August 7, 1998
By Nekesa Mumbi Moody
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
NEW YORK - Growing up in the Bronx, Veronica grooved to the likes of New Edition, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and other rhythm 'n' blues artists.
But when the 23-year-old Latina singer launched her own recording career and decided to sing rhythm 'n' blues, her choice of music was questioned because of her Puerto Rican heritage.
``It's really hard just to be an R&B artist and not be black,'' said Veronica, who goes only by her first name. She scored a modest hit earlier this year with the single ``Rise,'' the title track of her second album.
``I always get ... , 'Oh, well, you're Spanish, so you must sing like salsa or freestyle music,''' she says. ``I just have to deal with a lot of things.''
Veronica is certainly not the first Hispanic to sing rhythm 'n' blues. The 1980s band Lisa the Cult Jam was fronted by a Latina singer, and a few other groups with Latino members, such as All for One, have had hits on the rhythm 'n' blues charts over the years. Others have not been as successful, like the group Nu Flavor, whose debut album was virtually ignored last year.
Still, Hispanic artists who steer from ``traditional'' Latin music like salsa or merengue and sing rhythm 'n' blues sometimes run into problems. In many instances, record companies simply do not know how to market their music, and many so-called ``urban'' radio stations put these acts on the back burner.
Now, an upstart record label has emerged that is dedicated to Latino artists, giving them a platform to perform whatever kind of music they want.
``There's a huge population of Hispanic youth who are assimilating into the American culture, that are still tied to their roots, and hopefully we will give the opportunity to a lot of artists to record what they want to record,'' says producer Jellybean Benitez, founder of H.O.L.A. Recordings.
H.O.L.A. stands for Home of Latino Artists. Benitez, who has worked with entertainers like Madonna and Michael Jackson, decided to start the label so up-and-coming Hispanic acts wouldn't face the same barriers he ran into when he was breaking into the music scene.
``I went through the same things, like, 'So you're Latino, and you want to do black, urban music?' or 'You want to do rock 'n' roll?' They couldn't really quite put a finger on what it was or categorize me,'' he said.
H.O.L.A. is designed for ``artists of Hispanic descent to come and record an album in English or in Spanish, half-and-half ... there are no parameters set up,'' says Benitez, whose parents are from Puerto Rico.
The record company was formed in October 1996 and has 10 artists on its roster, including Veronica, rapper Hurricane G and the group Voices of Theory. The all-male quintet from Philadelphia has one of the summer's most popular songs, ``Say It,'' the first single from the self-titled debut ``Voices of Theory.'' The single has broken the top 20 on the rhythm 'n' blues and pop charts.
(Since the song's release, one member, David Cordova, has been forced to leave the group while he awaits a kidney transplant.)
``We're breaking all the stereotypes,'' said group member Mechi Cebollero. ``H.O.L.A. reminds me of a Latin Motown. ... They had their own sound and they did what they wanted to do.''
Except for a Spanish version of ``Say It,'' Voices of Theory's CD is pure rhythm 'n' blues, with soulful ballads reminiscent of the group's mentors, Boyz II Men. This shouldn't come as a surprise, because Boyz II Men's Mike McCary wrote a few songs on the album. In contrast, Veronica's effort mixes Spanish music and phrases throughout her album, adding spice to the Rstew.
Voices of Theory's success comes on the heels of other Latino breakthroughs in rhythm 'n' blues this year. For example, one of the hottest records in hip-hop is Latino rapper Big Pun's ``Still Not a Player.''
However, Hispanic musicians still must overcome barriers, according to Veronica, who says some urban radio stations don't give Latino singers enough support. Her first album, on Mercury Records, fizzled.
``No matter what anybody says - 'We're all one people' - that's not true, and that's not how black radio looks at it either,'' she says.
Black listeners, on the other hand, have been overwhelmingly favorable, she says.
``If I were to take a poll right now, I would say most of my fan mail comes from black people, and second would come the Latinos,'' she says.
``So many people that I've dealt with are like, 'Why don't you just leave this R(stuff) alone? There's too much drama to go through,' and I'm like, 'No, because if I do that I'm giving up.' ... and I'm trying to be a pioneer,'' she says.
The members of Voices of Theory agree.
``What we started at H.O.L.A ... hopefully in three more years, there will be Grammys for the best Latino R People will see us and won't be scared to go for a Latino singing R'' Cebollero said.
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