Kumbia Kings
| Kool Kumbia Kings | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Mexico, Mexico |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
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| Labels | EMI Latin |
| Associated acts |
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| Website | www |
Los Kumbia Kings was an American Mexican cumbia group from Corpus Christi, Texas, created by A.B. Quintanilla and Cruz Martinez. Their music encompasses the styles of cumbia (hence their name), hip hop, and R&B. They produce songs in both Spanish and English. The band's producers from the beginning have been Quintanilla and Cruz Martínez. Quintanilla is the brother of the late "Queen of Tejano", Selena. Quintanilla played bass guitar for the group, while Martínez, husband of international artist Alicia Villarreal, played keyboards. Both co-wrote songs for the Kumbia Kings. Though the group has gone through a revolving door of members in recent years amid controversy and finger-pointing, and the Kumbia Kings of today are vastly different from what originated in Corpus Christi over eight years ago, Quintanilla and Martínez were always the soul of the group. Gone are original members Frankie J and DJ Kane, both of whom have gone on to significant success as solo artists, as well as the group K1 (Kingz One), a collaboration of founding members of Kumbia Kings who have defected from the group for reason of "internal dissension". Quintanilla, Irvin "Pee Wee" Salinas, as well as Selena's widower Chris Pérez, also decided to leave the group due to that same "internal dissension". Martínez kept Los Kumbia Kings but changed the name to Los Super Reyes for legal issues. In October 2009, Quintanilla and Martínez solved their differences, and announced that the Kumbia Kings would reunite for a series of concerts lasting from late 2009 through early 2010.
Los Kumbia Kings 1999 debut album, Amor, Familia y Respeto, immediately sold over 500,000 copies and earned them a Grammy nomination. 2001 brought the album Shhh!, which in its first week, was number 2 among all Latin releases, and stayed at the top for almost 2 years. By 2003, the Kings had already earned a nomination for the "Latin Artist of the Year" at the American Music Awards, along with countless other musical awards and achievements. 4 was released in March 2003. It was a bilingual project that brought together innovative fusions of R&B, pop, reggae, hip hop, vallenatos, and electro-cumbia hits. Latin all-stars, such as Aleks Syntek, El Gran Silencio, Juan Gabriel, and the Grammy winning group Ozomatli brought extra dimension to the Kings' already encompassing style. In October 2004, Los Kumbia Kings released their fourth studio album titled Fuego, another CD that, as well, has gone on to sell over 500,000 copies. This album had again saw the Kings meeting the "Gold Standard" in the music industry. On November 2, 2006, Los Kumbia Kings won their first Latin Grammy for their album, Kumbia Kings Live (Best Tropical Regional Mexican Album).
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Wikipedia