The Chicharones are an American/Canadian

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

duo, composed of

Sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

Oldominion Oldominion is an American hip hop collective, consisting of more than twenty members. It was described by Casey Jarman of ''Willamette Week'' as the "Northwest's largest hip-hop crew" which "united the local underground rap scene for the first ti ...

and

Josh Martinez Matthew Edward Kimber (born August 6, 1977), better known by his stage name Josh Martinez, is a Canadian rapper, record producer and record label executive. In the early 2000s, Martinez started his own label, Camobear Records, to which fellow r ...

, and are usually accompanied by DJ Zone. They are known for their socially conscious lyrics, energetic live performances and strong underground following.

History

The Chicharones formed in 2001 after a chance meeting between

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

-based Sleep and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

-based Josh Martinez at the ''

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

'' music festival in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. Sleep was at the time a member of the hip hop collective Oldominion, of which he is still an active collaborator. Josh Martinez entered the duo from a career as a solo artist. Their name is a reference to chicharrones, a fried

pork rind Pork rind is the culinary term for the skin of a pig. It can be used in many different ways. It can be rendered, fried in fat, baked, or roasted to produce a kind of pork cracklings (US) or scratchings (UK); these are served in small pieces ...

snack popular in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

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 ...

. The duo debuted with the ''Boss Hogs EP'' in 2003. The EP garnered critical praise, with URB magazine describing it as "a completely original masterpiece." They did not immediately release a full album, however, instead dedicating their energy to touring and developing a fan base. At their peak, Martinez and Sleep delivered over two-hundred international performances a year, with shows involving

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

-inspired high kicks, fake moustaches and costume changes, including a tribute to

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

and

Luigi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

of the

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

franchise. Technically, they incorporated bass machines, two-part harmony and live drum sets. The Chicharones' dedication to touring eventually led to an international underground following.

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

magazine described the duo as "the best bar band in America," delivering an "innovative and entirely unique hybrid of clever pop melodies and intelligent, layered songwriting that orrowedfrom everywhere and oundedlike nothing else." The Chicharones released their second EP, ''Pork Rind Music'', in 2005, and followed with their debut full-length album, ''When Pigs Fly'', later that year. ''When Pigs Fly'' resulted in a music video for the track "Breaking Point," which followed the struggles of a young Mexican traveller driven to drinking and theft in a rural desert town. In 2006, Sleep and Martinez began focusing on solo projects. The Chicharones have shared the road and stage with acts including

Streetlight Manifesto Streetlight Manifesto is an American ska punk band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, formed in 2002. They released their first album, ''Everything Goes Numb'', which was distributed by Victory Records, on August 26, 2003. The band he ...

Pigeon John John Kenneth Dust (born John Kenneth Dunkin: November 30, 1972), better known by the stage name Pigeon John, is an American rapper based in Los Angeles, California. He is a former member of L.A. Symphony. Early life Pigeon John claims that his ...

Mickey Avalon Mickey Avalon (born Yeshe Perl; December 3, 1975) is an American rapper from Hollywood, California. His debut self-titled solo album was released Nov. 7, 2006 on Interscope/Shoot to Kill Records in association with MySpace Records. Frequent topi ...

Lionize Lionize is an American rock band based in Montgomery County, Maryland. The sound of the band is rooted in hard rock and heavy metal, but they frequently experiment with varying sounds, such as reggae, dub music, go-go, and funk. The band line-u ...

, Rodney Blake Powell and many others. They also were on the

Warped Tour 2012 The Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the l ...

where they headlined "The Bring It Back Stage" and played multiple dates on "The Ernie Ball Stage."

Recent work

After a three-year hiatus, the pair rejoined in 2009. Their first release was ''Swine Country'', a work Martinez described as "inspired by James Dean, heist movies, broken hearts and sweet, sweet revenge." The Chicharones again garnered critical recognition, including an Independent Music Award in 2009 for best rap album and a Northwest Music Award for Best Live Band. The pair continued to be prolific in the studio, releasing ''Swine Flew Over the Coocoo's Nest'' and ''Toke City Special'' in 2010. ''Toke City Special'' was released as a digital free album, available at their website. The single "Hi Hey Hello" was featured in a Brazilian Samsung Galaxy S4 Commercial, released June 12, 2013.

South by Southwest and Commercial Work

The Chicharones have played at the ''South by Southwest'' music festival each consecutive year since their formation there in 2001. In 2010, they hosted the 4th annual ''South by Southwest Chicharones Boat Party'' with

Solillaquists of Sound Solillaquists of Sound, often shortened to Solilla, is an American hip-hop quartet based in Orlando, Florida. Its line up currently consists of MCs Alexandrah and Swamburger, poet Tonya Combs and producer/composer Divinci. Solillaquists utiliz ...

Killah Priest Walter Reed (born August 16, 1970), better known by his stage name Killah Priest, is an American rapper, member of Sunz of Man and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville, Brooklyn. He is known for his inten ...

Blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets. Introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

and

Illogic Jawhar Glass (born January 18, 1980), better known by his stage name Illogic, is an American indie hip hop artist from Columbus, Ohio.Mills, BradIllogic Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2011-06-05 He has collaborated with many artists—particula ...

. Outside of their live performances, they have licensed multiple songs for action sports videos, including

Fuel TV Fox Sports 2 (FS2) is an American sports-oriented pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. The channel is based at the Fox Sports division's headquarters on the Fox Studio Lot in the Century Ci ...

, Warren Miller’s Ski Series, Solomon Riders Guide and the

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

Action Sports Series. They have also licensed songs for television shows, including The Hills,

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

Flavor of Love 2 The second season of the VH1 reality television series '' Flavor of Love'' brings female contestants into the mansion of Flavor Flav to compete for his love. The second season first aired weekly from August 6, 2006 to October 29, 2006, with a to ...

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

’s Beach Party 2009, and movies such as

Live Free or Die Hard ''Live Free or Die Hard'' (released as ''Die Hard 4.0'' outside North America) is a 2007 American action-thriller film directed by Len Wiseman, and serves as the fourth installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. It is based on the 1997 articl ...

and

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

Discography

;Albums * ''

When Pigs Fly The phrase "when pigs fly" (alternatively, "pigs might fly") is an adynaton—a figure of speech so hyperbolic that it describes an impossibility. The implication of such a phrase is that the circumstances in question (the adynaton, and the circ ...

'' (2005) * ''Swine Flew'' (2012) ;EPs * ''Boss Hogs EP'' (2003) * ''Pork Rind Disco EP'' (2005) * ''Swine Country'' (2009) ;Mixtapes * ''Por Que? (Pork Eh?)'' (2012) ;Compilations * ''Toke City Special'' (2010) ;Live * ''On and Cracklin (2006) * ''Live in Bozeman, MT'' (2009)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chicharones, The American musical duos Musical groups established in 2001 American hip hop groups