"Somos Anormales" ("We Are Abnormal") is the debut single by Puerto Rican rapper

Residente René Pérez Joglar (born February 23, 1978), known professionally as Residente (often stylized as Resīdɛntə), is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as one of the founders of the alternative rap band Calle 13. ...

, released on January 13, 2017, as the first single from his 2017 debut solo album ''

''. It won the 2017

Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Song The Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Song is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and promotes a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists in the Un ...

Composition and lyrics

The song was written and recorded in

Kyzyl Kyzyl (; Tuvan and russian: Кызыл; , ) is the capital city of the republic of Tuva, Russia. The name of the city means "red" or "crimson" in Tuvan (and in many other Turkic languages). Its population was History The city was founded in 1 ...

Tuva Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

, where Residente spent one week. It features

throat singing Throat singing refers to several vocal practices found in different cultures around the world. The most distinctive feature of such vocal practices is to be associated to some type of guttural voice, that contrasts with the most common types of voi ...

band Chirgilchin. According to him, they are singing in Tuvan a concept he originally wrote in Spanish, then translated to English so they could finally translate it to their native language. According to Residente, "the usage of the term 'abnormal' allowed me to break free from the depreciative connotation of the word to convert it in a inclusive concept. If there is something that we all have in common, is that we are different". In a press release of 2016, Residente told people to "have their eyes, ears and minds open for what is coming".

Music video

The video for the song marks Residente's directional debut and was shot in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, over the course of four days. It features

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...

Leonor Watling Leonor Elizabeth Ceballos Watling (born 28 July 1975) is a Spanish film actress and singer. Early life Leonor Ceballos Watling was born on 28 July 1975 in Madrid, to a Spanish father from Province of Cádiz, Cádiz and an English mother, the ...

Óscar Jaenada Óscar Jaenada Gajo (born 4 May 1975) is a Spanish actor. Career Jaenada began acting at the age of thirteen, performing in Shakespeare plays. The memory of his grandmother taking him to the Rívoli Cinema made him want to become an actor, ...

and

Juan Diego Botto Juan Diego Botto Rota (born 29 August 1975) is an Argentine-Spanish film, stage and television actor. Born in Argentina, he moved to Spain together with his mother (the actress and acting coach Cristina Rota) in 1978. Following early film appe ...

, among 70 others, and was created by Zapatero Film (Puerto Rico) and Deseif Producciones (Spain). It shows a woman hatching from an egg and giving birth to multiple naked adults with conditions such as

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...

and

albinism Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

. They quickly craft clothes out of

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

and divide into two groups, one clean (representing the rich and powerful) and another dirty (representing those who have no money nor power). Both quickly engage in a fight, but they end up turning violence into love. Throughout the video, Residente sings with his head popping out of the woman's vagina. The scene with the giant vagina expelling people has been compared to a scene in

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narr ...

's ''

Talk to Her ''Talk to Her'' ( es, Hable con ella) is a 2002 Spanish drama written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, and starring Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Geraldine Chaplin, and Rosario Flores. The film follows two men who form an u ...

'', in which Watling was cast. About the video concept, Residente says: Residente also said that the battle scene can be applied to many different contexts of conflicts.

Charts

References

External links

* {{Residente 2017 debut singles Residente songs 2017 songs Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Song Culture in Kyzyl Songs written by Residente