A.CHAL to Bring Genre-Bending, Bilingual Rap to the Chapel

If you’re like me, you might’ve been sleeping on A.CHAL — the trippy Peruvian-born wordsmith and producer whose bars switch from English to Spanish to Spanglish and back like a dirt bike churning over an uneven jungle path.

The millennial’s expansive vibe pulls from ’80s synthpop and goth, with underlying hints of trap, corridos tumbados, rock en español and reggaeton. A.CHAL in many ways embodies today’s diverse Latinx musicscape — a broad category that has been propelled into the stratosphere by genre-bending artists like Bad Bunny, Karol G, Kali Uchis, Peso Pluma and so many others.

A.CHAL’s new work could easily fit on a playlist of that caliber. And on Thurs., Apr. 4, he’ll be pulling up to the Bay to perform at The Chapel in San Francisco’s Mission District as part of his nationwide tour.

With his latest album release, ESPÍRITU, A.CHAL — whose family immigrated to Queens, New York when he was only four years old — is entering his prime. After recently spending two years in his native country exploring the mountainside of Trujillo, Peru, the blossoming artist is hitting his stride and garnering national attention. At times, A.CHAL sounds like a young Latinx Weeknd. On other tracks, he’s reminiscent of a lazy-flowing Benito. 

Though he may be new to some West Coast listeners, A.CHAL has been a factor for years. He’s someone that Cold Medina, a local Mexican and Nicaraguan rapper from Frisco, has had on his radar for some time. Cold Medina will be opening up for A.CHAL on his Bay Area stop.

“A few years back when I was a teaching artist at an after-school program, one of my students showed me a song of his and told me I needed to work with him, so this is a little bit of a full circle moment for me in that regard,” Cold Medina says about the upcoming show.

Like A.CHAL, Cold Medina’s vibe is at once tropical, chill and clouded by weed smoke. On his 2023 EP, A Quest Called Medina with Vallejo producer Sydequest, he flaunts his conscious lyricism with an array of references to Mexican culture and Bay slang. Parallel to A.CHAL’s journey, Medina has spent his adult years traveling to his ancestral homeland, and it shows in the music, which often references — through either direct language or music video settings — an earnest connection to Latin America.

“There’s a lot more space for Latinx artists to grow their platforms and get some well deserved attention,” Cold Medina says. “The industry still has a narrow view of what a Latinx artist is and can be, [and] with mainstream exposure it can be easy  for artists to get pigeonholed. [But] the Latinx experience is very unique and diverse. You are going to get some indigenous perspective and sounds rooted in that experience.”

That spiritual essence will be in full effect when the two bilingual artists synergize on Valencia Street later this week.

A.CHAL and Cold Medina will be performing at The Chapel (777 Valencia St., SF) on Thurs. Apr. 4 at 7 p.m. Tickets and details here.