Eliecer Márquez Duany, artistically known as El Funky, is a Cuban rapper born on November 14, 1981, in Havana, Cuba.
The influence for his music comes from English hip-hop (Tupac, Dr. Dre, Redman, among others). Funky began to identify with these alternative genres thanks to the rap gatherings that took place at the Cultural Center in Old Havana, very close to his home, where he had his first experiences with Cuban rap.
At 16 years old, he wrote his first song, which was a salsa piece influenced by the Cuban music that was most popular on the island, thanks to groups like La Charanga Habanera and los Van Van. A few years later, he was already rapping his own lyrics.
Although Funky continues with his songs, the well-known practice of beef typical of urban genres is also present in his repertoire, including love compositions.
Known within the Cuban alternative music scene for his presence on hip hop stages, he released his album El Funky presents: The Zombie Flow in 2014, in which he blends rap with Cuban rhythms.
That same year, he participated in the respective edition of the "Puños Arriba" awards, which aim to promote and support the emergence of new talents and help them establish themselves in the alternative music market. The audience received some of the tracks from that album that Funky presented with great success.
The impact of Funky is starting to grow both inside and outside the island due to his collaborations with the rapper Maykel Osorbo, with whom he has recorded tracks such as Diazcarao, Yamila, and El aletazo de Alpidio.
Maykel Osorbo is one of the faces of the San Isidro Movement along with fellow artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. Both have become symbols of the resistance of young Cuban artists in their fight against the government for change on the island.
El Funky was part of the Cuban Rap Agency, and due to the tracks he has recorded with Osorbo, this agency requested that he voluntarily resign, an option the young man declined.
In February 2021, El Funky made headlines again when, along with Maykel Osorbo, Yotuel, Gente de Zona, and Decemer Bueno, he recorded the song "Patria y Vida," which garnered over half a million views in less than 72 hours. The resonance and acceptance of the song among Cubans both inside and outside the island have triggered an excessive reaction from the Cuban government, which has targeted the artists. The song promises to be an anthem of freedom in these times.
