El Dusty Celebrates Corpus Christi's Cumbia Scene with "Aye Papi"

El Dusty

The DJ/producer will play Jazz Fest in New Orleans this year as part of the celebration of Mexican music.

Corpus Christi-based DJ and producer El Dusty is scheduled to play Jazz Fest later this spring, and he has been productive this winter. In January, he and DJ Kane collaborated on “Tra Tra Tra,” a club-friendly combination of Afrobeats, electro cumbia, house and classic cumbia samples from vinyl records that he works into his mixes. Folding in accordions and other samples started as a way to differentiate himself from other DJs, but it became a crucial part of his musical practice.

Now, with Valentine’s Day recently behind us, he dropped “Aye Papi,” which he refers to as a tribute to Corpus Christi’s cumbia scene and the beautiful women in it. He’s joined by rappers Harlay and the Salvadoran artist Ratchetón.

Like all of El Dusty’s tracks, “Ai Papi’ and “Tra Tra Tra” put traditional sounds and rhythms in contemporary contexts. Dusty Oliveira first made his mark as a club DJ in Corpus Christi, where being two hours or so from the Mexican border meant that he would often have people in the club who would recognize and connect to traditional sounds folded in with the hip-hop, trap, house and dubstep that had currency in the clubs. His sound is also a more genuine reflection of the way traditional music fits in the lives of members of the Latinx community, one part of their identities, not the whole of it.