The following is an excerpt “The Chicano futurists of No Sé Discos” written by Sandra Treviño (published in April 20, 2023 by the Chicago Reader

Chebaka suggested collaborating with Allá. “This is all happening while we’re at work,” Jorge says. “This is where the working-class part happens. We’re not emailing each other about it—we’re working.” He started sending Chebaka unreleased Allá music to play around with. “Even though we don’t do hip-hop, we’ve always wanted to,” he says. “Plus we have so much music, a library of stuff—so I sent him some tracks, a little bit of everything. I was shocked at what he did with it.”

Chebaka used his phone to rap absurd, philosophical verses over those Allá tracks. Ever since the sessions for the band’s 2008 album, Es Tiempo, Allá had been recording mostly at home, but Jorge knew Matt DeWine at Pieholden Suite Sound through Angel, and he helped Chebaka book studio time. With Jorge on electronics and Angel on drums (among other musicians), they recorded on and off throughout 2018 and 2019, piecing together Chebaka’s album Hard Working Mexican. It’s finally coming out May 1, and it’s one of three releases No Sé Discos is celebrating at the Bottle.

It’s taken five years, but Hard Working Mexican has finally made it from the studio to the public.

“It was awesome being back in the studio,” Jorge says. “Chebaka was so prepared. He embodies what we’re into—respecting the process and enjoying the process of writing music. He’s the past, present, and future. He’s willing to experiment and work hard.”
After Chebaka finished his album in 2019, he and Allá discussed their options for releasing it. The band had withdrawn from performing and studio work, and because their network in the music community was all but gone, they decided that a DIY approach would be the best way to maintain the control they wanted. “That’s when the concept began about creating a label so we could put music out ourselves,” Jorge says.

The pandemic ended up delaying Hard Working Mexican, and then other projects intervened. In early 2021, the National Museum of Mexican Art invited Chebaka to do a presentation as part of its streaming series. He asked Allá for help, and they came up with the idea of using his older recordings to create a video album. Titled Everything Will Be Streamed, it ended up nearly an hour long, and it debuted on the museum’s YouTube channel on February 13, 2021.

“It’s DIY, shot all over Pilsen, Little Village, Brighton Park, my backyard, my house and basement, the laundromat, even Discount Mall,” Jorge says. “We really wanted to give it flavor.”