C. Tangana
Antón Álvarez Alfaro (born July 16, 1990), better known as C. Tangana, is a Spanish rapper from Madrid, Spain. He is a member of the rap group Agorazein. He began his musical career in 2005 under the pseudonym Crema, with a demo called "Él Es Crema". Tangana has headlined the Primavera Sound festival. In 2020, he was named one of the most influential people and most creative artists in Spain by "Forbes". Early life. Álvarez was born in July 1990 in Madrid from Galician and Madrileño parents. In 2005 he started making music under the alias Crema. Career . 2005–2007: First steps as Crema. In 2005, he gained recognition as Crema as his freestyle demos began spreading online. He focused on rap music and released a seven-track EP titled "Él Es Crema" (2005) and then two more ("Madrid Files" and "Septiembre") in 2006. After finishing his baccalaureate he studied philosophy at the Complutense University of Madrid. 2011–2016: Agorazein. Álvarez formed the band Agorazein with a group of friends in 2011. That year he released a work entitled "C. Tangana", which was generally well-received, attracted many new followers, and was adopted by Álvarez as his new stage name . In 2011 the band released their debut album in Spanish as independent artists titled "Kind of Red". Between 2011 and 2012 Álvarez self-released two albums: "C. Tangana" (2011) and "LOVE'S" (2012). Tangana had replaced his particular style of short and direct phrases with short Anglicized phrases. While playing music, he made a living working in a Pans and Company and in a Vodafone call center. He began to shy away from the media in January 2013 because he did not feel comfortable with it. In 2014 he released his first EP as an independent artist titled "Trouble +  Presidente". In 2015 he left his job to fully work on music. Agorazein released their final album "Siempre" in November 2016 and have been on an indefinite hiatus since then. 2016–2017: Record deal and "Ídolo". In 2016, Tangana signed a record deal with Warner Chappell Music and started working regularly with friend and producer Alizzz. His first release as a signed artist was "Antes de Morirme", a flamenco-pop collaboration with then-girlfriend Rosalía. The song was a sleeper hit until late 2018, when Rosalía's career started growing internationally and the song was included in the soundtrack of the  Spanish Netflix show "Élite". Tangana continued releasing songs throughout 2016. In 2017, Álvarez embarked on a tour in Latin America called C. Tangana Latino Tour. When the tour finished, he announced his official agreement with the record company Sony Music Entertainment. In April he released the lead single off his debut album titled "Espabilao". One month later, "Mala Mujer" was released on digital platforms as the album's second single. The song became wildly popular in Spain and in parts of Latin America. The track became a top-five hit in Spain, was named song of the summer, certified three  times platinum there, and was also certified gold in the United States. A remix featuring Farruko and French Montana was released in September. Later, C. Tangana performed the track at LOS40 Music Awards 2017, where he was awarded Best New Artist of the Year. The music video for "Mala Mujer" also received a nomination for "Best National Video". He was also nominated at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Spanish Act. His first studio album "Ídolo" was released on digital download and streaming platforms on October 5, 2017. In December 2017 he released "Guerrera" alongside Dellafuente, which became  a top 20 hit in Spain and was certified two times platinum. 2018–2019: "Avida Dollars". In January 2018, Tangana released the lead single of his debut mixtape as a signed artist: "Still Rapping" with Steve Lean. The song peaked at 86th on the PROMUSICAE chart. In March he released the mixtape's second single "Llorando en la Limo", produced and featuring Alizzz, which peaked at number twelve on the chart and became another summer hit in Spain. The mixtape, "Avida Dollars", was released on digital platforms on April 20, 2018, presented with two sold-out shows at La Riviera in  Madrid. and was well received by music critics. Since then, Tangana started releasing independent singles such as "Bien Duro", released in June 2018, which peaked at number six in Spain and became the 32nd most sold song in the country. It was certified double platinum. In October, he released his first international collaboration with American singer Becky G. The song, titled "Booty" peaked at number 3 in Spain and became the 93rd best-selling song in Spain in only two months. "Booty" was also certified double platinum in Spain and platinum in the United States. Its music video was nominated  for Best Music Video at the 2020 Premios Odeón. In November 2018, Tangana was awarded with two Latin Grammy Awards for writing Rosalía's "Malamente". He took home the awards for Best Alternative Song and Best Urban Fusion/Performance. The track was also nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. He later received the Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year and for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album for his contribution on eight songs on Rosalía's sophomore album "El Mal Querer". In November, he also released "Un Veneno", a minimal, new flamenco track featuring  Niño de Elche. It received critical acclaim due to its rawness. On November 21 he performed it on "Operación Triunfo 2018". After the performance, he left the stage aggressively despite being scheduled to give an interview, which was received negatively on Twitter. The media coverage the situation received caused an increase in "Un Veneno" streams, making it reach the number two spot on the PROMUSICAE chart and be certified gold in Spain. During 2019, Tangana continued releasing independent singles. In January he collaborated with Brazilian rapper MC Bin Laden and once again with Alizzz on "Pa' Llamar Tu Atención". The  track reached number three on the PROMUSICAE chart. In February he collaborated with Alizzz and Dellafuente once again on "París", which eventually became Tangana's fifth top 10 single. In March 2019 he performed at Lollapalooza Argentina and Chile. He also offered to do a show in Lima and did a showcase in Miami. In April 2019 he moved to Los Angeles. He attended the 2019 "Billboard" Latin Music Awards and performed at the after-party. While in America, he worked with Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami on his song "No Te Debí Besar", released in September 2019, which marked  Mami's debut on the Spanish music charts as well as a new top three hit for Tangana. That same year he collaborated with Argentine rapper Duki and Colombian singer Lao Ra on "5 Stars" and "Picaflor" respectively. A couple of months later, Tangana released "Yelo" alongside Alizzz. In February he collaborated with Natti Natasha on his own track "Viene Y Va" and alongside Tainy and former Fifth Harmony member Lauren Jauregui on the Puerto Rican's "Nada", included in his album "The Kids That Grew Up On Reggaeton" (2020). 2020–present: "Bien" and "El Madrileño". In April 2020, Tangana  moved to rap-pop and sadcore music with folk elements, leaving trap and hip hop. On April 24 he released "Nunca Estoy", which was very well received by critics. It reached the top spot on the PROMUSICAE chart, and became Tangana's first number one hit in his career. The track sampled both "Cómo Quieres Que Te Quiera" by Rosario Flores and "Corazón Partío" by Alejandro Sanz. In May, Tangana announced his first EP as a signed artist, "Bien", which was released through Sony Music on May 14, 2020, and debuted number one in Spain. He allied with Little Spain  Productions to produce, write and direct his upcoming music videos. In September, Tangana revealed to "Forbes" that his upcoming studio album would be very different from his previous releases and that it would be named "El Madrileño". On October 8, Tangana released the lead single of "El Madrileño". "Demasiadas Mujeres" became popular in Spain; it debuted at the top of the PROMUSICAE chart and being gold-certified in only a week for selling over 20,000 copies. The song contrasted with everything Tangana had done and included a Holy Week marching band from Cádiz. The song included a message of frustration  and elements of folk. Its music video included a scene of Tangana's own funeral and references to his past relationships with Rosalía and Berta Vázquez. On November 6, Tangana released "Tú Me Dejaste de Querer", which he called "the most important song of his career". He defined the track as a combination of rumba and bachata with elements of flamenco music. The track broke the record for the most-streamed song in Spain in a 24-hour period with 1.6 million national streams. Internationally, "Tú Me Dejaste de Querer" debuted at number 31 on the Spotify Global chart, marking  the first entry of Tangana on the list. In January 2021, Tangana released the single "Comerte Entera" featuring Toquinho on "El Madrileño". C. Tangana released "El Madrileño" on February 26, 2021. The album broke records in streaming services, and Tangana became the first Spanish artist to reach No. 1 in the global new albums list and place the whole album's tracklist in the top 25 of Top 100 Songs in Spain. Musical style. With Agorazein, he attracted the attention of people due to a blend of good rhythms and melodies that conveyed teenage rebelliousness and sadness. In contrast with  rap, Tangana's soft sounds became as important as the voice, which started to gain acoustic treatment. In 2015, he adopted a more traditional lyric style, but continued with the most creative part of his music. In his songs, Tangana expresses individualistic ideals. On occasion, some mass media have interpreted sexist sentences in his songs. Regarding to his political ideas, he said that he does not believe in the representative democracy. Influences. Tangana discovered rap music from the Beastie Boys album "III Communication" and the feature film "Fear of a Black Hat", as mentioned in his song "Diez Años". Among  all the influences, he also mentioned "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" by Drake, and other singers like Pharrell Williams and Kanye West because of their ability and inclination to innovate and to attract the public's attention. He stated a few times that he listens to all musical genres because "everything has an interesting side". Tangana's music is not the result of particular singers, but the product of musical movements and trends; although he recently said in an interview that his idol was the "King of Pop" Michael Jackson. Feuds. Tangana has been involved in  several feuds with other artists during his career. The most infamous one was the beef with the rap group Los Chikos del Maíz. In May 2014, he recorded the video clip of his song "Alligators" where he blatantly promoted Lacoste. In September of that year, Los Chikos del Maíz released their song "Tú al Gulag y yo a California" to parodize Tangana because of the advertising. The group gave a concert in Madrid on May 17, 2015, where Tangana allegedly attacked the singer of the rap group, Nega. Tangana confirmed the allegations later that year with his song "Nada", throughout  which he describes the fight. He later confessed that he regretted the punch in a radio interview for the program "Yu Vodafone". In May 2016, Los Chikos del Maíz released their new song "Los Pollos Hermanos". Four hours later, Tangana released "Los Chicos de Madriz" as a response. Many other people saw themselves involved in that conflict, like Pablo Iglesias, a Spanish leftist politician, who supported Nega. In 2017, Tangana's new album was released and he feuded against Kaydy Cain with his song "No Te Pegas". Cain replied with his song "Perdedores del Barrio". Tangana also fought with Spanish  singer Yung Beef after a joint interview for the Primavera Sound Festival 2018 in which they argued about the music industry and their position in it. Later, Tangana released song "El Rey Soy Yo/I Feel Like Kanye", to which Yung Beef answered with "Yes indeed / I feel like Kim K-RIP Pucho". Tangana then released "Forfri" and a statement in which he claimed that Yung Beef "was just being used by the industry and he didn't even notice".