Zatu and Acción Sánchez from Seville will continue celebrating their 30-year career on August 18 in Benicàssim, consolidating SFDK as the longest-running rap band on the national scene.

Names like SFDK, Fernandocosta, Los Chikos del Maíz or Anier reflect the unprecedented commitment to hip hop in the artistic line-up of Rototom Sunsplash 2024. A transversal opening in the different stages of the event that gives continuity to the eclectic musical trend of the festival and that in its 29th edition comes especially from the hand of artists and bands of reference in the state scene and with several unique shows in Benicàssim (Castelló), base of the reggae meeting, which will be held from August 16 to 21.

Rap as a vocal style, and hip hop as a genre, were born thanks to the vocal expression of artists such as U-Roy and the music of sound systems, a legacy of Jamaican immigrants in the United States. A legacy picked up by characters such as the Jamaican-born musician and producer Kool Herc in New York, who is credited with the birth of rap. “Since then, reggae, dancehall and hip hop have merged many times and to this day we are enjoying multiple collaborations between artists of these styles,” explained the festival organizers.

The Sevillian duo SFDK embodies without fissures this clear opening to rap. Zatu (Saturnino Rey) and Acción Sánchez (Óscar Sánchez), the alma mater of the leading hip hop project in Spain, land in Benicàssim(Main Stage, August 18) celebrating their 30th anniversary, with which they crown the podium as the longest-lived band of the genre on the national scene. Their appearance at Rototom Sunsplash will be one of the last before the end of their tour next October.

SFDK has also produced several songs for Chambao, which is also part of the 2024 lineup(Main Stage, August 20). A first collaboration with the flamenco mestizaje band that is reflected in songs like ‘Mañana’, created in La Factoría Creativa, SFDK’s studio in Seville and under the production of Óscar Sánchez himself.

In addition, one of the collaborators of the Sevillian rap duo in songs like ‘Seguiré al sol’ or ‘Todo lo que importa’ Fyahbwoy, considered the Spanish artist reference of dancehall, will also jump to the Main Stage 2024 with his band, Forward Ever Band, and Grankhan, on August 16, in his only date in Comunitat Valenciana.

Another of the most important referents of the genre today, the Ibizan rapper Fernandocosta, will give in Benicàssim his only Concert in the Comunitat Valenciana during the summer on August 19(Main Stage) accompanied by his band. His ‘old school’ style, with incursions into urban music and lyrics about everyday and street themes, have made his album ‘Tirititando’ a success, especially among the younger audience.

Also unique in the autonomous territory this summer will be the expected landing on August 21 of the historic Valencian rap band Los Chikos del Maíz, immersed in their farewell tour: ‘La tregua indefinida’.

The Barcelona rapper Anier stages one of the attractions of Lion Stage in this edition of the festival. Promising Spanish rap artist, he will perform on August 17. Two days later (August 19) and on the same stage will be their namesake, in gender and origin, Santa Salut, direct from Barcelona, to offer in Benicàssim their only date in the Valencian calendar and accompanied by surprise guests to bring to the stage their vindictive themes on gender and social injustices.

The Lion Stage line-up also includes for the first time Pure Negga, a promising young reggae dancehall artist and a viral phenomenon since the pandemic thanks to his live sessions with dancehall and hip hop artists. He will perform with his band on August 18.

The bet for the genre is also branched out to the DanceHall, with the Valencian Dj Kanzer, member of the well-known American hip hop collective Def Squad, and Plan B, dj of Los Chikos del Maíz. Both on August 21.

Arkano, at the Social Forum

Rap also jumps off the stage in this edition and enters other extra-musical spaces of the festival such as the Social Forum. The first session of this space for debate – held for the first time at the Teatre Municipal de Benicàssim – will bring together Arkano, rapper and Guinness World Record holder in the category of Longest Rap Marathon, and cultural journalist Ana Mansergas on August 17, to discuss culture as a driver of social change and analyze how different artistic languages can contribute to rebuilding bridges in which aesthetics and ethics intertwine.