The young rapper Karla Alvarado used to get the party started in Copenhagen being a drum & bass MC, but now the 27-year-old Alvarado returns to her starting point: hip-hop. She releases her debut EP "Venusian", which will be released on April 21. on CART Records. Alvarado hopes that her new music project can break down some of the stereotypes in hip-hop.
The songwriter and rapper Karla Alvarado originates from El Salvador, grew up in the United States and moved to Denmark at the age of 10. During a tough upbringing with many restrictions, rap music became Karla Alvarado's biggest interest, and as a teenager she went on stage as a rapper. Later on, Alvarado joined a drum & bass crew in Copenhagen as an MC, went on tour and performed at many events, e.g. at the biggest venues in Copenhagen and at the Roskilde Festival. However, Alvarado started missing her old favourite genre – now she resumes her hip-hop career.
When Alvarado started to set aside her drum & bass MC'ing and devoted herself to hip-hop, the creativity began flowing freely and she wrote lyrics for a bunch of tracks. Six of them have been selected for the Venusian EP which will be released on CART Records in april this year. Alvarado describes Venisuan as a fairly mixed EP which balances themes, raps and beats. »It's all hip-hop but some of the tracks are definitely more down tempo and vibey,« she says. Venisuan also includes the very first love song she ever wrote as well as tracks with a much tougher rap style.
On Venusian, Alvarado deliberately avoids using typical rap punchlines. Instead she wanted to go deeper into different themes which are hinted at by some of the song titles: ”Pressure”, ”Karma” and ”Thinking About You”. Venusian is produced partly by Rob Smyles and partly by Jonas Fenger aka FENGSFIVE, whom Alvarado has known and wanted to work with for a long time.
With her music, Alvarado aims to break down stereotypes. Stereotypes about how you're supposed to be and sound as a result of your sex, especially in regard to the gender stereotypes in hip-hop – concerning what female or male rappers can and cannot rap about. People have often asked Alvarado: »Why do your lyrics have so many swear-words?« and »Why don't you rap in a brighter, more feminine voice?« »With this EP I'd like to break down all those expectations,« Alvarado says. She encourages people to stop holding themselves back because of their sex or other people's preconceived opinions.