Explosión Negra (Black Explosion) interprets fusions of urban music ranging from hip hop and reggae to dance hall and raggamurphy, mixing it with traditional Afro-Colombian Pacific coast and African cultural rhythms, including the currulao, chirimía, alabao, pastillo, and jota. The group has worked with this type of fusion for five years, seeking to recover their ancestral afrodescendant culture and combine it with modern urban rhythms. Their work offers a way to combat racism, violence, and exclusion in their societies as well, offering alternatives to conflict for young men and women along Colombia’s Pacfic coast.
In this September 2014 interview at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the group explains their music, their social work, and how they work with disadvantaged youth to promote peace.