Ana Tijoux | |
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.jpg) Tijoux in 2020 inMexico City | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Anamaría Merino Tijoux (1977-06-12)12 June 1977 (age 48) Lille, France |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
| Website | anatijouxoficial |
Anamaría Tijoux Merino (French pronunciation:[anamaʁjatiʒumeʁino],Spanish:[meˈɾino]; born 12 June 1977), commonly known by her stage nameAna Tijoux orAnita Tijoux (/tiˈʒuː/), is a French-born Chilean musician. Her music contains political and popular themes.[1] She became famous in Latin America as theMC ofhip hop bandMakiza during the late 1990s. In 2006, she crossed over to the mainstream ofLatin pop after her collaboration with Mexican singerJulieta Venegas in the radio hit "Eres para mí". She gained more widespread recognition following her second solo album,1977, and later withLa bala (2011) andVengo (2014) which brought her a Best Artist of the year award in the 2015Pulsar Awards.
Tijoux is the daughter of Chilean parents living in political exile in France duringAugusto Pinochet'sdictatorship in Chile.[2]
Anamaría Tijoux Merino was born on 12 June 1977 inLille, France. She is the daughter of two Chilean exiles who fled Chile to France after the1973 Chilean coup d'état. Her mother is Chilean sociologistMaría Emilia Tijoux.[3] In 1978, her family moved toParis, and when she was 6 years old her family traveled to Chile in 1983 and where she first met her grandparents and extended family who had stayed in the country during the coup.
She returned to Chile with her parents when she was 14, and was given a scholarship to study at a private school for French immigrants located inVitacura.[4] After finishing school, she entered university to study design and began working as a part-time waitress.[4]
After the 1998 debut of Makiza and the sudden fame and recognition she started to acquire, Tijoux felt overwhelmed and decided to put a halt on her musical career and return to her anonymity in France, where she started working in a variety of jobs, such as a waitress, school inspector, janitor, and pollster. Subsequently, she decided to return to Chile and resume her solo career as a rapper.[4]
In 1988, Tijoux metConsuelo Vergara, who taught Tijoux how to rap and sparked Tijoux's interest in hip-hop and dance. Tijoux moved to Chile after thereturn of civil power in 1993. In 1995, influenced by the local rap group Makul inSantiago, Chile, Tijoux formed her own group called Los Gemelos withZaturno, another rap artist. In 1997, Tijoux became widely popular for her participation in the groupLos Tetas and their first studio album release. She and Zaturno collaborated with Seo2, Cenzi, and DJ Squat to form the groupMakiza.
In 1997, the group released their first CD,Vida Salvaje, with great success even though it was an independent production.
In 1999, Makiza released "Aerolineas Makiza" onSony Music Entertainment, who became interested in Chilean rap as a result ofTiro de Gracia, a bestselling Chilean rap group. Makiza's album included new and improved versions of songs fromVida Salvaje with two new songs, one of which was the hit single "La Rosa de los Vientos". This album put Makiza at the top of theLatin American hip-hop market, as their style was much more evolved than other groups at the time. The production style resembled the New York underground sound inspired by theNative Tongues. The lyrics of Makiza lacked the overwhelming "machismo" and violence of averagerap, and the group "was often praised for exploring sensitive matters devoid of violence."[5] This helped Makiza receive approval from a wider population.
In 2000, Makiza covered the popular song "Somos tontos, no pesados" byLos Tres. At the end of that year, the members of Makiza separated due to its members' desire to work on personal projects before their tour through neighboring countries. Tijoux specified that she would be leavinghip-hop and her music career.
In 2003, Tijoux returned to Chile and worked on musical projects withAluzinati, a Chileanfunk band. She also recorded "Lo Que Tu Me Das" with Mexican singerJulieta Venegas for the soundtrack to the filmSubterra, and appeared as a featured artist on Mexican hip-hop groupControl Machete's final albumUno, Dos: Bandera.
In 2004, Makiza came back together and announced a tour to promote the re-release ofVida Salvaje, which was remastered and in CD format. Tijoux and Seo2, the only musically active remaining members of the group, decided to reunite the band and work on new material. The group released its third album in 2005,Casino Royale, under the independent labelBizarre Records. The album involved various producers, rather than one producer like previous albums released, and involved a third Chilean MC,Sonido Ácido. During this time, Tijoux also voiced "Nea" in the animated seriesPulentos.
In 2006, the group broke up permanently due to differences in beliefs about musical production and direction.
In November 2006, Tijoux released her first single "Ya no fue" and debuted as a solo artist. Due to problems with "La Oreja" record label, her first album which was produced byErasmo de la Parra andCamilo Salinas was never released. In January 2007, Tijoux collaborated again withJulieta Venegas on her song "Eres para mi" from her albumLimón y sal. The two artists achieved major success in Latin America.
In September 2007, Tijoux released her first solo album under the independent label Oveja Negra, founded by theSociedad Chilena del Derecho. The album was titledKaos, and its first single, "Despabilate", was well accepted by the Chilean public and nominated at the Latino MTV Video Music Awards under the categories Best New Artist and Best Urban Artist. She was also nominated for Song of the Year with Julieta Venegas for their collaboration "Eres Para Mi".
On 29 June 2009, Tijoux performed at the Mexican music festivalVive Latino and continued touring across Mexico soon thereafter.
In March 2010, Tijoux released her second solo album,1977, titled after the year she was born.[3] The album was very much a return to her rap roots, paying homage to the "golden age of hip-hop". The album was largely autobiographical, exploring themes from her own life that included the death of a close friend, experiencing creative crises, friendships, and bad luck, among others. The album marked a significant distancing from the pop music and pop collaborations Tijoux had been doing in collaboration with other artists. She rapped on this album in both Spanish and French as a raw and direct, as well as mature, MC. The album was produced by Hordatoj, Foex, and Tee of the Potoco Discos label with Habitacion del Panico. The album and single1977 were immediate hits in the underground rap circles of Chile. The record was amongst the top 10 in 2009 for the blog WorldHipHopMarket.com and it was picked up by the United States–based Latino Alternative labelNacional Records, who released it the next year. Tijoux was invited to perform at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival inAustin, Texas. She soon began her first North American tour. On 24 May 2010Thom Yorke, the lead singer ofRadiohead, advised his listeners to listen to1977, on a list he created of his favorite bands and songs.[6] The list also featured popular artists such asThe John Coltrane Quartet Plays andBjörk. Yorke introduced the song as one of his favorite ones of the summer. In 2011, the song was featured on theEA Sports video gameFIFA 11. It also appears inBreaking Bad (season 4, episode 5).[7]
In September 2012, Tijoux was featured in a campaign called "30 Songs / 30 Days" to supportHalf the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a multi-platform media project inspired byNicholas Kristof andSheryl WuDunn's book.[8] On 19 September 2011MTV Iggy put her in the first position of his list "Best New Female Emcees Dominating Mics Everywhere".[9]
In 2014, Tijoux performed at theSXSW music festival, and based on her performance she was subsequently named "Best Rapper en Español" byRolling Stone magazine.[10] This year Tijoux also won her firstLatin Grammy forRecord of the Year for the song "Universos paralelos", a collaboration with Uruguayan musicianJorge Drexler.[11]
In 2020, Tijoux's feminist-themed song "No estamos solas" was chosen as the theme song forLa Jauría, the first ChileanAmazon Prime Video original series, which premiered on 10 July.[12] In November 2020, Tijoux was included on theBBC's100 Women 2020 list, highlighting her involvement "in campaigns against inequality and oppression in the world".[13]
In February 2019, Tijoux married Jon Grandcamp Jr, a French fellow musician. In June 2019, Tijoux left Chile to permanently settle in Paris, France, with Grandcamp and her two children.[4]
In her music, Tijoux discusses themes of marginalization, international/national identity, and colonialism.[14] She herself has described her musical output as a result of political knowledge.[14][15] Tijoux is afeminist activist, and feminist themes also play a major role in her music.[16][17][18][19][20] Tijoux is a supporter ofPalestinian liberation.[16][21] In 2022, Tijoux signed onto the Musicians For Palestine pledge, refusing to perform inIsrael.[22] Tijoux is an anti-capitalist.[18][19] She has expressed support for the environment, especially the protection of indigenous cultural practices related to nature such as in "Río Abajo" fromVengo.[23]
Tijoux's songs have been connected to Chilean protest movements. "Shock" from her 2011 albumLa Bala became an anthem of a student protest movement in the early 2010s that addressed the unaffordable costs of higher education in the country.[24] Protesters are said to have appreciated the song's anti-capitalist messaging and its condemnation of "shock doctrine," a political strategy used byAugusto Pinochet's dictatorship where hurtful economic policies are installed in the wake of chaotic events and reinforced with violence.[24][25] The lyrics of "Somos Sur" fromVengo promoted further activism following a period of protests around the world in 2014.[26] In 2019, Tijoux posted a video montage ofprotests happening in Chile with her newly released song “Cacerolazo” playing in the background, whose lyrics reflect the policies that culminated in the action and broader historical context for the movement such as aftereffects of Pinochet's rule.[27]
Tijoux has also collaborated with other artists in politically meaningful ways. In 2014, she launched “Somos Sur” withShadia Mansour, a single that called for the unification of all marginalized countries, especiallyPalestine, against colonialism and included the British-Palestinian Mansour rapping in Arabic.[1] 2020 saw Tijoux collaborating with Chilean rapperMC Millaray in “Rebelión de Octubre.”[28] This song commemorates the circumstances behind and the treatment of the2019 Chilean protests.[28] MC Millaray’s involvement adds aMapuche voice, an indigenous group in part located in Chile.[28]
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album | 1977 | Nominated |
| 2013 | La Bala | Nominated | |
| 2015 | Vengo | Nominated[31] |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Best Urban Music Album | La Bala | Nominated |
| 2013 | Best Urban Song | "Sacar la Voz"(featuring Jorge Drexler) | Nominated |
| 2014 | "Vengo" | Nominated[32] | |
| Record of the Year | "Universos Paralelos"(with Jorge Drexler) | Won | |
| Song of the Year | Nominated |
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