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Rebel Diaz

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RodStarz (left) G1 (right)
Rebel Diaz is a Hispanic political hip hop duo out of the Bronx, New York and Chicago, IL consisting of  brothers Rodrigo Venegas (known as RodStarz) and Gonzalo Venegas (known as G1). Rebel Diaz uses their music as an organizing tool and to spread knowledge about injustice.

QUICK BIO TABLE
MEMBERS: RodStarz, G1
FORMER MEMBERS: Lah Tere
ORIGIN: Chicago, IL & Bronx, NY
YEARS ACTIVE: 2006 - present
LABELS: none
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BIO The children of Chilean activists, RodStarz and G1 grew up in Chicago's North Side, and boricua Lah Tere was raised in the Puerto Rican, Humboldt Park, neighborhood in Chicago. Rebel Diaz identify with and position themselves within a history of political resistance through music, specifically citing the Nueva canción movement. Because of their organizing work, Rebel Diaz was invited to perform during the immigrant rights march in New York City in 2006.

Although Rebel Diaz formed in Chicago, Illinois, the trio moved to the Bronx - the birthplace of hip hop - to continue their political activism through hip hop.  Rebel Diaz see themselves as reclaiming hip hop as a tool in the larger struggle against oppression.  RodStarz and G1 work with youth in the South Bronx, teaching them to use music to express themselves. In March 2009, Rebel Diaz opened the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective, a community arts center in the South Bronx that includes a performance space, a multimedia studio, and a computer lab art gallery.

Problems with the NYPD
On June 18, 2008, two days after returning from a conference in Berlin, Germany, G1 and RodStarz were arrested by the NYPD when they were showing a friend around the South Bronx for defending a street food vendor from police harassment.  In response to the arrest, more than 150 supporters gathered outside the 41st Precinct stationhouse, demanding the release of RodStarz and G1, and they were represented by civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel. A week later, on June 24, 2008, at 2 AM, officers from the NYPD entered G1's apartment, which doubles as Rebel Diaz's recording studio, with guns drawn, shouted at G1, and left with no explanation. A year after their arrests, the charges were dropped by judge Darcel Clark, who cited the positive impact they have in their community and told them to "keep up the good work."

As of March 2011, Lah Tere officially resigned from the group to pursue personal wellness and health.
DISCOGRAPHY

Otra Guerrillera 
Mixtape Vol. 1 (2006) 
[mixtape]
Label: none
Purchase

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Otra Guerrillera Mixtape Vol. 1 is the first mixtape by Rebel Diaz released independently in October 2006. The mixtape was produced by IL.DE.SCRIPT except for tracks 6, 7, and 9.  Some of the tracks incorporate lyricism in Spanish.

Track List
1. Otro Guerrillero (4:08)
2. Hijo Del Barrio (feat. Welfare Poets) (3:30)
3. Dem Dayz (4:00)
4. Yo Doy Todo (3:03)
5. My Dust (feat. The Almighty Morrocco Stone of the Maya) (2:51)
6. La La La (4:08)
7. Crush (2:48) [official video]
8. Pistola Clap (4:05)
9. Oh Why (2:28)
10. Canto (3:25) [official video]

Otro Guerrillero 
Mixtape Vol. 2 (2008)
 [mixtape]
Label: none
Purchase

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Otro Guerrillero Mixtape Vol. 2 is the second mixtape by Rebel Diaz released independently in 2008.  The mixtape is produced by IL.DE.SCRIPT and features M1 of Dead Prez.  Some of the tracks incorporate lyricism in Spanish.

Track List
1. Which Side Are You On?
2. Calma (feat. Hipnotic)
3. Mi Pueblo (The People Remix)
4. Que'Sta Pasando! (feat. Divine of the D.E.Y.)
5. Street Soldier
6. Pistola Clap Remix (feat. Tony Centrino)
7. Free Again (feat. M1 of Dead Prez)
8. Halfway
9. If I Can't Dance...
10. El Tiempo Pasa
11. Terrible Chilean
12. Cancion Del Immigrante
13. Window (feat. Soulstice)

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