Eliecer Márquez Duany, artistically known as El Funky, is a Cuban rapper born on November 14, 1981, in Havana, Cuba.
The influence on 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 Casa de Cultura in Old Havana, very close to his home, where he had his first encounters with Cuban rap.
At 16, he wrote his first song, which was a salsa 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.
Despite the fact that Funky continues with his songs, the well-known practice of beef typical of urban genres also features love compositions in his repertoire.
Known in the Cuban alternative music scene for his presence in hip hop performances, he released his album El Funky presenta: The Zombie Flow in 2014, which blends rap with Cuban rhythms.
That same year, he participated in the corresponding edition of the "Puños Arriba" Awards, which aim to promote and highlight the emergence of new talents and help them establish themselves in the alternative music market. The audience warmly received several tracks from that album that Funky presented.
The impact of Funky is starting to grow both on and off the island due to his collaborations with rapper Maykel Osorbo, with whom he has recorded tracks like Diazcarao, Yamila, and El aletazo de Alpidio.
Maykel Osorbo is one of the faces of the San Isidro Movement alongside fellow artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. Together, they have become symbols of the resistance of young Cuban artists in their fight against the government to seek changes on the island.
El Funky was part of the Cuban Rap Agency, and following the tracks he 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 he collaborated with Maykel Osorbo, Yotuel, Gente de Zona, and Decemer Bueno to record the song "Patria y Vida," which had already gathered over half a million views in less than 72 hours. The impact and reception of the song among Cubans, both on and off the Island, have provoked an intense reaction from the Cuban government, which has attacked the artists. The song promises to become an anthem of freedom in these times.
