.

Activism

Due to Ricanstruction's activism and lyrical content, Tower Records Japan decided that the band was too radical for the Japanese market and banned the stock and sale of Ricanstruction albums. Tower Records in Miami, Florida followed suit shortly thereafter.

Albums

*''EPB'' (1997) *''Liberation Day'' (1998) *''Abu Jamal (1999)'' *''UnAmerican (2001)'' *''Love+Revolution'' (2004)

References

{{Reflist # http://weeklywire.com/ww/07-06-98/boston_music_2.html # http://awol.objector.org/artistprofiles/ricanstruction.html # http://www.ricanstruction.net/manifesto.html # http://www.cbgb.com/cbgbrecords/ricanstruction.html # http://atrain.gnn.tv/articles/2244/In_Filiberto_s_Wake_a_Free_Puerto_Rico # https://www.thevillager.com/2005/08/puerto-rican-punk-rockers-ricanstruct-the-revolution/ # http://www.selfeducation.org/html/2002.html # http://www.undergroundfilm.org/films/detail.tcl?wid=1000685 # http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0509&L=poetics&D=1&P=61014 # http://www.machetero-movie.com/1659.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val* # https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/377/37716216.pdf

External links

Official band websiteRicanstruction
on Myspace

on CBGB Records Puerto Rican rock music groups Hardcore punk groups from New York (state)