Black Music Month 2021 (DJ Mix)

In honor of Black Music Month 2021, famed radio and DJ duo Stretch and Bobbito have created a special mix. Below, Bobbito shares his thoughts on Black music and how its rich legacy comes alive in their work.
“Black music is the common thread that is foundational to literally every single genre that defines who I am, not only as a DJ but as a person. Take ‘Que Bonita Bandera,’ which is bomba music from Puerto Rico, for example. Yes, some of the instruments, like the guiro and maraca, are indigenous to the island's population of Tainos, but the drums, which drive the beat and rhythm, are purely African, first brought to the Caribbean, unfortunately, by the slave trade hundreds of years ago. And the same can be said for Afro-Cuban rumba or Afro-Brazilian samba or African American hip-hop. It all boils down to the drum. That's what we as DJs use to navigate a set, and it's what the dancers need to groove. Everything else is accompaniment!”