{"id":329829,"date":"2025-10-17T06:28:51","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T10:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=329829"},"modified":"2025-10-17T06:28:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T10:28:51","slug":"wampi-you-need-to-be-happy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/culture\/wampi-you-need-to-be-happy\/","title":{"rendered":"Wampi: \u201cYou need to be happy\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0think there are many people in Cuba who\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0heard a\u00a0song by\u00a0Wampi. Whether by choice or unwittingly, in that forced musical update that comes to us in a taxi, on the bus, in a coffee shop, at the gym, at the\u00a0agricultural market, at the hair salon or at the barbershop…because in Cuba music is heard\u00a0everywhere,\u00a0even in places we sometimes don\u2019t want it to be. In that\u00a0sphere,\u00a0reparto\u00a0has managed to\u00a0consolidate\u00a0a majority.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wampi\u00a0is one of its most popular artists\u00a0of that genre\u00a0and the first Cuban\u00a0reparto\u00a0performer\u00a0to become a voting member of the Grammy Recording Academy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the last edition of the\u00a0<\/span>Varadero\u00a0Josone\u00a0Festival<\/span><\/b><\/a>, he starred in the event\u2019s most special concert, with a performance that saw the dawn break in front of more than 3,000 people, who attended despite the heavy rains that night.\u00a0\u201cThat was the most beautiful concert I\u2019ve ever experienced because of the audience\u2019s energy,\u201d\u00a0Wampi\u00a0tells me as we chat briefly before beginning the interview.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Wampi\u00a0during
Wampi during his concert at the Varadero Josone Festival, where the audience waited until dawn despite the rain. Photo: Courtesy of the Varadero Josone Festival.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The musician has just released his first album,\u00a0<\/span>El Rey de La Habana<\/span><\/i>, with which he is showing how far the genre can go although,\u00a0he\u00a0states,\u00a0\u201cI didn\u2019t make this album so people would be more accepting of\u00a0reparto.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His work in recent months has focused on this album, which has been available in full since October 4 and has generated a lot of buzz since the first singles began to be released.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0an album that was,\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0say,\u00a0somewhat improvised, and everything happened little by little. The pieces of the puzzle appeared: there were songs\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0already written in advance and included them on the album, but\u00a0I did\u00a0many instantly.\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0go to the studio one day, meet with Colombian, Cuban and Dominican producers, and we just flowed;\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0how most of the songs were created. There were also last-minute songs, like\u00a0\u2018Rica y To,\u2019\u00a0which is one of the most successful, and\u00a0\u2018Tingily\u2019\u00a0with Harrison and Adonis MC. I wrote those three or four weeks before the album came out. It was all\u00a0very fast: recording the videos, defining the marketing strategy…and\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0how it all came together,\u201d\u00a0Wampi\u00a0tells us.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The album includes solo tracks and several collaborations with artists such as\u00a0Formell\u00a0y Los Van\u00a0Van,\u00a0Cimafunk, Leoni Torres,\u00a0Maffio, Harrison, and Adonis MC,\u00a0showcasing\u00a0the musical diversity of\u00a0<\/span>El Rey de La Habana<\/span><\/i>. The song\u00a0\u201cLa\u00a0\u00daltima,\u201d\u00a0featuring Leoni Torres,\u00a0<\/span>topped the poll<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Billboard\u2019s New Latin Music at the end of June. In total, the album features thirteen tracks and guests such as the duo\u00a0Ibeyi\u00a0and Colombian singer\u00a0Jhosy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n