A lot of people might not have realized that the Black Eyed Peas is a very eclectic group in terms of ethnicity, and Taboo is the Latino one. He’s never been shy of his heritage, and he tries to showcase it as much as he can. He’s one proud Mexican with international success. At the Latin Billboard Awards last year, we saw a very fashionable Taboo making his way through the red carpet, very proud of a new project he was still figuring out. The singer, who joked around saying people often confuse him for Filipino, said he was putting together a Spanglish solo album focused more on the Latino market, embracing his roots and thanking the community for all the support through the years.
Being one who keeps his promises, Taboo released a new single, “Zumbao,” which will surely make you stand up and want to dance. Latin Times spoke with him on the phone, and he explained that at this stage, he will only be releasing singles, no album yet, but he’s very excited to reach the Hispanic community and being able to be himself and bring this new material. He explained what “Zumbao” means and why it’s so meaningful to him, despite “not saying much” but mentioning names or things.
Where did the inspiration for Zumbao come from?
The thing about it is I’m Mexican. First of all, to be able to speak to my community and to make a song that best represents my childhood, growing up with "El Chavo del Ocho," growing up with Los Bukis, Juan Gabriel, growing up with "Los Pitufos," not "The Smurfs," but "Los Pitufos," so knowing that I wanted to do something that best represented my childhood, while in turn, being able to do something that best represented my pride and "el orgullo Latino." I wanted to be able to showcase that. In the Black Eyed Peas we all have our individual community. Apl’s from the Philippines, he appeals to the Filipino community, will.i.am has a big fan base in England and all over the world. What I wanted to do was to best represent my community and what I’ve done with the Peas is so international and so across the board that when I my project came on board, I wanted to do something that appealed to Latinos but that also was able to be so contagious that it would spread across the world.
How do you feel about this new project, what do you expect from it?
First of all, I’m very humbled by the experience because I’ve been working very hard on trying to release music, especially music that represents the fun and the excitement that I’m having right now in my life. The last three years have been the most exciting, I guess you can say the most memorable times of my life, because you gotta understand, not only have I been able to tour as an individual and build a fan base in my community, but also just becoming a better father and a better husband and appreciating the moments that I have with my family but also creating music and touring around the world with my new project.
Where did the term Zumbao come from?
The song was written by myself and a composer, great writer named Paulina Aguirre from Ecuador, and she helped me write the lyrics in Spanish. I came up with the idea of Zumbao being like a soccer chant, I wanted it to be something for the World Cup. So I said "Hey Paulina, we gotta think about a word that’s gonna go through the whole song, but it can’t be a word like 'baila,' or 'brinca' or 'mami' or 'mi gente.' It has to be something that’s different and that’s very unique in Spanish." So we started looking up different words, and the word "Zumbado" came up and it was cool but it just sounded so correct, too proper. So I said "How about 'Zumbao?'" So I started formulating how I wanted to do the arrangement and I thought about incorporating the people who inspired me since I was a kid.
What does Zumbao mean to you?
Zumbao can go both ways. It can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing. Like Alex Rodriguez. I mention him ‘cause he’s Zumbao in a different way. He’s not Zumbao like Juan Gabriel or El Chavo del Ocho. Zumbao can go either way like, "Yo, Donald Sterling, that dude is Zumbao, he’s crazy!" Or, "This interview is crazy Zumbao!" The word Zumbao is gonna transcend what people’s meaning of the word is. It can be anything that you want, it can go either way.
Is the whole project an album?
I think it’s gonna be more singles. It will equal up to an album but right now I’m in the singles game. Releasing singles and not having too many expectations because once you have expectations you’re setting yourself up for failure and I’ve already succeeded, because I’ve dreamed of always putting out a song or music, and I’ve done it. It’s gonna spread organically, it’s not gonna blow up overnight. It’s not what the Peas is, the Peas is a machine. It’s got crazy backing. This is more organic. I want it to be about Zumbao. I don’t want it to be about Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas. I want it to be about Zumbao the movement, the dance, the reach in the Latin community, speaking to the people and just embrace it. See, when I created Zumbao, I didn’t want to change the world with the song, and I wasn’t trying to create the next rocket science math equation. So when people say "You’re not really saying much in the song," well, yes I am. I’m telling you what my inspirations are since I was a kid, I’m letting you know how proud I am of being Latino, and at the same time I just wanna have a good time and act Zumbao. I wanna get crazy and wild, every song it’s not gonna be a "Where is the Love" or "We are the World," because people wanna have fun. When you go to a club you wanna just lose your mind and get crazy and wild and that’s what Zumbao is. Zumbao is just a representation of who I am. When I step on that stage I’m the ultimate lightning rod and I just love to amplify the energy wherever I am. If it’s in Mexico, South America or Los Angeles, when I step on that stage everything’s gonna become Zumbao.
You spoke about Zumbao “the movement.” Why is it a movement? What are you planning to do with this?
First of all, I created a dance to go with it. I wanted to do that to, so I said, "You know what? With my project it’s not just gonna be about the song, it’s also gonna be about the dance, the community we’re reaching, it’s gonna be about the gear that we wear and the terminology Zumbao." It’s not just a word, it’s an actual thing that will represent a culture. To be part of Zumbao the movement is to actually say "I’m gonna let my inhibitions go, I’m not gonna worry about what people think of me, I’m just gonna believe in myself and I’m gonna dream, because dreams do come true." And Zumbao is the prime example of me saying "Hey, I’m part of Black Eyed Peas, but now, my new mission and my new dream is to be able to release something that will start small, organically and reach my community first," and then it will spread to people that do not speak Spanish, people who are not from Latino background, because of how infectious it is. When you hear the beat you just wanna dance.
Throughout this new aspect of your career, will you be releasing a single with another artist or just you?
Right now the only people that I have worked with is Juanes, Sie7e from Puerto Rico, and I’m trying to lock down a collaboration with Marco Antonio Solís.
The music video is almost ready now, what was the best part of shooting it?
I shot the video in Los Angeles, and then we shot some of it in Malibu. It was cool because it was the frist time that I got to be part of the choreography. Me as a co-choreographer. Me and Kathryn Burns, the woman who choreographed Pharell’s ‘Happy.’ We got together with her assistant Justin ‘Jet Li’ Valles, and I already had the moves, I already had the Zumbao dance and I said "Hey this is how I wanna do it, I wanna incorporate this style and re-invent what I used to do in the past and make it cool for what’s going on now." So she kinda fine-tuned what I already had, and the movement that Zumbao evokes and we created this ultimate dance sequence at the end, and I’ve always wanted to do that. Showcase that side of me.
You’re also working with different schools to improve their music programs, how are you doing that?
A couple months ago I did a high school tour where I would go to different high schools in the United States and we would donate $10,000 on behalf of Music Cares and myself to be able to save the music and arts programs. So during that time period I would go to the schools and do this forums with 300 kids, and I would talk to them about the importance of music and arts and about my experience.
If you haven't listened to Taboo's new single "Zumbao" yet, click play and enjoy. Also, don't forget to follow him on Facebook and Twitter to find out more about the Zumbao movement!
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