Whitest Taino Alive - ¿Dónde Jugarán Los Cueros?

¿Dónde Jugarán Los Cueros?, 
Whitest Taino Alive
Stereotipico, Dominican Republic
Rating: 88
by Carlos Reyes

Trying to locate the zeitgeist becomes a priority to the tastemaker. While it’s true the Internet brought fragmentation to the way we listen to music –and that the zeitgeist can be found scattered at a dozen places at once –there’s still a place for those of us romantic enough to theorize over the notion of the it occupying a physical space. Not to call ourselves oracles of any kind, but we were very attentive to the blossoming of the new wave of Chilean pop before anyone dared to call Chile a pop paradise. In the last year we’ve responded ecstatically to emerging talents from the Caribbean, particularly from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Perhaps we’re cheating when bundling both nations together (a la FIFA 2002 worldcup), but both scenes are sharing a discourse of carnal and digital burgeonings that is beautiful to witness.

Dominican newcomers Whitest Taino Alive join Füete Billēte and Buscabulla as one of the most memorable emerging acts of the last few years. Led by the equally prolific and abrasive producer Cohoba, and branding on the idea of providing the audience with something they call Choperia Fina (rocking beats while wearing leather), WTA afford to sound truly colossal on their debut album. Featuring a grand-sound design and an ambitious composition, ¿Dónde Jugarán Los Cueros? is an album that sounds nothing short from pristine (and puts the latest Calle 13 to an even bigger shame). We wouldn’t expect anything less from Cohoba, whose stellar EP Chroamatism earlier this year has profiled him as the Dominican Republic’s most distinguished music maker since Rita Indiana. For a producer with a fondness for rapture and visceral banging, he is faced with the task of negotiating his beats for the vocal dissertation of WTA (conformed by Cohoba, Blon Jovi & Dominicanye West). The results are valiantly tackled and arresting for the most part.

WTA pop references a wide number of topics that go from Sosa, Heisenberg and Lara, to celebrating Selena’s butt as a cultural monument. While the abrasiveness of the lyrics makes it seem like they’re name-dropping indiscriminately, they’re actually using pop culture as a tool/hook to welcome non-Dominicanos to their idiosyncrasy. Take for example the album’s concept. The title ¿Dónde Jugarán Los Cueros? winks at Molotov’s ¿Dónde Jugarán las Niñas?, which itself mocks on Mana’s ¿Dónde Jugarán los Niños? This chain of smartass referencing would’ve been tiresome by the third time, if it wasn’t for the album cover (showing a thong sliding hasta abajo) validating WTA’s intentions of providing a lubricant to the Dominican way upfront. Which begs the question on how WTA, or Füete Billēte for the matter, would sound if reggaeton had not become the phenomenon that it still is. We might be talking about hip hop music here, but the reggaeton influence can be felt from a far distance. It’s in this way that WTA’s debut feels personally accomplished, but is also a cooperative from the pool of influences that brought it into being.

From the first immersive brashes of intro “Chillin en Jaragua” to the syncopated horns of the gigantic “En Canoa Pal Seibo,” the first half of ¿Dónde Jugarán Los Cueros? privileges the spellbinding over the immediate. Promotional cuts “Burlao” and “Mi Bandera” are two ideal tracks to taste the WTA experience. The former surfs slowly above synth crescendos, while the latter confronts the soundscape in a massive and unapologetic way. The second half of the album lacks fury on the chorus department, but somehow manages to sound even more melodic than the first half. The outstanding “La Resaca” is particularly exciting in how it tailors and manipulates beats to simulate the feeling of feeling hangover –with a narcotized voice of reason serving as a chorus. Lyrically, the album delivers plenty of hilarious one-liners, but frequently struggles to accomplish roundness in the storytelling. The narrative is still wonderfully uncompromised in both, their outburst and restrained lines of attack. And that’s perhaps WTA’s biggest attraction, its ability to position itself as understated text and then become a major threat to the dancefloor by the very next track.

Los Rakas - El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo

El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo, Los Rakas
Universal Music Latino, Panama
Rating: 63
by Pierre Lestruhaut

"It's not what the pussy can do for you, but what you can do for the pussy" claims Mickey Rourke’s character in his own apotheosizing speech in Jonas Akerlund's forgettable film Spun. The speech, it seems, is essentially what the new Los Rakas album is about. Hardly 10 minutes after hitting play and you already start to see what you're in for: a massive, head-over-heels, unhindered cult to the almighty pussy (and thus, we assume, pussy-fucking). But rest assured, Dun Dun and Ricardo do keep it all relatively old-fashioned and non-explicit, steering clear of a potential parental advisory label in their own quixotic quest for pussy.

Immediately after the borderline braggadocio intro kicks off the album, "Demencia y Locura" drops a killer subbass, and then goes on a tale that is basically about the power of musicianship as a pussy magnet. "Así me gusta" is reminiscent of "Bandz a Make Her Dance" but without the exploitative ambience of strip clubs, rather focusing on female dancing as a sensual art form. "X-Tacy" doesn't adhere to the Rick Ross school of using molly as a backdoor aphrodisiac, but rather as a parallel between the effects of the drug and the influence a woman can have. It's like these guys actually have moral standards: They are the victims of the pussy here. Get just one taste of it and you are subject to the whims and wishes of the omnipotent vagina.

"Africana" feels like their new not-so-successful attempt at hitting that perfect spot between dancehall-influenced romantic songwriting and heartbroken rapping that Big Boy had found some 20 years ago, and that Los Rakas themselves brought up to date with their hit "Abrázame" back in 2010. It's followed by a short-lived attempt at bringing back the previously quite common subject of their own Latin origins. A cappella number “Mi País” does a quick shout out to the homies, and “Sueño Americano” goes into sociopolitical territory, touching on the themes of immigrant exclusion in the USA, although it doesn't have the vivid imagery of Kap G's "Fuck La Policía," nor the all-encompassing ambition of The-Dream's recent “BLACK.”

The album's last run is essentially a deviation towards crowdpleasing chart-topping dance-pop. “Periódico de ayer” and “X-Tacy” seem to draw heavily from Eurodance, and places the duo much closer to current Latin pop stars that have been riding the Eurodance wave, and pretty far away from the independent hip-hop they proudly claimed to be part of a few years ago. “Malibú Girl” sounds like it was dusted from the lost archives of late 90's early 00's french house, while “Siente la Música” seems to have been written by a soulless machine that orders club goers to dance till dawn.

One would like to think that the shift from their own trademarked Panabay twist towards average everyday contemporary club songs is in no way correlated to the fact they've gone from being independent artists to being signed with Universal Music, but there's not much evidence to refute that. Their Chancletas y Camisetas Bordadas EP succeeded not only because it was sonically inventive and accomplished (the folkloric tones of “Camisetas Borda,” the cosmopolitan urbanism in “Ta Lista”), but also for how it felt extremely personal in its depiction of family, gials, and identity. If anything, El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo feels like a talented hip-hop duo that's sacrificing personal vision for commercial success. And maybe, just as well, for pussy.

Video: Arufe - "Dinosaurio"

Why Bflecha’s “Mundo Bizarro” isn’t part of a product's transnational marketing campaign by now is surprising. The catchiest and most straightforwardly pop number in Beta served from Arufe’s thriving assistance, offering the track a mysticism and luxurious lush that made the pop structure that more effective. Arufe has our attention now. His latest single “Dinosaurio” is quite a revelation, and far from a pop structure subscription. The Spaniard rapper approaches Paleontology in a quirky, exaggerated tone driven by pop culture references. The music video in charge of Priscina Infinita first plays with negative space, quickly transforming the minimalistic frame into a meta-visual platform. The clip starts with a Jurassic Park blanket taking shape into the dreams of the rapper. The narrative never gives up, flourishing animation with little restraint. Something about him rapping about Madonna and condensed milk in the same minute shows Arufe stretching his lyrical discourse a bit too much, but he’s doing it with plenty of wit and charm.

Kap G - Like a Mexican

Like a Mexican, Kap G
Independiente, USA
Rating: 78
by Pierre Lestruhaut

The debut mixtape from Kap G, 19-year-old Atlanta-based Latino rapper, starts with words from DJ Drama: “One thing about the rap game that’s always respected is authenticism.” It might sound like the old maxim that prophesizes how music should be judged mainly on its realness, yet no matter how many thinkpieces get regurgitated about the conflicts of authenticism in art; you can always grasp flashes of authenticism in the details. The best street life rap albums, from Illmatic to The Luca Brasi Story, are the ones that carry the vivid imagery you only get from living that kind of life. Rest assured, Like A Mexican is no Illmatic, but it’s the promise and first step of a rapper whose depiction of street, family, and party life, carries the rough and rich storytelling that’s usually the imprint of good rap.

Kap G starts the mixtape wailing like Waka Flocka Flame, but instead of yelling about getting fucked up with "killers and hood niggas," he yells "pesos, pesos, pesos," and "Qué pasa homes." He’s got the mastery of dropping pop culture references that will prompt a smile on rap nerds who love Paul’s Boutique for the same reason. In “Eddie Guerrero” he raps about what he’s willing to do to get paper, which we can guess has to be related to the deceased wrestler’s catchprase: "I Lie! I Cheat! I Steal!." Then in “That Paper” he states of how he has no problems "kicking bitches out" in the morning, despite how much they love him. He’s still a man of values though, as he recognizes in "La Familia," in which he shows the sort of respect and loyalty to those that are blood-related to him that would certainly make Tío Salamanca proud.

Even if lyrically it seems to have been made in the US-Mexico border, sonically this has Atlanta’s imprints all over it. What initially hits you while listening to the mixtape, is just how extremely well surrounded Kap G is. There's beats provided by the likes of Bangladesh, Pharrell (yes Pharrell), and Drumma Boy, and guest spots by Wiz Khalifa, Young Jeezy. But it’s the production that’s particularly admirable. Bangladesh is responsible for the first two beats and not only drops the most club-trashing ones but also adds a few samples (the danzón-like horns) that fit in with the “Like A Mexican” concept. With that exception though, it’s all about the same bombastic Southern rap and trap-hop production that’s been the backdrop for Atlanta's best songs these past few years. Squat Beats’ psychedelic synth lines in “R.I.P.” and “Fuck la Policía (FLP)” provide the mixtape’s best moments for pure aural bliss, and it's also when Kap G is at his best on the mic.

The young Atlanta rapper has the slow-paced flow of Rich Homie Quan in “Type of Way,” one that’s more focused on catchiness than lyrical prowess. It’s rapping that’s delivery-driven, and he sounds so drowsy and stoned in some songs that you can even see the smoke clouds that were probably circling the studio during the recording sessions. Even if he abuses Latino slang and cultural references a little too much, making it feel occasionally like the rap industry is attempting to connect with US Latinos, he can also go from hilarious when speaking of his preference of sex over romance ("Mami please don’t give me beso/I just want some good cabeza") to highly critical and poignant when verging towards social commentary on being a descendant of immigrants in the US ("So the cops pulled me over say the windows too tinted/Basically saying that my ‘migos ain't from here," "And my bro tatted up they think he MS13"). Even if the mixtape is a success mainly because Kap G has managed to acquire a top-notch set of supporting guests and producers, at such a young age he's got the delivery and shout-along hooks that make his peers right in placing such trust and hopes in him.

Füete Billēte - Música de Capsulón

Música de Capsulón, Füete Billēte
Independiente, Puerto Rico
Rating: 94
by Enrique Coyotzi

It was back in January, when we first stumbled upon the thrilling “La Trilla,” that Füete Billēte, Puerto Rico's hottest rising act, started creating a significant amount of buzz. Ever since that promising introduction, Füete Billēte uploaded periodically to their SoundCloud many more dazzling tracks, whose quality promised a daring, piercing, and remarkable first reference. After some months of waiting, the superb, scandalous, hit-packed mixtape Música de Capsulón is finally here, marking the boldest debut release by any Iberoamerican artist this year.

Füete Billēte, made up by rappers Beibi Johnson and Dávila 666 frontman Pepper Kilo, along with producer Freebass, seem to be sailing under A$AP Rocky’s “PMW” philosophy. Their lyrics, while consistently offensive and misogynistic, honestly share the point of view of a street dog, a pimp, a gangsta—dudes who are real and aren’t afraid to explicitly speak about the shit they’ve gone through, their experiences exactly the way they’ve lived them. They tell it like it is. Despite falling into bad taste territory, as Pepper Kilo declares in “Bien Guillao,” “una vida como ésta hay que contarla.” He also justifies pretty well the group's motifs in this interview, explaining, “Rap shouldn't be an acceptable thing for everyone. Rap is about speaking the truth, what happens in the street, and how people live in the streets.” While some listeners may take Füete Billēte as a joke (some of their lyrics are simply too damn funny or purposefully outrageous), you can tell Pepper Kilo is being dead serious when making this statement.

Hate them or love them, there’s no denying Música de Capsulón is a hell of an accomplishment—a necessary refreshment for 2013’s closure. If you've been following their SoundCloud activity, chances are you probably know by heart the majority of these songs. The real pleasure is to have them, at last, in a perfectly sequenced release, where there’s hardly chance to breathe. And I mean that as a compliment. Like Janelle Monáe’s The Electric Lady, or even El Gran Silencio’s Chúntaros Radio Poder, Füete Billēte include a couple of skits resembling radio listening and a couple of others that bring to mind that disconcerting, yet hella funny voice message at the end of Calle 13's “Uiyi Guaye.” With hardly any pause between tracks, the MCs found a robust manner to accommodate their previous offerings, assembling an entrancing narrative. Whether it's with the assistance of Freebass' luxurious beats or Overlord's under-purple-drank, stoner production, Füete Billēte's vast musical spectrum, which ranges from '90s rap, to crunk, to contemporary hip hop, stands out throughout, revealing new genius in every spin.

Beibi's and Pepper's performances, however, are what steal the whole show. Johnson's reggaeton-esque flow is commanding, while Kilo's sick, often Auto-Tuned verses are intrepid. If the listener could picture their physical state during the entire record, one would admire them with red and dilated eyes. The sheer volume of smashers on Música de Capsulón is impressive. Following the throwback intro “Mira Esa Perrita,” the title track quickly makes itself present. It easily equalizes the same exciting effect we had when we first heard “La Trilla.” The self-aware “La Moda,” hard-hitting “Hasta el Piso,” and Aaliyah-sampling “Una en un Millón” are ultimately designed for perrear/twerking. Outstanding singles “Bien Guillao” and “Al Mando” bring out their most gangster side, while Overlord-produced tracks “Fumaera Namás” and “Vaso Lento” exhibit them DUI all the way. They even show their more romantic style in the fucking sexy “No Me Quito” and get dreamy in the opulent “Peces Cuadraos.” Whichever side they present, they succeed in it.

From the Fugees’ inspired album cover to the notable invested labor in its conception and brilliant nods to its influences, everything about Música de Capsulón feels meticulously mastered and conferred. Even though it's conceived as a mixtape, just like BFlecha and her panoramic βeta, Füete Billēte confected a release that surely feels like an album in the whole extension of the word. Inescapably irresistible, potentially controversial, and already exuding timelessness, Música de Capsulón certainly establishes one of the greatest hip hop careers in years to come.

Arcángel - Sentimiento, Elegancia & Maldad

Sentimiento, Elegancia & Maldad, Arcángel
Pina Records, Puerto Rico
Rating: 85 
by Carlos Reyes

As cleverly stated by reggaeton scholar Raquel Z. Rivera, “folks have been pronouncing reggaeton dead since before it was even called reggaeton.” I don’t know about you guys, but there’s not a day where I don’t encounter the beat, even in the most unexpected places. It’s far from dead, but the slightest immersion makes it hard to be optimistic about the genre’s possible pedigree, at least from an artistic viewpoint. Names like Daddy Yankee and Plan B have offered the genre enough powerful singles to maintain a degree of creative momentum, but the genre is undergoing a major depression when it comes to pouring self-sustaining full-length albums. As we’ve been predicting throughout the years, Arcángel (Austin Santos) is the one name capable of amending the future of reggaeton.

Arcángel is very well aware of where he’s standing. Arrogance and self-absorption often get the best of him (he self-proclaimed God way before Yeezus did), but I guess stubbornness is something you can afford after crafting the best reggaeton album of all time. La Maravilla (which remains commercially unreleased as a whole) was a one-of-a-kind event unlikely to be matched any time soon. His follow up (considered by the industry as his official debut), El Fenomeno, introduced him to the transnational leagues that unfortunately brought artistic confinement to his rising career. El Fenomeno was a tacky move from his label to recondition La Maravilla (at the hands of producers Luny Tunes) for mass consumption. And yet, the album was considered a commercial flop that made many wonder if Arcángel really was the individual dictating the genre.

Five years have passed and we find Arcángel more popular and consistent than probably any other name in Latin urban music. Well, that’s not necessarily true, but let me make my case. Calle 13’s political activism has nations sending delegates to the duo’s press conferences, and that’s something no one should overlook. But, while Calle 13 used the reggaeton beat as a platform (with glorious artistic and commercial results), they’ve now made every effort at their hands to disassociate from it by turning up the alternative, and subverting the urban. Arcángel on the other hand, remains loyal and affectionate to the genre. While Rene and Eduardo have turned their music into a social mission, Arcángel has kept his focus on transcending reggaeton beyond the beat. He refuses to reduce reggaeton to that essential beat, but rather presents it as set of conceptions (hooks, flow, tiraera, melodic bridges, etc.) that are tailored with a sensibility that is particular to reggaeton. In other words, what he’s bringing to the table is an assessment of the genre as something worthy of its own idiosyncratic narrative.

Three paragraphs in, and I have yet to bring up the reason behind the excitement. Arcángel just released the best reggaeton album since, well… La Maravilla. It’s nowhere near flawless, but it had been a while since an album of the eternally-controversial genre felt this complete. At 18 tracks long, Sentimiento, Elegancia & Maldad is not an easy album to dissect despite the fact that it holds some of the catchiest, funniest, and most hybridized songs released this year. I have single-handedly reviewed every release by Arcángel. It’s not that my fellow Fonograma writers neglect him (we placed “Chica Virtual” in the top 15 songs of the past decade), but I’ve used my editorial perks to become a sort of specialist/scholar on his profile. SE&M’s first single, “Hace Mucho Tiempo,” is better than 95% of the hits on FM airwaves, but in no way did it convey how good SE&M ended up being.

Immersing into SE&M is uncomfortable at first. In its mere aesthetic presentation, the album is problematic and off-putting. The album cover shows a topless model on top of the artist. She’s been branded with Arcángel's logo on her back. It’s a bit frustrating to see someone who is a bit of a genius not realize he’s taking part of what has wounded the reggaeton pedigree above anything else: its artistic prostitution. The cover isn’t as evil as R.Kelly’s latest one, but it sure is disappointing considering how progressive and androgynous most of the songs on the album are. Arcángel is more incongruent than a misogynist in that regard, but I’m sure deducting him points for not being able to filter the degrading parts of the genre he’s claiming to reform.

“Aún recuerdo mis tiempos de bandolero / cambie el flow / y sigo estando entre los primeros,” brags Arcángel in the M.I.A.-esque “Por la plata baila el mono,” just before humbly reminding us he is the King Kong of reggaeton. SE&M is not set up to revolutionize the genre in the way his debut endeavored. Arcángel instead, puts on a historian outfit and makes an index of sorts of when the genre started (the hypersexualized and bared-to-essentials “Que Le Den”), its absorption by the mainstream (“Sola” featuring ex-partner De La Ghetto), the moment it became a monopolized mafia (“Pacas de 100,” featuring Daddy Yankee), and its subsequent, sugar-coated dissolving with synth pop (“Tiene un piquete”). This historical reading of the album was most probably not intentional (the sequencing is nonlinear), but considering Arcángel's artistic escapades (highly celebrated by people like Tego Calderón and Rita Indiana), it’s consistent to conclude that Arcángel was conscious the genre needed this assessment more than another “Gasolina.”

But what makes SE&M so special is how Arcángel envisions the future of the genre: reggaeton transcending from a beat to an increasingly versatile genre. Perhaps it’s too much of an assumption, but it seems that Arcángel has bonded with his contemporaries. He encounters Drake in the dazzling “Me Myself & My Money,” swims around Frank Ocean in the melancholic “Cuando Tu No Estas,” gets as mucky and dope as Danny Brown in “Gucci Boys Club,” and croons over the R&B balladry of Miguel in “Lentamente.” While it seems like he’s borrowing, he approaches and executes each with the sensibility and idiosyncrasy of a reggaeton artist (while also holding up to the fact that he is also American). Arcángel proclaims leadership of a new line of artists he calls “La sangre nueva." If Sentimiento, Elegancia & Maldad is able to shift the gears of those subscribed to this new blood (Plan B, Ñengo Flow, among others), while also outlining the genre’s history and cultural impact for the sake of its pedigree, then we can officially consider this a triumph. And that to me is more of a revolution than trying to figure out what the hell “Multi_Viral” is really about.

Tego Calderón - "Colabore"

“Yo se que yo me tardo pero hecho caldo (y la receta siempre me tiene guisando),” sighs Tego Calderón in his thrilling new single, “Colabore.” It’s been almost six years since the rapper released El Abayarde Contraataca, and just when it seemed its follow up would turn into a mythological release, we get an official single off the long-anticipated El Que Sabe Sabe. While Calderón focused on social globalization on last year’s reggaeton-free mixtape, The Original Gallo del País (self-assesed by Tego as his most complete work yet), the single suggests his new album will bring him back to the clubs and FM airwaves. “Colabore” is another hit in Calderón’s strong line of singles. The song starts at a rapid-fire pace, coating itself with an old friend–a clean, almost nostalgic reggaeton beat that’s serviceable for both profit and pedigree. Trying to catch up with his flow is fun all in its self. El Que Sabe Sabe will see the commercial light in May.

Tego Calderón - The Original Gallo del País (O.G. El Mixtape)

The Original Gallo del País, Tego Calderón 
Jiggiri Records, Puerto Rico
Rating: 77
by Carlos Reyes

Heavy metal drummer turned rap star legend Tego Calderón should be headlining every music festival in Latin America. Unfortunately, our “cultural” fests aren’t nearly as progressive or diversified as they're made out to be. But enough with the whining. That is the last thing Tego would want us to do. It’s been five long years since El Abayarde Contra-Ataca hit the shelves, and it seems unlikely El Que Sabe, Sabe will see the commercial light this year. Lucky for us, Calderon is a provider, one who has not forgotten his anxious followers. The Original Gallo del País (O.G. El Mixtape) is a transfixing 10-track mixtape that’s restrained of a linear narrative but is more than just an appetizer of what’s to come.

A euphoric rooster scream opens the mixtape at an alarming pace. Calderón’s introspective rhymes quickly blossom into the frame and, when you least expect it, the maverick pours as much multi-dimensional gestures and actions as Breaking Bad’s Walter White. Whether speaking of himself as a devoted family man or a modern “Robin Hood,” El Abayarde reinstates his class as a narrator and storyteller. On his recent appearance as a guest DJ at NPR’s Alt.Latino, Calderón pitched this set of songs as the most sincere of his career. There’s a structural freedom granted by the (often budget-less) mixtape format. Whereas most abuse that freedom, Tego approaches it with his heart on his sleeve. He won’t settle for anything nonchalant, and it shows. Promotional cut “El Sitio” is a boiling political track about the physical similarity of the “suffering face” across the globe. There’s no room for baroque fixing or traditional slanting, this is Calderón confronting the need for a macro-regimented discourse.

Not every track in O.G. El Mixtape is linked to budgets or foreclosures. Catchy track “Hablan de Mi” features Fonograma favorite Arcangel, who once again proves to be a rhythmic prodigy. The promising collaboration is only flawed by the artists’ avoidable need to make a tiraera piece (by now, neither Calderon nor Arcangel should sound as territorial). Closing track “Muralla,” featuring Puya (Puerto Rico’s heavy metal salseros) is a pantheon. Whatever fusion Omar Rodríguez-López and Calle 13 failed to craft in “Calma Pueblo” is accomplished here. The Original Gallo del País still sounds like a mixtape (a great mixtape). It struggles to find cohesion from track to track and has an overall pitchy production, but yet again, this is Calderón at his rawest–less about the goce and more about the mantra.

Ana Tijoux - La Bala

La Bala, Ana Tijoux
Nacional Records, Chile
Rating: 74
by Carlos Reyes

I didn’t care much about the star-making appearance of “1977” on last year’s infamous summer playlist by Thom Yorke, but when that song popped up on an episode of what’s arguably the best TV series of all time (Breaking Bad), I confess I got territorial at the grace of music supervisor Thomas Golubic. Which comes to show that songs do evolve in the course of different narratives. The cosmopolitanism of Ana Tijoux is endearing and truthful, inclusive of varied infrastructures, as well as deep personal venture. Tijoux’s life story knows about exile and landing, about expression and repression - qualities that have found meaning and purpose in her folk-tinged urban artillery that’s, indeed, addressing global unrest in rhyme.

“Soy el ultimo eslabón de la pirámide,” sighs the French-Chilean musician in the album's defining number, "Desclasificado." Ana Tijoux is a lot of things, amongst them: an exceptional rapper, a troubadour (with a killer front-to-back flow), and an immaculate listener. On her third album, La Bala, Tijoux has bolded the melodic response of her delivery, arriving at what’s easily her best record to date. When in the album’s single “Shock” Tijoux sings about the rotting of a golden throne, her mind shields in a collective, marching conviction - the rhymes trail her mind through successive hard punches in the pursuit of corrupt decomposition. This is Tijoux at her best, in full harmony with the times and owning the medium through a commendable dexterity.

Although a career-high, La Bala still suffers from what ultimately prevented its predecessors from becoming great records. It’s missing the beats. She has yet to find the producers that will provide the sonic grassland in which a big portion of her mantra will ultimately flourish. Nothing goes wrong when she’s rapping/singing, but production-wise, her songs are bruised by run-of-the-mill orchestrations that would only work in a pre-industrialized environment. Yes, it’s not too hard to make a conversation between La Bala and an agricultural economy, but the multi-dimensions of her topics and rhymes speak less about a revivalist and more of an artist who is looking forward. But, while that production plot hole is certainly there, Tijoux’s arsenal keeps the flow running with her outspoken, powerful performance. La Bala is Ana Tijoux's shot at breaking bad, and she proves to be more than capable of wearing the ribbon of an outlaw hero.

Los Rakas - Chancletas y Camisetas Bordada

Chancletas y Camisetas Bordada, Los Rakas
Soy Raka LLC, Panama
Rating: 78
by Carlos Reyes

In last year’s video for “Soy Raka,” Panamanian sensation Los Rakas rolled their Afro-Caribbean mojo through the streets of Oakland, shouting loud and proud to the bursting pulse of their self-assuring anthem. In the middle of that video, they stopped by a Mexican vaquero wear shop where, immediately after entering the building, they paused the turfing beat shower to honor the Mexican song playing on the shop’s speakers. This is the kind of genuine gesture that has situated the duo as one of the most beloved acts in the current wave of cosmopolitan urbanism that includes M.I.A., Systema Solar, and The Very Best.

Under the appealing premise of putting a Panabay twist on hip hop, and after acquiring zeitgeist laurels with “Soy Raka” and “Abrazame” last year, Los Rakas have released their very first proper reference in the seven-track EP, Chancletas y Camisetas Bordadas. Self-released and wonderfully self-assured, we’re in front of one of the year’s most eventful and accomplished urban albums. Los Rakas sing about family business, panties, and national and circumstantial identity in what they’ve rightfully classified as “El Flow Californiano.” Like in the best intros of any Tego Calderon album, the duo opens the show with the self-introducing manifesto, “Vengo de Panama.” This piece is an ode to the land that witnessed the birth of two guys with a fascinating skill at punctuating beats and a clear-minded dexterity at accentuating rhythm.

After a quite moving introduction, the pair takes its chances moving their personal agenda to the dancefloor. In “Panty Wanty” and “Borracho” they boost the temperature to the highest degree, sounding effervescent, if only because of their idiosyncratic delivery. In the former track the cousins find themselves filling melody lines with an over toned “tra tra tra” sequence that’s more suggestive than definite, while in the latter they go on to reference Match & Daddy’s “Pasame La Botella” in a fun, yet ultimately ludicrous, fashion. After a two-track walk on a tightrope, they pick things up with the terrific “Ta Lista,” and, from that point on, Chancletas y Camisetas goes on to break its own purpose in surprising numbers that go beyond the common dancehall record. The should-be-all-over-MTV3 single “Ta Lista” is especially intriguing because of its fragmented depths and hinting disco strings. Also terrific is the instrumentally bundled and delightfully folkloric “Camisetas Borda.”

Throughout the album, the topic of family and neighborhood legacy prevails as Los Rakas’ most proficient theme, which makes me realize this is the kind of record that transcends beyond its actual artistic core. For me, it's the moment when your 13-year-old niece asks if mainstream Latin music is as lame as FM radio makes it seem. As semi-responsible adults, we should always aim for allowing our youth to formulate their own conclusions (for one, because of the generational switch), but between you and I, I felt like congratulating her for realizing that so early in life. We might not have the all-comprehensive tools needed for a Latin airplay reform, but it’s artists like Los Rakas that make us hopeful. Not to say Los Rakas have lost their underground status, but not since Calle 13’s beginnings has an urban act received such approval from all corners of the artistic medium. Because when it comes to Los Rakas, they are as alternative, eclectic, and viscerally majestic as they come.

♫♫♫ "Ta Lista" | Facebook

New Single: Calle 13 - "Vamo'a Portarnos Mal"

After the very disappointing “Calma Pueblo” (worst of the year material), Calle 13 unveils “Vamo’ a Portarnos Mal”, the official first single out of their fourth studio album Entren Los Que Quieran. The Puerto Rican duo has always been a house favorite, but there’s something going on, everything about this album seems to tear us apart, so far, everything has been a disappointment. Both songs only go as far as scratching a bit of metaphoric sense, they’re both militant songs baffled on chaos. See, while we appreciate the ego-centrism of “Que Lloren” or the social-political density of “Pa’l Norte”, Calle 13’s new songs are more concerned about the heroes in them, than the themes they fail to convey.

“Vamo’a Portarnos Mal” is miles better than “Calma Pueblo”, but still minor Calle 13, mostly because of its contradictory lyricism, which is all over the place. The song’s only consistency is its own inconsistency. Residente sings about behaving bad, yet there’s nothing in there that would defy social sense or scare a 9 year old. The music is a bit restrained, but it isn’t the problem; it’s the lack of substance in the lyrics that’s causing our discontent. You know that weird feeling many of us had with MIA’s Maya or Jay Z’s The Blueprint 3? I’m getting the same vibe from Entren Los Que Quieran (even the album title is tiresome).

Seems like we'll be getting a lot of Merengue hybrids this year, first Shakira's "Loca" and now Calle 13, but we get the feeling we will all forget about them when Rita Indiana y Los Misterios' El Juidero arrives next month, that's the definition of something exciting coming our way. Back to Calle 13; I’ll end up this post the same way I did last time, let’s wait for the album, perhaps these pieces sound undercooked in chops.

MP3: Niña Dioz feat. Kid Kimera - "Frepo Minimal, Man!"

A few days ago we were telling you about the upcoming second mixtape by Niña Dioz, here is the impressive upfront track that got us excited in the first place. “Frepo Minimal, Man!” is her best song since “Faquir,” an upbeat, sweaty and weekend-ready tune that’s been haunting our iPods these last couple of days. The kind of song that makes grilling fun, not to mention the calories it burns from your system, just by listening to it. The song is graciously mounted on “Groove 34,” one of the pieces included in Crooker’s Free Beat Pack. This track is a collaboration with 17-year-old rapper Kid Kimera, who’s virtually unknown but we’re keeping an eye on him from now on. “Quieres mas pero que daras? move that ass o te quedaras.”

♫♫♫ "Frepo Minimal, Man!"

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Niña Dioz Preps New Mixtape, Features Collaborations From Plastilina Mosh & Bomba Estereo's Liliana Saumet

Monterrey’s Niña Dioz was last night’s guest at Indie103.1’s Sala de Espera, where she premiered a couple of tracks from her upcoming second mixtape. This soon to be released mixtape includes a collaboration with one of the Plastilina Mosh’s guys (can’t remember which one), as well as a mouthwatering collaboration with Bomba Estereo’s Liliana Saumet. Her label has kept us waiting for way too long for the release her much-anticipated debut LP La Nueva Escuela, but that’s not stopping her from creating new exciting music, which only keeps getting better as she is starting to fully command her medium. As our very own Jean-Stephane Beriot commented, “she’s got the square/precision factor we love in rappers, it shouldn’t be all about speed.” This mixtape will also include one of her best songs, “Frepo Minimal, Man!,”a hot-as-fire tune featuring a very promising 17-year-old kid named Kid Kimera. Also, you don’t want to miss her collaboration with Ceci Bastida, currently offered as a freeload at The Fader.

Maluca - China Food Mixtape

This morning we woke up to Mad Decent’s most recent release, one we’ve been salivating for too long. We’ve been pumping Maluca’s China Food Mixtape all day long. She sounds crazy, evil and damn sexy. It’s not the official debut LP everyone is wishing for, but after a year and a half of nonstop attention solely for her hit “El Tigeraso”, we finally get to hear more. Mad Decent describes this as “a biographical trilogy (Past, Present and Future), if you will, of her musical influences and own music.” While we weren’t expecting this mixtape, we would have hoped for her to include that Gloria Trevi cover so many people talked about on her Mexico City shows. Pay close attention to “Jungle Violento”, “Loca” and of course, the title track. To be reviewed in depth soon. Download Mixtape HERE.

Video: Los Rakas - "Abrazame" feat. Faviola (Uproot Andy Remix)

We keep wondering what took so long for us to fall in love with Los Rakas (2010's LAMC Discovery Award winners), but now that we’ve jumped into their wagon, we’re enjoying every minute of it. The video for “Soy Raka” might have been a bit controversial, but insanely good. They turn the tables in their newest video “Abrazame” (featuring Faviola), a sweet song that should be a mainstream hit all over Latin America; we’re not sure why it isn’t on every radio station out there, we need more songs like this: smart, popular and close to the heart. Probably the most attractive facet in their songs is that they’re completely attached to their surrounding rhythm. And what about that line “El no sabe que tu eres mi princess”, or “yo no te voy a soltar”, but who said fallin in love with a married girl is simple? The video itself isn’t as memorable as “Soy Raka”, but we love how they encompass California and make its locations part of their delightful take on Gyptian's "Hold You" beat, even better executed by Uproot Andy's remix.

New Single: Calle 13 feat. The Mars Volta - "Calma Pueblo"

No one gets more empowered by lyrics than Rene Perez (Residente), one of our most creative ‘leadmen’ in music, and on the shortlist for best rapper in the world. The Puerto Rican duo is back promoting “Calma Pueblo”, the first single from their forthcoming October release, the fourth LP in their shining career. The song features The Mars Volta and, while the premise seems interesting, the song is underwhelming to say the least. I’m trying to figure out if this is as bad as “No Hay Nadie Como Tu” (feat. Café Tacvba), but “Calma Pueblo” is disappointing and very boring. Rene seems uninspired lately, at least judging from his awkward and almost shameful (from his side) collaborations with Dante Spineta, Andres Calamaro and the late Mercedes Sosa.

Calle 13 is probably one of the few acts that could take on the responsibility of speaking for the people, but to do it in such a bland manner is almost offensive to the band’s ideals on superficiality, “lo que sientes tu lo siento yo, porque yo soy como tu.” The lyrics don’t do much and the music is barely there to serve a purpose instead of detonating corporative chains. “Calma Pueblo” is especially irritating because we’ve seen Calle 13 taking on that high-profile character in marvelous songs such as “Querido FBI” or “La Crema.” Here is hoping the group doesn’t lose its edge, “Calma Pueblo” is minor Calle 13, or better worst, Calle 13 trying to hard to be major. Is this ruining our anticipation of the actual album? Not really. After all, they are a step close to being favorite band.

Jowell & Randy - El Momento

El Momento, Jowell & Randy
Machete Music, Puerto Rico
Rating: 60
By Carlos Reyes

We value much of Reggaeton’s aesthetics for their campy value more than anything else. When in excess, the ‘blinblineo’ panache goes from the campy to the douchebag (I’m looking at you Wisin & Yandel), but among Reggaeton’s new voices we find interesting characters taking the aesthetics to a whole new level. Perhaps too hipsterish for the average RockEnEspañol aficionado, but if you’ve enjoyed the genre’s most authentic artists (Arcangel, Alex & Fido, Voltio) make sure to give Jowell & Randy a chance. Their music quality is itself decent, but the whole package is quite enjoyable and even reminiscent to the Mad Decent culture.

No genre builds so much drama on the introduction track than Reggaeton; the “Intro” of El Momento is not the exception. It’s a blast pushing play and hear celestial monk music adorn a reggaeton beat and hilarious lines such as “vamo’ a tirarlos para arriba y esperarlos con el P#&!* bien parao” or “tu me la mamaste y de mi flow te enamoraste.” The intro is followed by the surprisingly titled “Goodbye,” an enjoyable groove that fails in becoming great by a few inches, but mostly because its chorus reminds me of Shakira’s “Waka Waka.” Things get immediately better with the dazzling “Suave y Lento” featuring Wisin, Tico and Franco El Gorila, producers Nesty and Victor “El Nazi” Marioso do some wonderful synths here, although almost ruined by Wisin redundant promo towards the end of the track. As entertaining as most songs are here, none of them reach the catchiness of "Siente El Boom," their collaboration with Tito El Bambino.

“Chica de Novela” picks up on what many would consider to be the ideal narrative, Telenovelas. It’s a got a blowy feel to it that makes the song very likable, closer to Los Rakas but holding on its dream-girl adolescent foundation, “vivir con ella es como si hubieran camaras, luces, accion, como si el mundo nos estuviera viendo.” Even more memorable is “Mi Dama de Colombia” a fun anecdote on love at first sight. To many people’s shock, Puerto Rico’s emblematic reggae band Cultura Profetica collaborates in “Solo Por Ti,” the best track in the album and Jowell & Randy’s heart-on-their-sleeves moment. Jowell & Randy won’t change the Reggaeton for the better and are definitely not a sign of hope for the collapsing genre, what they do offer is a courteous distraction from all the crappy albums we’ve been getting lately.

Video + MP3: Los Rakas - "Soy Raka"

Fader has premiered the highly demanded (and splendid turf) “Soy Raka” by Panama’s hottest act, Los Rakas. They’ve been caring their buzz through every underground outlet on the book, it’s nice to finally see them breakthrough into the pop-culture blogs they clearly belong to. It’s also refreshing to see how well adjusted they seem to be around the Latin Alternative movement, something remarkable considering very few urban artists can make it work (Calle 13, Tego Calderon). The video is technically flawless, but its content has gathered some very heated debate from some of Fonograma’s favorite people like Josh Kun and Toy Selectah who seem disappointed for the song’s chorus “tengo mi pistola y diente de oro”, specifically because such line is shouted by kids. They got a point, considering kids catching up to the catchy tune won’t get the metaphor (gun=mouth), but as their publicist Natalia Linares points out, it’s not so different to those gunshots on MIA’s “Paper Planes.” Catch Los Rakas at this year’s Latin Alternative Music Conference & grab their also amazing track “Abrazame” on our latest compilation.

♫♫♫ "Soy Raka"

Daddy Yankee - Mundial

Mundial, Daddy Yankee
Sony US Latin, Puerto Rico
Rating: 40
By Carlos Reyes

Reggaeton’s departure from its own beat is both, a sad inevitable outcome and a good intentioned resource for the better (?). Personally, I enjoy the dembow more than the current electronics or merengue-induced hybrids coming out of the genre. Not to be a purist, I realize the popular genre is at an emergency zone, desperate to evolve, but the path towards that desired land is rocky to say the least. Like it or not, Daddy Yankee is still the leading man, perhaps not “El Mejor de todos los Tiempos” as the first track from his ninth studio album Mundial suggests, but in vein and influence, Ramon “Raymond” Ayala is still on top. He grabbed four spots on our Best Reggaeton Songs list; we clearly give him enough credit and suspension of disbelief, his new album is a big disappointment, kind of frustrating considering his last album-soundtrack Talento Barrio was brainy all around.

Yankee had every intentional of making “Grito Mundial” the official anthem for FIFA’s South Africa World Cup, but that wasn’t going to happen with Shakira and K’naan sharing the same desire. While the song is cheesy and kind of ridiculous, it sounds giant, a blueprint for stadium-scale landscape. That’s the main problem in the album, most songs are preoccupied with making statements, or even worst, most of them force themselves into presenting a new genre, not realizing Urban has been blending with the dance floor for decades. Yankee always triumphs picking up his singles; “Descontrol” is once again, the proper single, but the fact that it’s so scrawny forefronts what’s to expect in an ultimately forgettable album.

Mundial’s renowned producers Eli “El Musicologo” and Menes “Los De La Nazza” are better producers than Luny Tunes, but not as fun and definitely not as graciously campy. It’s hard to read just how much of the album’s flaws belong to Yankee, his middling artistic qualities seem to be settled. I’m not sure if he is saying “lover” or “loba” on “Que Es La Que Hay”, but it might be referencing Shakira’s “Loba” and Ricky Martin on the same song. But the artist and his producers do a wonderful job in elevating up-scale songs like the very entertaining “Vida En La Noche”, which smells like a hit; “asi es que se vive en la ciudad, una selva de cemento.” One thing is for sure, I might not be able to forgive him for roaring “ferocious” to make it rhyme with “guns n roses”, the same way I don’t forgive Jason Mraz for giving us his “bestest.”

Oro, Choc Quib Town

Oro, Choc Quib Town
Nacional Records, Colombia
Rating: 79
By Carlos Reyes

Our ‘Best of the Decade’ special was built on momentum and with no real guidelines but listing our favorite songs, but deep inside, we had an alert bump squishing our hearts in search for anthems. While Javiera Mena’s transcoded us “Al Siguiente Nivel” and Piyama Party fed our nostalgia through “Fan de Carcass”, we had this blare of including a ‘Latin Anthem’, whatever that is, it’s probably something along the lines of Choc Quib Town’s “Somos Pacifico.” Constructing such a sacred piece takes a lot of guts, and although the intentions are heart whelming, most artists end up displacing their energy in fuzzy laughable songs that only go as far as shouting for Latino unity. Now, “Somos Pacifico” comes out and we can’t help but embrace it, recognizing patterns to Hector Lavoe’s “Mi Gente” on celebrating the neighborhood, the nationality and the race.

‘Somos Pacifico’ meant finding equivalence between our Latino pride and creative dexterity, it also presented us with the most exciting new Urban act in Latin America. Choc Quib Town is a response to Colombia’s folklore through three personas (with wonderful voices) that are clearly affectionate to their roots and naturally competent to demonstrate their passion through music. Fortunately, the passion matches the skill, and it’s that excitement what makes these bouncy infectious rhythms resolve on their own terms. Oro is ChocQuibTown’s first US release and is a compilation album comprised of material previously published in Colombia. We’re probably not you’re average US-based website, so we can’t quite embrace this as novelty since we can’t separate the fact that, we’ve been hearing some of these songs since 2006. ButOro is far more than a hits album; it’s coherent and yes, uncontrollably contagious.

The afrobeat postures every piece on the right places, sometimes disclosing a precious street-quality to them and sometimes shuffling tradition over the walls of culture and language. “El Bombo” previously released on El Bombo EP is a song with so much reach that it could easily recapitulate the state of global pop in terms of its voluptuous aesthetics. “Busca Personas” stands out as a luminous piece on the ability of finding individuals through the Sun’s gifting light, while we can’t help but fall in love with “Pescao Envenenao” (feat. La 33) and “Son Bereju” all over again. Oro makes us think the world is twisted; Alexander Acha taking the Latin Grammy for Best New Artist over Choc Quib Town is an insult to rationality, singing “La Guadalupana” to a reggaeton beat is not dignifying of a breakthrough, this is>

♫♫♫ "De Donde Vengo Yo"
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