And like a lot of kid, I was arriving to the work of my mother. So at the time I used to have, I don't know, like, eight or ten years old and my mother used to take me at work sometimes because I couldn't stay by my own at home. I think we would use the term social worker. TIJOUX: I've got to be honest, like, I began really to listen hip-hop thanks to my mother because my mother used to be she's a sociologist right now, you know, like, making social work. MARTIN: So, tell me, what are your earliest memories of hip-hop? And it's not even exile themselves, they put them in a plane and they got to come to France. And my parents, like a lot of young people that used to be at that time all in university, was fighting at the government and they was in jail.
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So what happened, like, in '73 we got this dictator that happened with Pinochet. I mean, like, you got to understand also, like, the political situation that was led in Chile and not only Chile, you know, other country in Latin America like Uruguay or Argentina even. MARTIN: And they were accurate to say they were in exile there, right? Did they see themselves as living in France in exile from Chile? Going to your unique biography, you were born in France in 1977, as we said. It's about ego is everywhere, it's not only about only in the hip-hop, I guess. TIJOUX: No, but it's complicated even for to be on stage. MARTIN: Ever since I'm sorry, I'm still trying to wrap my head around a rapper who doesn't want to sound egocentric. But I didn't make it before because I was thinking that it was so egocentric. TIJOUX: Yes, it was a long time ago that I wanted to make a song about, like, a little biography of myself. What's the story you're telling in the title track? MARTIN: So in addition to being the title track of the album, "1977" was also the year you were born. Ana Tijoux joins us now from our studios at NPR West.
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The French Chilean rapper is already one of the hottest MCs in Latin America and now she's reaching for an even bigger audience as she tours North America. MARTIN: This is "1977" and it's the title track from Tijoux's sophomore album.
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ANA TIJOUX (Musician): (Rapping in foreign language) So when a rapper's upbringing crosses oceans, borders and languages, just what does keeping it real mean? Maybe it sounds like Ana Tijoux. And while hip-hop has become a sound and a style recognized the world over, many artists still build reputations by keeping their lyrics close to home, literally, with rhymes about the city, their neighborhood, their block. We always say that music is a global language. I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News.