Ozomatli

Ozomatli is a Los Angeles group active since 1996. The band forms in the city’s multicultural and grassroots political scene, originally coming together to play a labour protest in Los Angeles. Its line-up includes William Marrufo, Wil-Dog Abers, Ulises Bella, Cut Chemist, Tylana Enomoto, José Espinosa, Humberto Hernandez, Kanetic Source, Andy Mendoza, Raul Pacheco, Justin Porée, Asdru Sierra, Jiro Yamaguchi and Chali 2na.

The group’s music combines Latin styles with hip hop, funk and related forms, drawing on salsa, dancehall, cumbia, samba, merengue, comparsa, East LA R&B, New Orleans second line, Jamaican ragga and Indian ragga. It is also described as latin pop. Ozomatli builds its identity around Los Angeles while also presenting itself as international in outlook.

Early in its career, the band takes part in community events, protests, fundraisers and educational programmes, including earthquake-preparation hip hop performances at inner-city elementary schools. It becomes associated with Los Angeles sports teams, and records the track City of Angels as an urban anthem. The group is also featured in the “We Are 4 L.A.” campaign on NBC.

Ozomatli receives official recognition from the City of Los Angeles, which declares April 23 as Ozomatli Day. The band also receives the Local Heroes Award from KCET-TV and the National Council of La Raza’s Humanitarian Award. It performs twice for Barack Obama and is named a U.S. State Department Cultural Ambassador, touring in that role across Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East.

Those diplomatic tours include concerts and workshops in Tunisia, India, Jordan, Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand, along with visits to arts centres, camps, rehabilitation centres, orphanages, clinics and schools. In Nepal, the band gives the country’s first peaceful mass public gathering outside protest or religious ceremony, and becomes the first Western band to play a concert there. In China, Ozomatli also works in the earthquake zone at Dujiangyan, focusing on music education in orphanages and schools for migrant workers’ children and disabled students.

The group performs at major venues and events including the Hollywood Bowl, where it headlines three times, and collaborates with orchestras such as the Boston Pops, Boston Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, San Diego Symphony and New York Pops. It appears at TEDxSF in a music-and-talk format, described as the first musical talk at a TED conference.

Ozomatli also licenses music for film, television and video games, and contributes music and scores for Happy Feet 2, Elmo’s Musical Monsterpiece, SIMS, PBS Kids projects, A Better Life, Harlistas and Standup Revolution. The band creates Ozokidz, a family-oriented set for children and adults.

By the time of the source text, Ozomatli has released five full-length studio albums and continues to tour widely.