About Maria Isa

What happens when a sexy Boricua emcee born to Nuyorican parents, and raised in America's heartland, serves up entre' after entre' of spicy Afro-Boricua rhythms of Bomba and Plena, seasons them with Motown funk and old-school Rhythm and Blues, adds a generous helping of Fania's Salsa Bugaloo-style fusion and, for good measure, peppers these with hot R&B remixes served up on a platter generously garnished with candent "Spanglish" freestyle and lyrical poetry? You get a sensation in the person of Maria Isa, whose pioneering Latin hip-hop fusion is as forceful for its lyricism as for its call to social activism.

Hailing from the Twin City of St. Paul, Minnesota, Maria Isa and SotaRico (her production company named for her dual cultural heritage comprising Minnesota and Puerto Rico) form the hottest new independent label, "a total sound fusion," blowing up the Latin hip-hop scene everywhere and in between.

Beginning her arts education at El Arco Iris Center for the Arts in 1992, Maria quickly progressed from the role of student to the role of singer, songwriter, emcee and performer, cranking out several hits and playing to a sold-out historic First Avenue Nightclub in Minneapolis played by such greats as Tina Turner, B.B. King, Atmosphere, Prince and U2. Tirelessly promoting her own music to audiences both nationally and abroad (her latest CD, Street Politics, have reached the shores of Japan, the United Kingdom and Costa Rica), and by then producing her own tracks, she became the only female of three emcees chosen to perform at Time Machine Squad's 2005 hip hop fest as well as the Puerto Rican Hip Hop Festival, and she was nominated to the Minnesota Music Award's "Best Hip-Hop Artist" category in 2006. In 2008 she again hooked up with Time Machine Squad, performing at its 2008 "express ya skills" hip hop fest following the 2007 debut of her album, M.I. Split Personalities. Street Politics was released in New York City in June 2009.

With a lusty, vibrant sound suggestive of pop sensation Vickie Sue Robinson and Gloria Estefan, Maria at times infuses into the music a haunting sound quality reminiscent of Miriam Makeba-a sound that, for all its contemporary flavor, hearkens back to the African masters of a bygone era.

But perhaps her greatest contributions to the art lie beyond the confines of the dance hall or the recording studio. An avid social activist, Maria uses her talents to create social change. In 2002 she co-founded the dance group, Raices (meaning "roots"), whose extant mission is to conserve ancestral Puerto Rican heritage through folkloric music and dance. In addition, Maria organizes various social events-walkathons, fundraisers, etc-to raise money and public awareness for juvenile diabetes. She also collaborates with Youth Thrive to organize "Day of Peace" motivational workshops for incarcerated youth, and has collaborated with Peace Jam to host various Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. She is the hot subject of discussion for at least one major recording label; has been cast in several theatrical events including her debut, Snapshots: Life in the City by David Grant, directed by Ron Pelusco, music by J. D. Steele, which premiered at the History Theatre in St. Paul, and as "Mimi" in the Guthrie Lab production of Rent in Minneapolis; has been featured among the "Four Young Artists to Watch" in Twin Cities Metro, and is slated to be featured among the "10 Most Interesting Singles" in the MPLS-St. Paul. She will also soon enjoy a 37-picture compilation in an upcoming issue of Minneapolis's City Pages, where she features the latest in winter fashion.

Maria has to date performed with a variety of artists: Julio Voltio, Plena Libre, Brother Ali, Dan Wilson, La India, Slick Rick, Bahamadia, Medusa, Paracumbe, Digable Planets, The Roots, Semisonic, Velcro, Tek One, Babalu Machete, Time Machine Squad, RokaFela, Popmaster Fabel, The Alkaholiks, Sofrito!, Freeway, the Welfare Poets, and the list goes on. Regardless with whom she shares the stage however, her greatest joy comes from planting the seeds of political and social change through her performances, which she describes as "The United Nations roundtable meets MAC lip gloss fantastic."
Another thing about Maria Isa: she's got a way with words.

Imported from Puerto Rico, Produced in the Twin Cities...Flavor for the World!