Quevedo: "Being aware of the 'likes' can make you feel very alone"

Madrid, 2001. The Canarian singer

is the latest exponent of the musical explosion that comes from the islands, as he demonstrated a few weeks ago at the Heineken Silver beer party out into the real world (from the metaverse), together with Ana Mena.

In this time I have had many scratches of this type, seeing that life has changed me completely.

I think that what you have to do to be calm with all this is not to think about the future, but rather to focus on the day to day.

In my case, it has not changed.

Well calm down.

I get up at home, I go to the park, I smoke a cigarette, I go back to my house, like with my father, I go to a friend's house, I go to the studio and I go back to my house.

It's super simple, really.

I keep making music with the same people, I keep seeing the same people all the time.

Maybe, if I go to a place where there is a lot of rock, they stop me for a photo, but nothing that you say you can't live with it.

There are people that I now greet and that I had idolized since I was little, like Delaossa.

One day we were in the studio and you kind of normalize it.

But I looked back, all the afternoons of my life that I had been listening to 'Un perro andaluz', his first album, 80,000 times with my colleagues smoking, that we knew them all...

Many times I make music a little more thinking about something commercial, which I also like a lot, because in the end they are danceable rhythms and the lyrics are a little less 'real'.

Normally I usually do those in the studio at the time the producer makes the track, beautiful melodies come out and I write lyrics that have that touch to dance.

On the other hand, since I was little I have really liked writing, expressing myself, not necessarily in the form of songs: improvisations, poetry, etc.

And that's when I get more personal issues and what happens to me on a day-to-day basis.

I don't know.

Apart from my voice -as well as being very hoarse, very serious-, and the lyrics, I think my personality helps, my appearance as a normal person.

Being an artist is usually closely linked to being extravagant, different.

That's not bad, but I don't see it that way.

I greatly admire all the urban artists of South America.

Because I grew up listening to them.

It is inevitable that I will be compared to them.

But for me it is also a compliment.

Damn, those people are doing things right.

One day I had just sang in Huelva and going to Seville at three in the morning I got a message from him: "Hey, crazy, give me your WhatsApp, I'm going to send you a song."

I find it super nice when people from one country and another collaborate and share culture.

It is sharing experiences, learning from other cultures, seeing how to do things differently.

He teaches many other aspects of urban music, which also has bad things, but that other one is a very good part.

It's just like any other genre.

You start looking at others and there will also be a sexist song or one that speaks with bad words.

In the end, urban music is closely linked to young people, to a certain language.

But there are also artists who are like very 'strawberry' and 'break' it just the same.

Everything has evolved a lot and nowadays reggaeton is not what it was when Daddy Yankee started there was almost no melody and everything was: "you want me to hit you hard".

Now it's like a mix between the bass drums and the keys of reggaeton, but mixed with pop.

That is, you can have a base that encourages you to speak ill, but also another that makes you want to say "I love you."

It was one of the worst times of my life, but also because I was 18 years old, it is also a period of many changes, that you don't know what to do with your life.

I was off center, and involved in moves, in other things.

It affected me a lot, but it also helped me: if it weren't for the pandemic, I wouldn't be here nor would I have made music, I'm sure.

I came out of the pandemic so eager to change my life, that's when I got serious.

The pandemic, for example, inspired me that you freak out.

Everything that happened with my life, being locked up...

I have not yet gone out to a disco as an adult.

And I'm 20 years old.

It is very beast.

I think it's because there is a lot of influence from Latin America.

On the other hand, since I left I haven't received 'hate' from anyone on my island.

In fact, everyone supported me from the beginning.

All the artists wanted to see me succeed and have always given me a strong hand: Ptazeta, Cruz Cafuné... And it wasn't like that before.

But there comes a point when you realize that the way to run things is everyone helping and supporting each other.

And, thirdly, on the part of the listeners there is a lot of Canarian feeling.

And not only in music, but also in football: look at Yéremy, who is an idol, a boss.

Because it is very difficult to see someone from there progress.

I don't know much about stereotypes either.

The only thing is that they don't pay much attention to us canaries, yes.

Since we're far away there, closer to Africa than here... But it hasn't affected me.

In fact, I always knew that at some point the Canary Islands were going to have something different, because anyone who goes there sees it.

I don't know what would become of me if I wasn't making music right now.

But it is a bit discouraging that the older generations always think that what those after them are going to do is less.

You have to be clear about what is real life and what is not.

Because many people confuse it.

Although we are young, my generation is the last to live without having social networks.

Being aware of the 'likes' can make you feel very alone.

I have removed the social networks, they take them to me.

I don't like that whole thing, which is a bit fictitious about Instagram, or that on Twitter people give 'random' opinions to their face.

It's super toxic.

And it is true that it creates a dependency.

Many people, the first thing they do on mobile is go directly to Instagram, but not because they want to, but because they do it automatically.

And then, when you get rid of it, you realize that nothing happens.

You're crazy.

No way.

Look, there is a politician from the Canarian Coalition who is also called Pedro Quevedo.

Amazing.

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