A MEETING OF THE MUSICAL MINDS
         TWO TALENTED SONS OF FAMOUS MUSICAL FATHERS UNITE
By Anya McCoy
              This article originally appeared in Reggae Report magazine
Vol. 15 #8, 1997

     History lessons in reggae and Latin music -- one hundred years from
now -- may point back to the day in September 1997, Miami, Florida, the
Midem Music Conference.  At a shared press conference, Ky-mani, son of Bob
Marley, "King" of Reggae music and Tito Jr., son of Tito Puente, " El Rey"
of Latin Jazz,  declared their mutual respect for each other and announced
to interested journalists that they would put out a single together.  But
I'm getting a little ahead of the whole story, which unfolded unexpectedly,
beautifully, in front of a pleasantly surprised crowd ….. 

    Noon: The huge room where the shared press conference featuring Ky-mani
and Tito Puente Jr. was empty. Almost 200 chairs were lined up, silently
waiting for the press. Tito entered first, chatting with someone from his
record company Compose Tropico.  Everything was mellow, soon come, Miami
Latin/reggae style.  A few more people came in, including Ky-mani with some
reps from his record label, Shang.  He and Tito greeted each other, and
quietly talked to each other.  Slowly, the room started to fill.  The crowd
was definitely divided into two friendly camps -- the Latin music press and
the Reggae music press.  Let the linguistic games begin.
Patois/English/Spanish, ahhh, Miami. 

Murmurs of potential questions were heard, and it was evident that the
press representatives didn't want to dis the "other camp's" artist by not
asking them questions, but a common ground, other than they are the sons of
musical giants, wasn't evident.  One silly question aimed at the two
artists was "Why do you use your famous name?"  The crowd and the artists
burst into laughter, and the quick answer from Tito said it all: "It's the
name on my driver's license, what else can I do?" Ky-mani just smiled,
stayed quiet, taking in the bemused response of the audience. What can a
man do?  Obviously, the questioner didn't know that Ky-mani doesn't use the
Marley name, he prefers to just be known as Ky-mani. 

Even as they answered the press' questions, Ky-mani and Tito interspersed
their answers with questions and statements to each other.  It was obvious
that they related to each other on many levels.  Tito explained that the
night before, in the rehearsal studio, he discovered that Ky-mani was in
the studio down the hall. They hooked up, introduced themselves at that
time, chatted a bit, and now were following up, in public, for all the
world's press to see. 

They have more in common that a famous father. Both are in their early-mid
twenties. Both were raised in the US, Ky-mani moving here at age 8, Tito
born and raised in New York City.  Both began their musical development
with percussion instruments, a choice that shows their interest in de
riddim/el ritmo, a unifying force in Afro-Caribbean music.  Their careers
are just a few years old, and both have evolved their musical philosophies
in those few years, emerging with their own distinct styles. 

Ky-mani used to do a lot of dj-ing on stage.  When he sang you marveled at
his voice, so evocative of Bob.  A question from the audience was about the
stylistic blend of dj-ing in a hip-hop manner and the rootsy singing, and
whether he would still blend the two at that evening's performance. Ky-mani
replied that he pretty much does what the spirit moves him to do on stage
(which turned out to be singing, no dj-ing at his performance). 

Tito explained to the press that his musical niche is quite different from
his dad's.  His dad, the King of Latin Jazz for 50 years (1997 was the
anniversary of Tito Sr.'s 50 years in music, marked by many celebrations, a
special boxed CD set, and many awards) provided the Latin foundation for
Tito JR's music, but the Boy from New York City writes and performs what he
terms "Latin Dance". 

Tito's music is fast, rhythm-charged, hip-hop, salsa, meringue, street-wise
and full of on-stage showmanship in the Latin tradition, with gymnastic
dancers (including Tito, who does cartwheels, leap-frogs and other athletic
movements).  His two videos, from his two hit singles "Guarachando" and
"Oye Como Va" show his in-your-face style to its best advantage. When you
go to a Tito Jr. show, expect to be dazzled by his music and the movements. 

Ky-mani, in a follow-up phone interview, stated that he was aware of Tito's
music from the radio, but didn't get a chance to catch Tito's performance
the night of the press conference. The two had made plans to try and see
each other's show, but the pressures of the Midem schedule kept them from
accomplishing that.  Ky-mani was provided with a video of Tito's
performance, the two videos and a TV interview to bring him up to speed on
the style of his new friend. 

As the two chatted, almost as if they were alone, not in the midst of a
large press conference, the audience began to feed on the good vibe flowing
between the two men.  Questions about the proposed collaboration on a
single raised everyone's expectations as to the final product. 

"Oye como va, el ritmo"  translates to "Listen, this is how it goes, the
rhythm", a phrase that is probably amongst the best know in Latin music.
At press time, Tito and Ky-mani have been able to meet a few times in the
rehearsal studio, and have spoken with each other several times on the
phone.    A single is definitely in the works, a duet between two
second-generation musical sons that will probably be one for those history
lessons a hundred years from now.  Reggae meets Latin Dance.   You heard it
here first, 1997, Miami, Midem.   History in the making.
Peace, Anya

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