resident, of Calle 13, has surprised without explanation this week with René, an autobiographical song loaded with meaning in which the Puerto Rican opens up to tell a story full of revelations through tears that not all of his fans may know. In René, Residente explains his depression and talks about fame, murdered friends, his new life, and a host of other very intimate and private topics. We explain all the details of this song, which came out at the same time as YHLQMDLG, the new album by also Puerto Rican Bad Bunny. First, a bit of context.
René: explanation of Residente's most intimate song
Without a doubt, the most intimate and autobiographical song by Residente. A beautiful piece of seven minutes of mandatory listening, because this single transcends the musical field. Of her the singer has come to say that it is inspired by moments when he even thought about "jumping off the balcony" and ending it all.
How it sounds.
All René It is pure poetics of story, emotion and tears.
In Postposmo we wanted to dedicate an article with the explanation of the most intimate and personal details of the single Rein, a beautiful masterpiece signed by one of the most important Latin singers of the last decade. His video clip is written and directed by himself and is a masterpiece where the interpreter even cries.
The complicated thing about this video is that I'm directing it and at the same time appearing in it on a super important and personal topic. I needed it to feel real.
René is much more than Calle 13
«For me it would be much more comfortable to stay on the sofa in my house, with a smile like Chayanne»
Resident René on the social justice commitment of his music
René Pérez Joglar was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 23, 1978. He is known musically as Residente. He is a singer, songwriter, producer and founding member of 13th Street, famous rock-pop-rap trio (formed with his sister and stepbrother) that was active from 2004 to 2014. Calle 13 reached unprecedented heights of popularity with songs like dare inside o Death in Hawaii, coming to stand as a clear greatest exponent of Latin music won 27 grammys.
Since René decided to start his solo career in 2015, he has won five grammys thanks to his shocking lyrics loaded with social and political content combined with protest rap (let's remember the mythical Latin America). The song that concerns us today is the superlative example of how far someone with talent and without fear of opening their heart can go:
The multiple meanings of the song René
Of René Residente he has said that he is one of the most important songs of his life. Its content tells the crudest and darkest truth about his past, with special emphasis on the phase of depression he went through in his youth and the sad story of some of his friends. Divorce included.
The song originates from a stage in which René felt especially sad and empty. He was about to play in a stadium in Mexico with capacity for 18.000 people, but René felt alone. "I don't know why it happened to me, I've always been strong, they killed my best friend, it's hard for me to cry for some reason, maybe I had a lot of things stored and that day it exploded," René said in an interview with the TV channel Youtube Mollusk TV.
One night I felt very, very bad, I didn't want to go out to play, I was in Mexico, the stadium waiting for me, and I didn't want to be there. I had to call my mom, I felt bad and I didn't know why. I wanted to throw myself off the balcony and I didn't know why. Thank God that night a friend from my university arrived and he stayed with me. The other day I started writing this topic
René Pérez offers explanations on Instagram about his new song, René
Resident: super baseball fan
Baseball plays a central role in the video clip of Rein. We listen to his life story as he runs the four bases inside a baseball field. This is because the singer himself played this sport and declared himself a "super fanatic." And, apparently, he played pretty well.
As he has stated, one day he had to choose between continuing training or dedicating himself to art. «I played, I played well, what happens is that At one point I had to decide whether to continue putting him or not, and I went for art. Nor is it that he played so well as to say "I'm going to put full with baseball, but I played well, in the league, I played in Carolina I am a fan and that is why I make many allusions in the video ».
Meaning of "Head, knee, thighs and hip"
"Head, knee, thighs and hip" is a song that Residente had to memorize when he was little at the request of his mother. René starts with the voice of the singer's mother repeating this very symbolic melody. One of the many that he repeated to his son so that he learned the knowledge of the school. It was a technique devised by his mother due to his attention deficit ("I still have it, good bastard, it's difficult for me and I have tricks to retain what they ask me, says the singer").
Rene and stress
The stress that Rene feels is the same "as anyone else with a 9 to 5 job feels." We see this reflected in his song:
When I fall into depression, I tell my problems to the window of the plane
Stress has me sick, I haven't slept for 10 years
The IRS is still investigating me
I'm getting divorced, but it doesn't matter, I'm still rhyming
“Everything causes me stress. From any social injustice that I see, I sometimes throw them at me. In each country they ask me for help. All that to me, I live it. In Puerto Rico, the government we have and the people give me stress. Sometimes I'm walking and people say hello to me... and sometimes they can treat you so badly, and that stays in your head».
Sorry, Puerto Rico.
The current political situation in Puerto Rico is a key theme in the song. Let us remember that the country currently maintains (since 1952) a somewhat unique government model (Free Associated State) already halfway between dependence on the United States and autonomy.
Three years ago, 97% of the country voted to join the United States. René, clearly in favor of the independence of his homeland, has received much criticism. It is also important to note that for many years the economic situation of Puerto Rico has been disastrous. Joining the US in becoming the 51st state could perhaps help a great deal in this regard.
MAYBE.
"If I live in New York it's a problem and if I live in Puerto Rico it's a problem," said René, clearly an independentista. Many people confuse independence with left or right. You can be pro-independence and be from the extreme right, because pro-independence means that you are free, like the US, China or any other country. When they criticize me for being independent but I live in the US, I tell them "yes, I live in an independent country, which makes much more sense."
“In Puerto Rico I have to admit that the people are very pretty. What bothers me is the comments. When I've done things to help, I've felt contempt and even though it doesn't seem like it hurts, it really hurts. It hurts me so much it's ridiculous."
René on the treatment he sometimes receives in his country
Criticism of the former governor of Puerto Rico
Residente admits that one of the worst things he has done in his career is call the former governor of Puerto Rico a son of a bitch.
I came back, I took out a record, I ate the world in one bite
In Puerto Rico they fired an employee, I insulted the governor and it was televised
They censored four years' of my calendar
In 2009, the former Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño, laid off more than XNUMX public sector workers as part of his "Economic Reconstruction Plan." René, logically, was not happy with the announcement and made the decision to publicly criticize Fortuño with very serious insults. This caused a total censorship of the singer in Puerto Rico that lasted four years.
Resident's new life
- "Now I'm learning how to cope and I'm making a lot of dietary changes. I started calling friends from school whom I didn't see... I tried to rediscover myself with things and people that I had lost».
- "I don't drink a lot like many people think. I'll have a beer or two and stop. I can go a whole week without taking anything. I like it sometimes, if I write».
- «It is the first time that I show my son's face. They always asked me why he didn't teach it and, well, brother, Well, to protect it and because there was no need to put it in a world where he has not decided to be.
The death of his soul friend due to police abuse
Despite the fact that René assures that they killed half of his friends, there is one in particular that has a special corner in his heart. And in his song.
I grew up with Christopher, my friend
We threw stones together, we broke a couple of windows
We ran down the street without a shirt in the plots of Trujillo, downhill by bicycle
The bike on top of the mud, with a plastic cup on the rubber to make it sound like a car
We recharged batteries with Indian malt and garlic bread, nobody stopped us
We were inseparable until one day four policemen killed him
My happiness is still broken, the lights went out in the ball park
Residente has said that he had never cried for the death of his friend Christopher, because he had not yet assimilated or overcome the trance. "They killed my best friend when I was making the second record," he details. One of the key moments of his new song is the moment in which he recounts how his childhood was in Puerto Rico with the aforementioned Christopher Rojas Miranda, fdied, in theory, from a cocaine overdose. In theory.
Rojas was arrested by the police on April 10, 2007 for allegedly consuming cocaine and, after his death, forensic analysis revealed that the cause of death had been bodily trauma, allegedly carried out by the police. About thirty blows were found throughout the body of Residente's soulmate.
This sad episode pushed René to compose the song “Tribute to the Police”, since it was not the first time that the Puerto Rican police had abused their position of power:
Here I bring you rat poison
I dedicate to you everything that my notebook says
To yourself the one who killed my brother Cristopher, dammit
The same one that broke his wrists
The same one that inside will have to square with the ñetas
We recommend this interview to continue expanding information:
