Ana Tijoux On World Cafe

Anamaria Merino, better known by her stage name Ana Tijoux, is cutting through the hip-hop scene with full force. The French-Chilean rapper spent most of her early years in political exile in France during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile, but upon her return she became completely enamored by the hip-hop scene. Her knack for swift wordplay in both French and Spanish led her to form the popular group Makiza.

Later signed to Sony, the group became a success in the emerging Latin hip-hop scene of the late 1990's and was often praised for exploring sensitive matters devoid of violence. Despite Makiza's popularity, Tijoux decided to leave the group to pursue a different path, a path that led her to collaborate with Julieta Venegas in 2006.

Tijoux's latest solo effort 1977, returns to her rap roots. The autobiographical account is extremely personal, but Tijoux doesn't feel the need to hide behind her words. The album was picked up in the U.S., where she was nominated for a Grammy for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album. Copyright 2011 WXPN-FM. To see more, visit http://www.xpn.org/.