"Somos Anormales" ("We Are Abnormal") is the debut single by Puerto Rican rapper

Residente René Pérez Joglar (; born February 23, 1978), known professionally as Residente (often stylized as Resīdɛntə), is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter and filmmaker. He is best known as one of the founders of the alternative rap ban ...

, released on January 13, 2017, as the first single from his 2017 debut solo album ''

''. It won the 2017

Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Song The Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Song is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and promotes a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists in the Un ...

Composition and lyrics

The song was written and recorded in

Kyzyl Kyzyl ( ) is the capital city of the Republic of Tuva within the Russian Federation. Kyzyl's population is approximately History The city was founded in 1914 as Belotsarsk. It was renamed Hem-Beldir from 1918 to 1926. When the city was the ca ...

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, where Residente spent one week. It features

throat singing Throat singing refers to several vocal practices found in different cultures worldwide. These vocal practices are generally associated with a certain type of guttural voice that contrasts with the most common types of voices employed in singing, wh ...

band

Chirgilchin Chirgilchin, meaning "dance of the air in the heat of the day" or "miracle" in Tuvan language, Tuvan, is a group of Tuvan musicians performing traditional Tuvan music. It was established in 1996. The group consists of Igor Koshkendey, Mongun-o ...

. According to him, they are singing in Tuvan a concept he originally wrote in Spanish, then translated to English so they could finally translate it to their native language. According to Residente, "the usage of the term 'abnormal' allowed me to break free from the depreciative connotation of the word to convert it in a inclusive concept. If there is something that we all have in common, is that we are different". In a press release of 2016, Residente told people to "have their eyes, ears and minds open for what is coming".

Music video

The video for the song marks Residente's directional debut and was shot in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, over the course of four days. It features

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (, ; ; born July 22, 1960 or 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and film producer. He has appeared in more than 100 films, produced more than 20 films and documentaries, made more than 30 televisio ...

Leonor Watling Leonor Elizabeth Ceballos Watling (born 28 July 1975) is a Spanish film actress and singer. Early life Leonor Ceballos Watling was born on 28 July 1975 in Madrid, to a Spanish father from Cádiz and an English mother, the youngest of four s ...

Óscar Jaenada Óscar Jaenada Gajo (born 4 May 1975) is a Spanish actor. He portrayed Camarón de la Isla in '' Camarón: When Flamenco Became Legend'' (2005) and Cantinflas in ''Cantinflas'' (2014). Career Óscar Jaenada was born on 4 May 1975 in Esplugue ...

and

Juan Diego Botto Juan Diego Botto Rota (born 29 August 1975) is an Argentine-Spanish film, stage and television actor. Born in Argentina, he moved to Spain together with his mother (the actress and acting coach Cristina Rota) in 1978. Following early film appe ...

, among 70 others, and was created by Zapatero Film (Puerto Rico) and Deseif Producciones (Spain). It shows a woman hatching from an egg and giving birth to multiple naked adults with conditions such as

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition of people and animals marked by unusually small size or short stature. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dwarfism is . '' ...

and

albinism Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos. Varied use and interpretation of ...

. They quickly craft clothes out of

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

and divide into two groups, one clean (representing the rich and powerful) and another dirty (representing those who have no money nor power). Both quickly engage in a fight, but they end up turning violence into love. Throughout the video, Residente sings with his head popping out of the woman's vagina. The scene with the giant vagina expelling people has been compared to a scene in

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by Melodrama (film genre), melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular c ...

's ''

Talk to Her ''Talk To Her'' () is a 2002 Spanish psychological melodrama film, written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. It stars: Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Geraldine Chaplin, and Rosário Flores. The film follows two men who f ...

'', in which Watling was cast. About the video concept, Residente says: Residente also said that the battle scene can be applied to many different contexts of conflicts.

Charts

References

External links

* {{Residente 2017 debut singles Residente songs 2017 songs Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Song Culture in Kyzyl Songs written by Residente