Guillermo Rodríguez Godínez (Alicante, March 23, 1994) is a Spanish freestyle musician and rapper, better known as Arkano. He became the 2015 Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos International Champion. He has collaborated with artists such as Alejandro Sanz, Rosana, Love of Lesbian and Café Quijano.
Arkano | |
|---|---|
 Arkano after being interviewed in À Punt's Territori Sonor. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Guillermo Rodríguez Godínez |
| Also known as | Arkano |
| Born | 23 March 1994 Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain |
| Genres | Freestyle rap |
| Occupation | Rapper |
| Instrument | Voice |
Biography
editBorn in the building alicantino of La Colmena, in the neighborhood of San Blas,[1] he began to take his first steps in rap in this city. At just seven years old, he discovered the world of hip hop thanks to his sister, listening to groups like ZNP, Violadores del Verso, and artists like Nach and El Chojin. The first "battle" —a face-off between rappers— where he made himself known took place in July 2008; from that moment on, he began to participate in other competitions.[2]
Since 2009, he's known in the Spanish national scene because he won the national title of Red Bull Batalla de Gallos at just fifteen years old, facing "roosters" like Skone, Jonko, and Mowlihawk. By the end of the year, he was also the runner-up in Hipnotik. He also participated in the Red Bull International Final held in his country, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals against Rayden.
In 2015, he regained the national champion title of battle of roosters in his city, Alicante, after defeating Cixer, Elekipo, Blon, and Ante. In the same year, he achieved his greatest milestone to date, being crowned as the world champion of Red Bull Batallas de los Gallos in Chile.[3] One of the most controversial moments took place in his confrontation against Dtoke, in the quarterfinals. While Dtoke was rapping, Arkano kissed him.[4] After advancing to the next round, in the semifinals, he had a great confrontation against one of the best MCs in history, Aczino, whom he managed to defeat after two replicas, to finally crown himself champion against the Chilean MC Tom Crowley. In 2016, in Peru, he was controversially eliminated in the semifinals of this competition against Skone, who eventually became the champion, and he managed to qualify for the following year's edition by achieving third place. He also broke the 'curse' that when an MC won the international final, if they presented themselves the following year, they would lose in the first round.[5]
In October 2016, he broke a Guinness World Record after improvising for 24 hours 34 minutes 27 seconds, with pauses of only three seconds to eat and drink, in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid.[6]
In 2017, he participated in the international final, being invited to it after achieving third place in the international final of 2016. In the international final, held in Mexico on December 3, 2017, he again qualified for the next edition by achieving third place, after losing in a very close match with Aczino in the semifinals and winning in the consolation final against the Dominican Yenky One. He also performed during the 22nd Forqué Awards.
In his role as an author, he published a book in 2016 —Asalto al vacío: cómo he llegado hasta aquí—, and finally, in 2017, his first studio album, Bioluminiscencia, was released. In 2017, he completed his degree in Computer Engineering.[7]
Arkano has a relatively frequent presence in the media in Spain, having become a reference in rap and specifically in freestyle.[8]
He participated in the FMS (Freestyle Master Series) in which last season 2017-2018 he managed to stay in the league to not be relegated, in which Invert and Mr.Ego were relegated during the first day, finishing ninth and tenth respectively.
In 2018, he again competed in the Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos, this time in Argentina, where, after defeating local Dozer in the round of 16, he was defeated by his compatriot Bnet in the quarterfinals. This marked his farewell, after 5 internationals, from the main competition of the roosters.
His retirement from battles was in his final battle against Chuty, in the ninth round of FMS España that took place in Valencia on February 16, 2019. Although he has not lost contact with battles, participating as a judge in many freestyle competitions, such as the National Final of the Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos of 2019.
In 2019, his song "Otro intento más" became the first rap to be the official theme of the Vuelta a España.
In November 2019, he participated, playing himself as one of the "kidnapped" in El gran secuestro[9][10] for Playz.
On November 30, 2019, he participated as a judge in the international edition of the Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos 2019. Arkano is a collaborator on the radio program La Ventana on the Cadena SER.[11]
Personal life
editArkano is openly bisexual, indicating his sexual orientation for the first time in October 2021 during his participation in MasterChef Celebrity.[12]
Competition Statistics
edit| Freestyle battles | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Competition | Place | Rival | Ranked | |
| 2009 | Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Regional |  España, Alicante
|
vs. Tase
|
3rd place | |
| Hipnotik MC Battle | España, Barcelona
|
vs.  Giorgio
|
Runner-up | ||
| Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Nacional | España, Madrid
|
vs. Mowlihawk
|
Champion | ||
| Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Internacional | España, Madrid
|
vs. Rayden
|
Quarter-finals | ||
| 2014 | Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Regional | España, Madrid
|
vs. Cixer
|
Champion | |
| Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Nacional | España, Cádiz
|
vs. Dani
|
Quarter-finals | ||
| Hipnotik MC Battle | España, Barcelona
|
vs. Elekipo
|
Semifinalist | ||
| Arenal Sound | España, Barcelona
|
vs. Errecé
|
Champion | ||
| 2015 | Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Regional | España, Mallorca
|
vs. Barón
|
Champion | |
| Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Nacional | España, Alicante
|
vs. Ante
|
Champion | ||
| Supremacía MC Internacional |  Perú, Lima
|
vs.  Káiser
|
Semifinalist | ||
| MEID IN SPAIN (General Rap Granada) | España, Granada
|
vs. Skone
|
Champion | ||
| Cannamed | España, Valencia
|
vs. Errecé
|
Champion | ||
| Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Internacional | Chile, Santiago de Chile
|
vs. Tom Crowley
|
Champion | ||
| 2016 | God Level Fest | Chile, Santiago de Chile
|
vs. Káiser
|
Quarter-finals | |
| Radio EPS | España, Alicante
|
vs. Chuty
|
Exhibition | ||
| Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Internacional | Perú, Lima
|
vs.  Jony Beltrán
|
3rd place | ||
| 2017 | BDM España Regional | España, Murcia
|
vs. Piezas
|
Exhibition | |
| Ego Fest |  Argentina, Buenos Aires
|
vs. Wos
|
Exhibition | ||
| Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Internacional | México, Ciudad de México
|
vs.  Yenky One
|
3rd place | ||
| 2018 | Freestyle Master Series Nacional | España
|
vs. Blon
|
7th place | |
| Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Internacional | Argentina, Buenos Aires
|
vs. Bnet
|
Quarter-finals | ||
| 2019 | Freestyle Master Series Nacional | España
|
vs. Chuty
|
6th place | |
| RÉPLICA | España, Madrid
|
vs. Invert
|
Exhibition | ||
| 2022 | Red Bull Batalla | México, Ciudad de México
|
vs. Aczino
|
Exhibition | |
| 2023 | Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos Regional | España, Barcelona
|
vs. Zoyert
|
Quarter-finals | |
| Red Bull Batalla de Los Gallos (Última Plaza) | España, Madrid
|
vs. Le33
|
Semifinalist | ||
| Written battles | |||||
| 2015 | Vandal Fest | Perú, Lima
|
vs. Flecha
|
- | |
| COLISEVM Battle | México, Ciudad de México
|
vs. Aczino
| |||
Discography
editWith Jonko
edit- Clase preferente (demo, 2010)
- La voz de la sospecha (demo, 2013, Tiamat Records)
With Melendi y Alejandro Sanz
edit- Déjala que baile (2018)
With La La Love You y Suu
edit- Quédate conmigo (2020)
- Zino
Solo
edit- Hoy puede ser un gran día (demo, 2011)
- Rareza antropológica (demo, 2012)
- Smooth Series (EP, 2014, Tiamat Records)
- Bioluminiscencia (LP, 2017, Rosevil)
- Otro intento más (La Vuelta 19)
- No me sale (Dreamers Music) 2019
- Rey del rap rey del pop (Dreamers Music) 2019
- No lo sé (La Mexicana, 2020 ft. Paty Cantú)
- M.F.Q.N. Más Fuertes Que Nunca (Red Bull Records 2022, ft. Aczino)
- Ron en mi Vaso (Red Bull Records Inc, 2022)
Television
edit- Ritmo urbano on La 2 (2018–2019)
- Proyecto Arkano on La 1 (2019)
- La Voz Kids on Antena 3 (2019)
- Typical Spanish on La 1 (2020)
- Duel de veus on À Punt (2021)
- El juego de los anillos on Antena 3 (2021)
- MasterChef Celebrity 6 on La 1 (2021); as a contestant (10th evicted)
- 25 palabras on Telecinco (2023); as a guest
- Supervivientes 2024 on Telecinco (2024); as a contestant (current)
Bibliography
edit- Arkano (2016). Asalto al vacío: ¿cómo he llegado hasta aquí?. Ediciones Martínez Roca. ISBN 9788427042131.
- Arkano (2018). Castillos en el espacio. Ediciones Martínez Roca. ISBN 9788427045002.
References
edit- ^ "Guillermo Rodríguez Godínez, Arkano: It's a true pride and he's stronger than vinegar, I'm very sanblasino, I love my neighborhood". Information. Accessed on September 16, 2018.
- ^ "Arkano - Biography, history and musical legacy". BuenaMusica.com. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
- ^ Redacción (December 14, 2015). "Battle of the Roosters: Spanish Arkano won the grand final". El Comercio. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
- ^ Ortelli, Juan (September 15, 2016). "Chile 2015: The kiss of death". Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
- ^ "Skone surpasses Arkano". April 10, 2017. Archived from the original on April 3, 2017.
- ^ "Arkano breaks the world record after rapping for more than 24 hours straight". El País (in Spanish). Agencia EFE. November 13, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
- ^ Coca, Laura (November 23, 2018). "40 curiosities you didn't know about Arkano". los40. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
- ^ Santarén, Jenifer (October 28, 2016). "Arkano: "Rap is a very macho and homophobic genre"". 20minutos. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
- ^ "#ElGranSecuestro, or how to revolutionize TV". José de Isasa's Blog. November 24, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
- ^ "A cult kidnapping, broadcast live by RTVE". La Información (in Spanish). Retrieved November 24, 2019.
- ^ "Who is the rapper Sara Socas?". El Plural (in Spanish). Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ "Arkano the naughty: "Some things have happened in bathrooms with boys"". Shangay. October 29, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2022.