French Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux paused during a recent performance in New York to acknowledge flags propped onstage — of the Palestinian territories, and of Wallmapu, the ancestral territory of the Indigenous people in what is now Chile.
“We believe in the liberation of any occupied territory,” she said during a concert that was part of Celebrate Brooklyn earlier this month. “I invite all the people in the crowd to not be afraid to talk about life and humanity.”
That message is in keeping with her music.
Tijoux is on a world tour featuring songs from her latest album titled, “Vida,” in Spanish (“Life” in English), which comes after a 10-year break and following the deaths of a handful of people close to her.
“Vida,” released earlier this year, deals with themes of conflict, death, motherhood, pollution and the end of the world. Though she doesn’t shy away from tough subjects, her album is filled with hope and meaning.
Selena Fragassi is a freelance music writer and critic based in Chicago who has followed Tijoux’s work.
“What a time in history to reintroduce herself,” she said. “She is such a rebellious force in music, and she brings a lot of history, politics and feminism.”
Fragassi explained that some artists have played it safe in recent years, either because of the criticism they get on social media, or because they are trying to tow the line between different audiences with opposing views.
“But Ana has never done that, and I think we need really strong voices in music entertainment,” she said. “Her words are just really meaningful right now.”
Fragassi said she appreciates that the album mixes hip-hop with jazz, R&B and Afro Cuban beats.
And that it includes some ballads, showing Tijoux’s more sensitive side.
“A lot happened in her life, maybe she got kind of tender on a few songs that were more autobiographical,” Fragassi said.
A happy vibe
Some of the songs in “Vida” are political. “Busco mi nombre,” or “I search for my name,” is a ballad about those who disappeared during the dictatorship in Chile.
A few of the tunes are personal.
“Tania” is about Tijoux’s sister who died in 2019. As she was mourning, she said that she needed an outlet to “put all the hope, and to live life and to understand what life really means.”
“Niñx,” or “Child,” is written for her daughter, who is 11, because Tijoux said she wanted to give her hope in a time of war.
“I’m sure I sing that song also to myself, and for the inside child we all got,” Tijoux said.
“To go back to that first emotion that we all had when we were kids when we were always assombrados, we were, ‘Wow, that’s amazing,’ and never lose that.”
Ana Tijoux
Even her apocalyptic song, “Fin del mundo” (“End of the world”) has a happy vibe. That’s because the record is also inspired by her passion for dancing, an activity that she said she finds therapeutic.
“Dancers sometimes cry,” she said. “I love that mood of the movement of the body and the movement of the soul.”
“Vida” features several guests, including American rapper Talib Kweli, Puerto Rican singer iLe, and Chilean rapper Pablo Chill-E.
‘The land of no-lands’
Tijoux became famous internationally in 2010 with her second solo album, “1977,” named after the year she was born, in France, while her parents were in exile because of the military dictatorship in Chile.
Since then, the rapper has been nominated for three Grammys, won one Latin Grammy, and has become a role model as a Latina in hip-hop.
Tijoux said she fell in love with hip-hop when she was still living in Paris. She was exposed to the genre while visiting African immigrants with her mother who worked as a social worker.
“Hip-hop is the land of the no-lands. And that’s why I think it’s so popular around the world,” Tijoux said. “It’s a movement that was born with immigrants, with Boricua, with Haitians, Jamaicans, Afro Americans.”
The family moved back to Chile in the 1990s, and Tijoux started performing as a rapper when she was 18, first with the group Makiza.
For the past three years, Tijoux has been living in Barcelona, Spain, with her daughter, 11, and son, 19. She just turned 47 and said she’s not scared of aging.
“We change, and there is nothing wrong about that,” she said. “I understand that many people don’t want to say that they age, but in my case, I’m very proud of my age.”
In many ways, Tijoux maintains her rebellious, young spirit — as evidenced by her new tooth bling of the numeral 77.
Nelson Rodríguez Vega, a music professor at the University of Concepción in Chile who has written about the history of hip-hop in the country, said Tijoux’s new album consolidates her career.
“With this record, she is ratifying her position as one of the most-important female rappers of Latin America, if not the most important,” he said.
Rodríguez Vega said Tijoux’s success has opened the door for other female rappers, like Flor de Rap and Zita Zoe.
He said about one particular festival in the southern city of Concepción, “You can really say that women are making rap because, during six hours, 90% of the artists performing are women.”
That’s because of her talent as a singer, songwriter and activist, Rodríguez Vega explained. “Her lyrics go beyond. They address political issues or social commentary. So, from that perspective, she transcends.”