ListN Up playlists are commissioned by American Composers Forum. Artists are selected by ACF staff (including I CARE IF YOU LISTEN and innova Recordings).
Mobéy Lola Irizarry (they/she) is a genderqueer cultural worker in Puerto Rican and experimental music. She makes within the lineages of decolonial uprisings, collections of tiny mirrors at queer clubs, and the precolonial languages of the drum and the braid. Lola is the creative director for Las Mariquitas, NYC’s Queer and Trans Salsa band. Check out Lola’s latest solo EP, es un río, sé.
Hello hello, my name is Mobéy Lola Irizarry, here letting you know about my ListN Up Playlist on I CARE IF YOU LISTEN, because I do. It’s a collection of a few songs — Salsa, Reggae, Electronic music, and other genres that have informed who I am as a musician. It is certainly not all the music I have ever loved, but it’s a nice little sampler and I hope you enjoy. Peace!
“Mundi” by Chuwi (ft. Mobu)
This song tells the story of a real-life Elephant named Mundi who used to reside at the now closed Mayaguez Zoo in Puerto Rico. From Mundi’s perspective, the singer recounts watching the zoo go from being vibrant to being neglected and abandoned. Mundi was eventually taken to the US after the zoo shut down. Tales of disinvestment leading to displacement touch every Puerto Rican, and I’m grateful for this beautifully poetic way of telling that story through the perspective of an elephant.
I’m very fond of this production style — clean, synth-based, with a Caribbean electronic groove that eventually breaks into a Bachata vibe. My favorite moment is when the singer yawns on the mic.
“La Libertad Logico” by Eddie Palmieri
In other versions of this tune, the vocal chorus pleads to the listener, “La Libertad – ¡Lógico!” (our liberation is logical). This version has no vocals (aside from Palmieri’s grunts). Instead, they show us liberation solely through their instruments.
“Escudo Pa Mi Tambor” by Carolina Oliveros, Performed by Oliveros and Tonada de Barranquilla Atlántico
My friend and voice teacher Carolina Oliveros in peak form.
“A Who Responsible” by Steel Pulse
My tio Roberto gifted me a Steel Pulse CD when I was 12 (alongside a Deltron 3030 CD). The reggae group’s poetic and uncompromising political lyrics mixed with their easeful and imaginative grooves left a big impression on me from an early age. Growing up, I had an alarm clock that could play CDs, so for years Steel Pulse was the first thing I heard when waking in the morning.
Gotham Town by Ralph Irizarry, Performed by Irizarry and Timbalaye
After playing in Ray Barretto’s orchestra (1974-83) and Ruben Blades’ Seis de Solar (1983-97), Ralph Irizarry led this solo project. All of those stages of his career have blown my mind. My beloved homie Eden (of AVATAREDEN)’s dad Roberto Quintero is on congas on this album, making me want to practice.
Structure B by Gladstone Deluxe
Deluxe Worldwide. My rhythmic kin.
“Look What You Find” by George Duke
No one can tell me Funk and Salsa aren’t sisters.
“Dejala Quemar (Gracimá)” by Alma Moyo
This Bomba song says, “ay se prende la hacienda del Palmar, ay dios dejala quemar” (the Del Palmar plantation is burning, let it burn.) When singing this fiery revolutionary song, the homies and I definitely make sure to also mention other symbols and structures we would let burn.
“111” by justine lee hooper, Performed by hooper, JAYKAYPRIME!, Xander Louvre, and Mobéy Lola Irizarry
I produced this track for justine’s phenomenal mixtape Butterfly Effect. justine and I are musical kin, and it was such a joy to co-create this alongside the wordsmith JAYKAYPRIME! and Xander Louvre on omnichord. Bars on bars, but let’s just leave it with this highlight: “We could free Palestine, and free ourselves too!”
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