Presented By Cheetos
Isabela Raygoza, Billboard Español Associate Editor moderates a conversation with four creatives (Kiko Baez, Omar Courtz, Saiko and Yudy Arias) discuss how they are actively using their mark to uplift and inspire their community and future generations with their art at Billboard’s Latin Music Week 2024.
Isabela Raygoza moderada una conversación con cuatro creativos (Kiko Baez, Omar Courtz, Saiko and Yudy Arias) cuentan cómo están activamente cambiando el mundo a través de su arte.
Isabela Raygoza, Billboard Español Associate Editor moderates a conversation with four creatives (Kiko Baez, Omar Courtz, Saiko and Yudy Arias) discuss how they are actively using their mark to uplift and inspire their community and future generations with their art at Billboard’s Latin Music Week 2024.
Isabela Raygoza moderada una conversación con cuatro creativos (Kiko Baez, Omar Courtz, Saiko and Yudy Arias) cuentan cómo están activamente cambiando el mundo a través de su arte.
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MusicTranscript
00:00Darian gave me the opportunity to collaborate with him.
00:04And not only did he give me the opportunity to collaborate with him,
00:07but he also performed at our first massive concert in Puerto Rico.
00:13So, for me, D-Y has been a great inspiration since I was a kid.
00:27Good morning, how are you?
00:31Well, first of all, thank you, Cheetos, for making this meeting possible
00:36and for providing us yummy snacks throughout the week.
00:39So, thank you.
00:41And thank you to our guests, because we now have a very exciting conversation.
00:46As you know, we are celebrating music all week.
00:50So, first of all, I would like to start with everyone introducing themselves.
00:55And before that, since we are talking about how to leave your mark,
01:01which artists or songs have left their mark on you
01:06when it comes to launching a project or being in a session?
01:11Okay, good morning, how are you?
01:14Good!
01:16My name is Judy Arias.
01:18I am a yoga and meditation instructor, but I have been in music for 16 years.
01:24I started my career, so to speak, unintentionally, loving it a lot,
01:31with my nephew, Maluma.
01:33We started his career from scratch.
01:36I have learned to love this.
01:39And I mixed yoga and meditation with everything we have done in this time.
01:45And it has been an incredible match.
01:48I recommend it from the bottom of my heart.
01:50And right now I work on his label,
01:53Royalty Records, which is where my label partners should be.
01:57And I am very happy and excited to share as little or as much as I know,
02:01along with new talents and new artists.
02:06Good morning.
02:07My name is Kiko Baez.
02:08I am a fashion designer.
02:10Now we have had the opportunity to work with great artists
02:14such as Wisin & Yandel, Karol G, Fade, Maluma, Balvin,
02:19among many others.
02:20We grew up listening to them as children.
02:23And today we work with them, which is a great blessing.
02:26And I think we are leaving our mark in that way,
02:29really creating a new concept for the fashion designer
02:34and doing it culturally.
02:36In other words, it is not only fashion design and being behind an artist,
02:40but also supporting him in his day-to-day life
02:43and really being here, which is a great blessing.
02:47Hello, everyone from Miami.
02:49There is a river over there.
02:50How, how, how, how?
02:53My name is Saiko and I am from Spain.
02:55I am an artist from Spain.
02:57I am 22 years old.
02:58And...
03:00Well, I started very recently, really, to work harder.
03:06Now in Spain, because I am one of the most important artists in my country.
03:10And I always try to represent my country, to take it everywhere,
03:14especially my city.
03:15I am from a city called Granada.
03:16I am from the south of Spain.
03:18And for me it is like a pride that people in my city feel represented by me
03:22and that they choose me as a representative.
03:25I really don't feel like a representative of anyone,
03:28but still people do feel that I represent them.
03:31So it makes me feel very proud,
03:33because in the end I am a 22-year-old kid
03:35who has always been a fan of music,
03:37has always been a fan of all the artists I know today,
03:40even the ones I work with today.
03:42I see them in the studio and I say,
03:44but I listen to them in my playlist.
03:46I release an album and I listen to it right now.
03:48So that's basically me,
03:50a 22-year-old kid from Spain making music.
03:53And I am very happy to be here in Miami,
03:55representing my country, especially my city, Granada.
04:02Hello, my name is Ozzy.
04:03My name is Omar Coles.
04:07Hard, hard, hard.
04:09I am an artist, composer, producer.
04:13I come from the island of charm, from Puerto Rico.
04:18And for me it is an honor to be here with people I respect,
04:21who I appreciate a lot.
04:23And I think that leaving a mark for me is passing the baton, right?
04:29The next generations and my inspirations are the colleagues
04:33with whom I work, with whom I am in music,
04:36like Psyche himself, he inspires me a lot too.
04:41And I try to leave a mark like that in other colleagues
04:44and the next generations that come after us too.
04:52And well, in honor of this panel,
04:54leaving your mark,
04:56I would also love to know who have been the people
05:01who have left a significant mark on your lives?
05:06People from the industry or people who have inspired me.
05:11Definitely, I have to talk about my nephew.
05:15I tell him, I am your teacher.
05:18Maluma.
05:19I am your teacher, but he is my teacher right now.
05:22I ask him for a lot of advice on things.
05:24He is a person who has become very wise
05:26and has acquired an incredible emotional intelligence
05:29in all aspects.
05:31Besides, I admire his tranquility.
05:34With the years, he knows that being rooted,
05:38being connected, being humble is the biggest thing.
05:43So I think him.
05:45Yes, for me personally, it has been my grandfather and my mother.
05:49They have really been like my bases growing up
05:52and those who have kept me firm, dreaming
05:55and doing all these kinds of things.
05:57In terms of industry, definitely Wisin and Yandel.
06:00They have been like those people who supported me
06:03when I was just a little kid with a dream.
06:06They saw my talent and supported me little by little
06:09until I worked in their cholis,
06:11which has been one of the most emotional things for me.
06:15Wisin and Yandel, more than anything,
06:19because I have been listening to them since I was 5 years old
06:22and it's crazy to think that they were the ones who gave me a hand.
06:27Well, even though I am from Spain,
06:29it's a little bit the same because I have been listening
06:31to Latin American music since I was 7 years old.
06:33Thanks to my brother, my older brother,
06:35whose name is Jesus,
06:37and thanks to him I started to get to know
06:39all the Latin American music.
06:41I have been listening to that music
06:43since I was 7 years old.
06:45I didn't even know who Daddy Yankee or Don Omar were,
06:47but I listened to their songs.
06:49So indirectly I grew up with this music.
06:52And honestly, if I have to say artists,
06:55I think an artist is made of what he consumes,
06:58of the music he listens to.
07:00I have always been inspired by the discipline of Mike Tower.
07:03Mike Tower is an artist who inspires me a lot
07:05in terms of personality, his discipline,
07:07his way of working.
07:09He is a very hard-working person.
07:11And there is an artist in Spain who is from my city,
07:13basically from my town,
07:15whose name is De La Fuente,
07:17and he has always inspired me a lot
07:19because he is a very mystical person
07:21and he has a very serious job,
07:23and I respect him a lot.
07:25So those two people,
07:27honestly, if those two people didn't exist,
07:29then maybe Psycho wouldn't exist either
07:31in a very different way,
07:33because I feel that they have inspired me a lot
07:35as a person and as an artist.
07:38Well, for me personally,
07:40just like all of us,
07:42I think we are inspired by big stars, right?
07:44From music, from fashion.
07:46I feel identified like that too,
07:48like Wisin Yandel, as they said,
07:50like Mike Tower.
07:52I am also inspired by all those people,
07:54all those big stars,
07:56but I think that when I achieved
07:58my biggest inspiration,
08:00it was when I saw my own colleagues
08:02with whom I grew up,
08:04like Dave B, like John Mico,
08:06like John Chimney,
08:08like Psy,
08:10that I see them,
08:12I saw them starting with me
08:14and I see how big they have become,
08:16the stadiums they fill,
08:18I see the great team they have behind them,
08:20I see how they carry that weight
08:22and how they carry it,
08:24and how they have evolved,
08:26that is my biggest inspiration too.
08:28And well, Omar,
08:30we recently had a chat
08:32and your trajectory has been
08:34very interesting to me, right?
08:36Because the first time
08:38I discovered you was when
08:40you collaborated with Tiny,
08:42with Mike Tower, Spad Bunny,
08:44and well, you also had the opportunity
08:46to perform at the Coliseum.
08:48In fact, any artist
08:50who plays there is like, you've made it, right?
08:52You've made it, and it was very nice.
08:54In fact, if we can play the video
08:56of Omar Kortz,
08:58to show you that moment.
09:24It's hard that you brought
09:26the Coliseum as well,
09:28because that was at the
09:30Tiny Data concert,
09:32that was at the Coliseum of Puerto Rico,
09:34but that video we showed,
09:36that was my first massive in Puerto Rico,
09:38Darian King gave me
09:40the opportunity
09:42to collaborate with him,
09:44and not only did he give me the opportunity
09:46to collaborate with him,
09:48but he also performed
09:50at that first massive concert
09:52in Puerto Rico.
09:54So, for me, D-Way
09:56has been a great inspiration
09:58since I was a kid.
10:00I remember imitating him
10:02at Talent Show, dressing like him,
10:04putting on his clothes,
10:06going to his concerts,
10:08and being on the same stage with him.
10:10That's what I say,
10:12that's the way I try to take my fingerprints,
10:14that they identify with me,
10:16that they can have a story like mine.
10:18For me, it was
10:20important to have
10:22one of my idols
10:24there in concert with me,
10:26to inspire other people
10:28to feel the same way as I do.
10:32Well, Yuri,
10:34you have been a real force
10:36in the world of well-being
10:38and spirituality,
10:40and you have trained Maluma,
10:42but also great figures
10:44like Madonna, Juanes,
10:46and many more.
10:48I would also like to show
10:50a clip for the audience
10:52with Maluma. It's very nice.
10:54If we can play Yuri's clip, please.
11:12Could you tell us
11:14what it means for you to have the opportunity
11:16to combine your professional life
11:18with personal and special moments like this one?
11:22Well, everything
11:24that has to do with that process
11:26is very valuable for me,
11:28and also very important.
11:30As a family, to be able to
11:32come from nothing,
11:34from absolutely nothing,
11:36to achieve such great things
11:38that we never thought
11:40would happen in our lives.
11:42We always work without expectation.
11:44I tell artists
11:46that they work with love,
11:48from love, but without expectation.
11:50Expectations create frustration.
11:52So, the most important moments
11:54have definitely
11:56been in the family,
11:58clearly,
12:00and that represents, once again,
12:02what is firm, what is rooted.
12:04There are moments
12:06of a lot of craziness
12:08in fame, in popularity,
12:10but I want you to understand
12:12that family is everything.
12:14There are deeper things,
12:16that are heard, that live in the moment,
12:18that are hyper, mega happy,
12:20but that happens.
12:22Everything happens.
12:24Everything comes, everything happens,
12:26and everything changes,
12:28but family is everything that will always be there.
12:30Be happy with that.
12:36Well, Kiko,
12:38your career has also
12:40been fascinating,
12:42because you are from Tijuana,
12:44a compatriot.
12:46You started in the flea markets,
12:48in the swap meets,
12:50just like my family,
12:52so I identify, but now you have designed
12:54for a lot of artists and boxers,
12:56Canelo, and well,
12:58I would also like to show
13:00a clip of the work
13:02that Kiko has done.
13:04If we can play that video, please.
13:10Oh no,
13:12it's going to be beautiful.
13:20Well,
13:22and seeing your fashion,
13:24being highlighted by people
13:26who are very important,
13:28boxers and artists,
13:30how do you feel
13:32knowing that your work is impacting
13:34those lives, and seeing your swag on them?
13:36It really is a dream.
13:38It's a very big dream.
13:40I think, as you say,
13:42coming from Tijuana in Mexico,
13:44it's a city where
13:46those kinds of possibilities didn't exist.
13:48Mexico is not cataloged
13:50for fashion, much less Tijuana.
13:52Tijuana, being a border,
13:54is more cataloged to work
13:56and export to the United States,
13:58but more as a manufacturing.
14:00I think I had that dream since I was a kid.
14:02As you said,
14:04curiously, I was going to work
14:06with my dad to sell clothes,
14:08and I didn't like it because I was 5 years old
14:10until the lady next to me changed,
14:12and she was a lady who sold pirated records.
14:14It was in 2005 with the extraterrestrials
14:16of Wisin and Andel.
14:18From then on, I wanted to go to work
14:20because my mom wouldn't let me listen
14:22to Wisin and Andel at home
14:24because I was a 5-year-old kid.
14:26But from then on, it was my motivation.
14:28I really hoped it would be Saturday or Sunday
14:30to be able to sing Abusadora
14:32and Sexy Movimiento when I was 5 years old.
14:34For me,
14:36believe me, it changed my life
14:38because I saw
14:40that being just a kid,
14:42it changed my chip
14:44of wanting to work for a motivation,
14:46which was music.
14:48And little by little,
14:50this dream came true,
14:52which is crazy,
14:54as you said.
14:56You don't see the time fly,
14:58you don't see the moment
15:00when you're listening to your favorite artist's new album
15:02and you're still working.
15:04For me, it's been crazy.
15:06Being here is a dream.
15:08Thank you for the invitation.
15:16Iseco, you just released an incredible album.
15:18In fact,
15:20I was also watching
15:22that you've broken
15:24records in Spain.
15:26You've been on stage
15:28with J Balvin.
15:30We would also like
15:32to watch a video.
15:34If we can play Psycho's video.
16:00J Balvin!
16:20Iconic!
16:24How have these experiences
16:26expanded your musical vision?
16:28Well,
16:30it's been an incredible year.
16:32In the end, when you start
16:34making music,
16:36you don't even have these goals.
16:38Because when you start making music,
16:40I wasn't thinking about making a stadium.
16:42Now maybe I can have the goal of making a stadium,
16:44but when I started,
16:46I didn't even know if 50 people would listen to me.
16:48So what happened to me this year,
16:50of releasing an album,
16:52I don't know if it's been 13
16:54or 14 weeks,
16:56I've done a lot of stadiums
16:58by myself,
17:00we do the production ourselves.
17:02I think we've done
17:04one of the best shows in Spain.
17:06So,
17:08at the end of the day,
17:10I know I'm a normal kid.
17:12And I like that what I do
17:14can inspire
17:16other artists.
17:18I don't consider myself or want to be an example of anything.
17:20But it's true that
17:22I like to be an inspiration for many people.
17:24And this year has been incredible.
17:26And it's true that, for example,
17:28I'm excited to be heard in Chile,
17:30I'm excited to be heard in Mexico,
17:32in Puerto Rico,
17:34in Spain, but honestly,
17:36like the stadium we've seen there,
17:38the stadium of my city, the team of my city,
17:40which this year is the sponsor,
17:42and puts Psycho here,
17:44and on top of that, we've done the stadium twice,
17:4620,000 people every day,
17:48that's what excites me the most in the world.
17:50And it's not that I despise
17:52people from other countries or other cities,
17:54but honestly,
17:56and an artist will understand me,
17:58there's nothing like being crowned in your city.
18:00It's very difficult to be a prophet in your own city.
18:02And I'm lucky
18:04that this year I feel like I've consecrated my city,
18:06and for me that's the greatest thing there is.
18:14And Omar,
18:16what is the most important message
18:18you want to transmit to your followers?
18:22I think that's exactly
18:24what we're talking about with Psycho.
18:28Project yourself,
18:30work for what you want,
18:32just like
18:34you felt inspired
18:36once,
18:38understand what you're doing
18:40for other people,
18:42and I think that will help you
18:44to focus on what you want,
18:46to get involved,
18:48and to feel that...
18:50a responsibility
18:52that we have now,
18:54and use it well
18:56to inspire other generations,
18:58which is what I think
19:00when we leave this land
19:02is what we're going to leave.
19:06And the same question for you, Yuri.
19:08For me?
19:12Definitely inspire.
19:14I love what we're doing
19:16with Maluma's label,
19:18Royalty Records,
19:20which is...
19:22A lot of people tell me,
19:24wow, with Maluma,
19:26we achieved everything,
19:28but I'm going to tell you
19:30what I love most about the industry
19:32is the process.
19:34I find it so exciting
19:36to see young people
19:38who want to achieve a lot.
19:40To be able to put a grain of sand
19:42is everything that's good.
19:44You don't know how much I love
19:46how much I try to elevate it.
19:50I know it's a new topic,
19:52but I want to tell you
19:54something about mental health.
19:56If you're new in art,
19:58whatever you do,
20:00combine it with spirituality.
20:02It has nothing to do with God.
20:04Everything has to do with it.
20:06It's not something separate.
20:08So if one day
20:10you want to connect more
20:12with the universe,
20:14try to meditate a little
20:16and meditate for each situation
20:18because being an artist
20:20brings a lot of things.
20:22With that, you grow and elevate
20:24even more.
20:26Totally. And Kiko?
20:28Well, really,
20:30as my colleagues said,
20:32it's about inspiring
20:34all those kids
20:36who are in the same position as us
20:38and didn't see
20:40a ray of hope.
20:42They saw it very difficult
20:44to get to where I got.
20:46As we said, being from Tijuana,
20:48Mexico, when I started making clothes,
20:50they told me nothing was going to happen.
20:52They told me, no, you have to go to Los Angeles
20:54or New York and see
20:56if something happens.
20:58But I think I stayed very faithful
21:00to my beliefs.
21:02When I was young, I said,
21:04it's going to cost me twice as much,
21:06but I prefer to do it here,
21:08in Tijuana, in Mexico,
21:10and all those kids who grow up
21:12with a no, see it and have an example
21:14to follow.
21:16And more than anything, not only being a designer,
21:18but really being more than that.
21:20Inspiring, creating culture,
21:22having that saying
21:24that from now on
21:26we're going to do even bigger things
21:28than just fashion
21:30and keep creating, really keep creating,
21:32keep inspiring, and that's what fills me up
21:34today, really.
21:36And Saico?
21:38We're here thanks to all the people
21:40who listen to us, whether they're fans,
21:42because you can have fans, but there are people
21:44who aren't your fans, who don't go like crazy
21:46to the hotel behind you to ask for a picture,
21:48but who listen to your music because they like it.
21:50And in the end, all those people,
21:52myself,
21:54when I make music to vent,
21:56for me, really,
21:58it's not that I do it for anyone,
22:00but when I've been bad, I've had bad times
22:02in my life, I've had anxiety,
22:04I've had a bad time,
22:06but I've taken refuge in music,
22:08not just the one I make, but in music
22:10by artists I like, and it's helped me a lot.
22:12So, really,
22:14I've reached a point
22:16of thinking in music
22:18where I feel good
22:20when I release songs,
22:22not just songs, but when I interact
22:24with the audience, because I know
22:26there are people who are listening to this song
22:28and they're in the hospital,
22:30or maybe a family member
22:32has just passed away,
22:34and they write to me on Instagram,
22:36and I see those messages, and, hey,
22:38I've had a bad day, or I have family problems,
22:40or a family member has passed away,
22:42and your music is really helping me.
22:44And those are things that
22:46we don't think about every day,
22:48neither he nor I are thinking
22:50about whether a person is listening
22:52from a hospital,
22:54but those are things that happen,
22:56so from time to time I think about it,
22:58and I feel grateful because
23:00I've used the music of other artists
23:02to take refuge in it,
23:04and to feel good, and to be happy,
23:06maybe to not feel alone,
23:08and there are many people who have us as friends,
23:10but they don't know us,
23:12and I don't know them either,
23:14but those people feel that we're their friends,
23:16that they know us,
23:18as if we had gone to eat with their family,
23:20but we really don't know each other,
23:22so that's what I like about music,
23:24which has helped me,
23:26and I'm an artist who helps a lot of people,
23:28but even I use the music
23:30of other artists,
23:32and it helps me to feel good,
23:34so I think that's super important for us,
23:36and for us artists,
23:38not only singers,
23:40but artists in all areas,
23:42because what we do is
23:44stimulate people,
23:46I think we're also super important
23:48in their lives, because many times
23:50we're their only company.
23:56And well, this is the last question I have for you.
23:58How do you expect your work
24:00to impact future generations?
24:02Who wants to start?
24:06I can start, I can start.
24:08I think there are times
24:10when we don't realize
24:12that we're already impacting
24:14new generations.
24:16For example, when I did the song
24:18with Daryanki, the first time I did that song,
24:22we made a concept in the video,
24:24in the promotion,
24:26for example,
24:28I'm dancing on the field,
24:30and he says to me,
24:32brother, can you imagine a song with Daryanki?
24:34And I say, are you crazy?
24:36A song with Daryanki? Are you crazy?
24:38So I go there,
24:40and I walk to my car,
24:42and I pass by two other kids,
24:44a younger generation,
24:46and they ask each other,
24:48man, can you imagine a song with Omar?
24:50Omar Kors, you know?
24:52So we're already directly impacting
24:54the generations,
24:56and we don't realize it many times.
25:00We're directly impacting
25:02the generations without realizing it
25:04in the process.
25:06I think that's it, enjoying it
25:08and taking it into consideration.
25:12That theme, for example,
25:14I also put myself in the position
25:16of the colleagues in them,
25:18like, you know, we have
25:20some teams behind us,
25:22those teams have families,
25:24so for us it's inspiring
25:26everything that surrounds us
25:28and all those families,
25:30how they get together,
25:32so we're directly impacting
25:34those next generations without realizing it.
25:36Yuri?
25:38Well, I want us to understand
25:40as artists,
25:42if we're here it's because we're artists,
25:44that everything is possible,
25:46that there are no limits,
25:48neither in music nor in art,
25:50that you don't ask permission
25:52to be yourselves.
25:54If you want to be a singer right now,
25:56do it,
25:58and if it doesn't work for you,
26:00get out, that's it,
26:02nothing happens.
26:04If you want to be a sculptor
26:06and it turns out that on the way
26:08you became something else,
26:10that's fine, let's not set limits.
26:12We set our own limits,
26:14and when someone comes into your life
26:16and tells you that you can't,
26:18like J Balvin says,
26:20airplane fuel,
26:22that's where you have to put it all in.
26:24So believe in yourselves,
26:26it doesn't matter if the person next to you doesn't believe,
26:28but if you believe, it's enough.
26:34Yes, for me it's really the same,
26:36it's never stopping dreaming,
26:38that no one stops you,
26:40that no one tells you no,
26:42the simple fact of being here
26:44being a fashion designer
26:46with amazing artists
26:48is a dream.
26:50Right now, as Omar said,
26:52without realizing it,
26:54we are opening many doors
26:56and creating this new culture
26:58and inspiring these young people
27:00who were in the same position as us one day.
27:02So to really
27:04understand that everything is possible,
27:06all dreams are possible,
27:08and there are many things
27:10that maybe in your career
27:12are not possible,
27:14but believe in yourself,
27:16look for ways to do them,
27:18and open doors for the next generations,
27:20which is the most important thing,
27:22never stop dreaming.
27:24Well, I think everyone inspires,
27:26even the person who came with a hat,
27:28I can see it,
27:30and I like the hat,
27:32and tomorrow I feel like wearing the hat
27:34because it inspired me.
27:36So I think everyone inspires,
27:38so you have to give it to others,
27:40you have to receive it,
27:42and this type of great work
27:44inspires many people,
27:46just as many artists have inspired me,
27:48I see them and I have to keep working
27:50because look at this artist
27:52who has been touring for 5 years
27:54and I've been touring for a year
27:56and I'm already bald,
27:58so how is this going to be possible
28:00if this person is doing this?
28:02In the end, everyone inspires,
28:04more or less,
28:06and I always try to serve
28:08positive inspiration,
28:10I always try to do a good job
28:12so that, as he said,
28:14when children come,
28:16just as we are here,
28:18thanks to some artists
28:20who 5 years ago have done a job,
28:225, 10 years ago, 15 years ago,
28:24we are like a link
28:26to the chain,
28:28and one day there will be new generations,
28:30and we will have filled the ground
28:32to many artists,
28:34and I more than yes from Spain,
28:36because there the industry is different,
28:38and now it's starting to grow,
28:40especially the urban genre,
28:42there are many artists
28:44that I've seen interviews
28:46from 7 or 8 years ago
28:48that said it was all a forest,
28:50and now they are filling the ground
28:52so that artists in 5 or 10 years
28:54come and sweep,
28:56as we are saying,
28:58I can be me, you can be Quevedo,
29:00and in the end, artists like us
29:02we continue to fill the ground
29:04so that in 5 years there will be
29:06and that is what we leave,
29:08that is our legacy in the end.
29:10Well, thank you very much
29:12to each one of you,
29:14and also special thanks to Cheetos,
29:16and well, thank you for showing up.