Sidestepper began as a solo studio project in 1996 for main man Richard Bla… Read Full Bio ↴Sidestepper began as a solo studio project in 1996 for main man Richard Blair, who had first gone to Colombia in 1993 to work with renowned folk singer Totó La Momposina -- the two had met at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studios where Richard worked as an engineer. The result was the first album, 1997’s Southern Star featuring the Latin drum and bass tune ‘Maine’.

The project soon developed into a production and writing duo with colombian songwriter Ivan Benavides, and has since become a full live band. The two began to write together, producing the future club classic and sidestepper’s first vocal tune - Logozo in 1997. Two years later, the band signed with Chris Blackwell’s Palm Pictures. Again Ivan co-wrote and produced and ‘More Grip‘ was released in 2000, a homage to a salsa night out in Bogotá.

Sidestepper began to play live for the first time, playing gigs in the UK and across Europe, at Glastonbury and Roskilde amongst many others, and Richard continued to DJ in the UK and US. Their shows became legendary, they guaranteed a great party that starts on stage and resulted in a collective and euphoric experience, genuinely contagious. Meanwhile, writing work had begun on 3am (In Beats We Trust), as Richard travelled between London and NY where Ivan was living. The two recorded the core of the album in Bogota in 2002, some eventually unused sessions in Jamaica, with Cuban singer Ronald Infante in Havana, and MC’s Rubi Dan and Juxsi D in London. The mix was done in autumnal London, and 3AM was released to critical acclaim in 2003.

Richard returned to Bogota to form a live band that would be based in Colombia; and between old hands like Janio Coronado and Teto Ocampo, and a then new talent Erika Muñoz, a special magic emerged with this incarnation of Sidestepper, which vowed audiences in Colombia, Mexico and the US for the few years.

After touring extensively with the band, Ivan and Richard wanted to make a record written specifically for each member. The writing and original tracking were done at a farm outside Bogota, and mixing was done at a studio in the city. ‘Continental’ was released in July 2006.

Today, Sidestepper sound had expanded far beyond its original fusion of classic salsa and club beats to take in everything from deep Colombian folk influences to hip hop via cumbia, dancehall reggae, dub and afrobeat, layering infectious melodies and crisp harmonies on top of rock solid beats.

In the process, Sidestepper has helped transform the Colombian music scene, inspiring a new generation of young beat scientists to marry latin music with cutting edge beats. The originator that kick started the new wave of electro acoustic colombian music.

A lot of great talents have passed through the group, many of whom have gone on to great success with their own bands, like Goyo from ChocQuibTown, Pernett, and Sergio Arias from Malalma.

Sidestepper is now conformed as an 8-piece band, and are currently in the studio making a new record for release in the spring of 2010.

The current line up is

Janio Coronado, Edgardo Garcés and Erika Muñoz, on vocals
Teto Ocampo, on guitars
Pedro Ojeda, on drums
Juan Carlos Cuello "El Chongo", on Percussion
Iván Benavides, words and melody
Richard Blair, on bass and beats

www.sidestepper.net.

Mas Papaya
Sidestepper Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Que me rinda sin pelear la batalla

Mira que la gente ya no se calla
No vale la pena dar mas papaya
Mira que la gente ya no se calla
No vale la pena dar mas papaya

{{Blah!}}

Mira que la gente ya no se calla
No vale la pena dar mas papaya
Mira que la gente ya no se calla
No vale la pena dar mas papaya

Ah ha!
{{Blah!}}

Mira que la gente ya no se calla
No vale la pena dar mas papaya
Mira que la gente ya no se calla
No vale la pena dar mas papaya
Mira que la gente ya no se calla
No vale la pena dar mas papaya

Mira que la gente ya no se calla
No vale la pena dar mas papaya

Overall Meaning

The song "Mas Papaya" by Sidestepper is an upbeat and lively Latin American song filled with a call to action for listeners to stand up for themselves and not let others take advantage of them. The lyrics in the song portray a strong sense of empowerment as the artist pleads to not be asked to wait or hide, but instead rise up and fight back against whatever challenges come their way.

The chorus, "Mira que la gente ya no se calla, no vale la pena dar mas papaya" translates to "See that people no longer stay silent, it's not worth giving more papaya." The phrase "dar mas papaya" is a Colombian expression which means "to give more than necessary" or "to make oneself vulnerable." The artist is urging listeners to not give more papaya, to not be vulnerable to those who may take advantage of them.

The song also touches on the idea of not giving up, and not allowing oneself to be defeated easily. The lyric, "No me pidas que me vaya corriendo, que me rinda sin pelear la batalla" can be translated to "Don't ask me to go running, to give up without fighting the battle." The song is a call to action, a reminder that we must stand up for ourselves and take control of our lives.

Line by Line Meaning

No me pidas que me quede esperando
Don't ask me to wait around

No me pidas que me esconda y me vaya
Don't ask me to hide and run away

No me digas que es mejor que me aguante
Don't tell me it's better to endure

Para ver si la cabeza me estalla
To see if my head explodes

Yo no quiero que me agarre la noche
I don't want the night to catch me

No me pidas que ahora tire la toalla
Don't ask me to throw in the towel now

No me pidas que me vaya corriendo
Don't ask me to leave in a hurry

Que me rinda sin pelear la batalla
To give up without fighting the battle

Mira que la gente ya no se calla
See that people don't keep quiet anymore