Latino rap in Barcelona: Diaspora, languages and identities

This paper investigates the sociolinguistic and semiotic aspects that make up Latino style in Barcelona. It draws on interviews, songs, video clips, and observations collected ethnographically, from February to May 2015, with young people from Latin America who produce rap in Barcelona. It examines the role of the dynamics of diaspora, hip-hop discourse, and the experience of schooling in the construction of Latino identity in Barcelona. It finds hybridity in identification and language practices, as well as a disconnection with schooling, which echoes the findings of prior research carried out with Latino youth in Barcelona. This paper contributes to the conceptualisation of authenticity in hip-hop in relation to migratory experience, speech styles, and locality in Barcelona.