Ana Tijoux (also known as Anita Tijoux, born Anamaría Merino Tijoux on June 12, 1977 in Lille, France) is a Chilean rapper and singer, who became famous in the late 90's as a female MC of hip-hop band Makiza and later as a solo artist. She moved to Santiago, Chile in 1993, where she's stayed.
In the 1990's Anita formed a hip-hop band Los Gemelos (The Twins) with a fellow rapper Zaturno (later became famous as a member of Tiro de Gracia). In 1997 she gained first major attention after singing in a Los Tetas' hit single "La Medicina". Later she joined DJ Squat, Cenzi and Seo2, and Makiza was formed.
After Makiza went on hiatus in 2001, Anita returned to France and took a break from music until 2004. After coming back to Chile in 2004 she became singing with the funk/acid jazz band Aluzinati, and later in 2005 she reformed Makiza with Seo2 and two new members and released the band's final album to date, Casino Royale.
In 2007 Anita appeared on Julieta Venegas' hit single, "Eres Para Mí" and finally released her solo debut, Kaos. Thanks to the first single, "Despabílate", Anita was nominated for the Latin version of the MTV Video Music Awards 2007 under the categories Best New Artist and Best Urban Artist.
In October 2009, Tijoux released her second solo album, titled 1977 after the year she was born. The album was a return to her rap roots, an homage to the "golden age of hip-hop"; it was largely auto-biographical, exploring mature themes from her own life, from the death of a close friend to having a creative crises, from friendship to bad luck, amongst others. It was simple and straight to the point, as emphasized by her leaving behind a lot of the singing she had been doing of late in other more pop collaborations, and concentrating on rap, both in Spanish and French. After years of sharing the spotlight with her group, collaborating with other artists, and trying to find her way as a solo artist, she has finally arrived in her own right—a raw, direct, and mature MC.
Recorded between May and September 2009, the new album was produced by Hordatoj, Foex and Tee, of the label Potoco Discos, together with Habitación del Pánico. Guests on the record include the saxophonist Agustín Moya with whom she worked with in Aluzinati, Andrés Celis, Solo Di Medina, Bubaseta, Stailok from the group Movimiento Original, DJ Dacel, Quique Neira (formerly from Gondwana), Cómo Asesinar A Felipes, and the Detroit-based MC Invincible, whom she met over MySpace and did a virtual collaboration for the song "Sube".
The album and its first single 1977 were an immediate hit in the underground rap circles of Chile, where she was welcomed back after a bit of a stray. The record was amongst the top 10 of 2009 for the blog [worldhiphopmarket.com], and it was soon picked up by the U.S.-based Latin Alternative label Nacional Records, who released it in April 2010. She was invited to attend the prestigious South By South West Music Festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2010, and from there went on to her first ever North American tour. The song 1977 is featured in FIFA 11 soundtrack, and it also appears in episode five of the fourth season of Breaking Bad.
In 2011 Ana released her new solo album, La Bala. The album deals with many political and social issues in Chile, and the lead single, "Shock", was inspired by the strikes of the Chilean students which took part in 2011.
In the 1990's Anita formed a hip-hop band Los Gemelos (The Twins) with a fellow rapper Zaturno (later became famous as a member of Tiro de Gracia). In 1997 she gained first major attention after singing in a Los Tetas' hit single "La Medicina". Later she joined DJ Squat, Cenzi and Seo2, and Makiza was formed.
After Makiza went on hiatus in 2001, Anita returned to France and took a break from music until 2004. After coming back to Chile in 2004 she became singing with the funk/acid jazz band Aluzinati, and later in 2005 she reformed Makiza with Seo2 and two new members and released the band's final album to date, Casino Royale.
In 2007 Anita appeared on Julieta Venegas' hit single, "Eres Para Mí" and finally released her solo debut, Kaos. Thanks to the first single, "Despabílate", Anita was nominated for the Latin version of the MTV Video Music Awards 2007 under the categories Best New Artist and Best Urban Artist.
In October 2009, Tijoux released her second solo album, titled 1977 after the year she was born. The album was a return to her rap roots, an homage to the "golden age of hip-hop"; it was largely auto-biographical, exploring mature themes from her own life, from the death of a close friend to having a creative crises, from friendship to bad luck, amongst others. It was simple and straight to the point, as emphasized by her leaving behind a lot of the singing she had been doing of late in other more pop collaborations, and concentrating on rap, both in Spanish and French. After years of sharing the spotlight with her group, collaborating with other artists, and trying to find her way as a solo artist, she has finally arrived in her own right—a raw, direct, and mature MC.
Recorded between May and September 2009, the new album was produced by Hordatoj, Foex and Tee, of the label Potoco Discos, together with Habitación del Pánico. Guests on the record include the saxophonist Agustín Moya with whom she worked with in Aluzinati, Andrés Celis, Solo Di Medina, Bubaseta, Stailok from the group Movimiento Original, DJ Dacel, Quique Neira (formerly from Gondwana), Cómo Asesinar A Felipes, and the Detroit-based MC Invincible, whom she met over MySpace and did a virtual collaboration for the song "Sube".
The album and its first single 1977 were an immediate hit in the underground rap circles of Chile, where she was welcomed back after a bit of a stray. The record was amongst the top 10 of 2009 for the blog [worldhiphopmarket.com], and it was soon picked up by the U.S.-based Latin Alternative label Nacional Records, who released it in April 2010. She was invited to attend the prestigious South By South West Music Festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2010, and from there went on to her first ever North American tour. The song 1977 is featured in FIFA 11 soundtrack, and it also appears in episode five of the fourth season of Breaking Bad.
In 2011 Ana released her new solo album, La Bala. The album deals with many political and social issues in Chile, and the lead single, "Shock", was inspired by the strikes of the Chilean students which took part in 2011.