Many were surprised when they played Kendrick Lamar's surprise album GNX and the first voice they hear is a woman singing in Spanish: “I felt your presence here last night and we started to cry.”
Well, that voice belongs to 49-year-old mariachi singer Deyra Barrera from Tucson, Arizona. Barrera became good friends with Mexican baseball player Fernando Valenzuela over the years after meeting him at Tepeyac Café in Los Angeles, according to Rolling Stone. So when the great Dodger died in October just as the LA dance club was set to meet the Yankees in the World Series, the mariachi singer was asked to sing in honor of her beloved friend before Game 1. Lamar happened to is present, and the rest is history.
“I was in tears, singing about my friend who died, in a packed stadium,” Barrera said. Rolling Stone. “And the elder Lamar was there. He heard me sing.”
Lamar, who was fresh off seemingly defeating Drake in one of the most notable rap battles in the history of the genre and being chosen to headline the Super Bowl halftime show, called Barrera into the studio. “I had no idea what I was going to record. I make mariachi, not rap,” he said. “They told me they wanted my style, my voice. I had no idea how it would end up on the record.” Adding, “He welcomed me and was so kind. He said, “You have such a strong voice. Thanks for coming.' I had no idea what to say,” she said of meeting the Compton rapper in the studio. “Lamar is a genius, a music teacher. Everything he makes is magical.”
She also mentioned waking up to a text from a friend telling her her voice was opening “Wacced Out Murals,” the album's opening track. “My skin is blistering because this all happened so fast for me,” she said. “I want to cry. That surprises me.”
There's no telling what Kendrick will play when he plays Super Bowl 59 in February, but he hopes to call him again. “I know Kendrick is going to do the Super Bowl halftime. … Imagine if he invited me to sing with him? That would be incredible,” he said. “I hope people know that it's Deyra Barrera that's on these songs.”
Be sure to stream her music as only some of it is available on DSP.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/kendrick-lamar-gnx-mariachi-singer-deyra-barrera-story-1235838467/
