Cimafunk @ Freight and Salvage // Berkeley

SAT 9/24 Cimafunk.

Cimafunk is an Afro-Cuban Rockstar. His name refers to his heritage as a ‘cimarrón,’

Cubans of African descent who resisted and escaped slavery, as well as to the essence of his music that aims to subvert conventional sounds with rhythmic innovation. By bringing out the best in Cuban rhythms and traditions and infusing sounds and styles from Africa and the U.S., Cimafunk has created something unique and special, not only in terms of music but also with the values he stands for. He is redefining contemporary Cuban music as well as Afro-Latin identity and the fusion of black cultures.

Buy tickets:  https://secure.thefreight.org/11548/cimafunk

RAÍCES: A SERIES CURATED BY JOHN SANTOS

DANCE FLOOR OPEN

A Cuban Salsa Dance Class will be taught by Ryan and Sidney of Rueda Con Ritmo before the show from 7:10 to 7:45pm

Cimafunk is an Afro-Cuban Rockstar. His name refers to his heritage as a ‘cimarrón,’ Cubans of African descent who resisted and escaped slavery, as well as to the essence of his music that aims to subvert conventional sounds with rhythmic innovation. By bringing out the best in Cuban rhythms and traditions and infusing sounds and styles from Africa and the U.S., Cimafunk has created something unique and special, not only in terms of music but also with the values he stands for. He is redefining contemporary Cuban music as well as Afro-Latin identity and the fusion of black cultures.

Cimafunk’s monumental second album El Alimento was released in October 2021, receiving overwhelming praise. Co-produced by Cimafunk and Grammy-award winning producer Jack Splash (CeeLo Green, Kendrick Lamar, Alicia Keys), the sonically dynamic collection masterfully blends Afro-Cuban sounds and rhythms with global funk, hip hop and soul—resulting in a progressive, head-bopping celebration of black music’s power to eclipse borders and cross-pollinate across cultures. Written and recorded over 2020, the album served as an alimento for the soul, a motivation to persevere through the pandemic, as Cimafunk spent countless hours studying decades of musical influences to help understand who he is musically and culturally, and thus, where he wanted this album to take him.

George Clinton says “he is the one, the next one,” Chucho Valdés credits him with “uniting Afro-Cuban and African American,” and Fito Páez calls him “the future.” According to The New York Times, Cimafunk is on “Quest to Create One Nation Under a Groove,” NPR asserts he’s on his way to “world domination by way of the funk and clave,” and Rolling Stone describes his music as “an electrifying combination of funk and soul, layered over the five-beat clave, or the heartbeat of Cuban music, brought to Cuba by enslaved people from West Africa.”

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Raíces

Contemporary (Latino) American Music

Curated by John Santos

A concert series of diverse Latino (American) music representing hemispheric creativity in a wide range of formats interpreted by several of the most dynamic interpreters in the field. The term America in its true sense refers to North, South and Central America as well as the Caribbean islands. Accordingly, Latin American music defies brief descriptions. Dance music and Jazz play seminal roles in this series along with folk styles and rhythms in both traditional and evolutionary settings.