The Weekly Coos

As it has seemed since I first came across Myke Towers, he’s been doing some of one for you and one for me, and through it, we’ve got some quality work on both sides of the aisle. When done so, we’ve noticed this unique switch that gets flipped and turned on its head as he breaks down the complexities of his person through sheer reggaeton-rap/hip-hop/trap hybrids that spoke volumes compared to his more reggaeton-flavored work that blends flows from Hip-Hop/Rap, but loses traction since the content is never consistently intriguing. The latter was prevalent in La Vida Es Una, released earlier this year, and Myke Towers returns with a follow-up that’s all the same in La Vida Es Una: Vive La Tuya…No La Mia. It’s not that complex, feeling more at home where he is now in his career and the comfortability that comes with it, like Drake these days. However, there is some good work here, but at the same time, it’s filled with thematic redundancies as he’s rapping a lot about random women, dates, excess, and the rare grounding that sees him showing his technical and writing prowess. Production-wise, he’s getting beats where the influence from salsa is potent; unfortunately, they get wasted on a decent slog of 23 tracks.

La Vida Es Una: Vive La Tuya…No La Mia isn’t devoid of quality, yet with its shift in focus into being faux pa, it leaves little to the imagination as Myke Towers seems to fall into the trappings of mundane content that sometimes feels self-conscious. On the album, we hear him rapping about the different types of women he dates, his successes, and more, but, in all honesty, he’s just trying to accomplish his best Drake impression, and it comes off just as stale a lot. It’s a mix of songs that rehash similar sentiments, making it more of a fan thing where it’s on the ears of the listener; if this is the Myke Towers you’re hungering for, then it’ll keep you thrilled. I won’t lie; I was a marginal fan of La Vida Es Una, listening to how Towers maneuvers through both styles and delivers this beautiful bravado through his flexes amongst his more tropical flair reggaeton raps. It isn’t as diverse, with Myke Towers aiming to make it a livelier and party-fueled album filled with attempted anthems that make you appreciate his features on similar songs more, as there are some constraints. 

When Myke Towers ventures on the same path solo, the limitations show as he’s subsetting his narrative talents for something more sellable and apropos. It’s as if he can’t sell delivering one way, similar to how some Drake fans feel he can’t drop a full rappity-rap album—this notion comes from the numbers his one song produced by The Alchemist on Scary Hours 3, compared to others on it—it’s humdrum mediocrity that I wish had more of a flair that doesn’t imbue enough energy that I’m going to want to bump it at the club or at a party, compared to some of the more lush songs out there. It’s a companion album, but more so, it’s just an album that’s doubling down, but with the personification that he’s living his life, we live ours—the discrepancies within that parallel with us and try to have relativity. With that notion, you’d expect something more pertinent to his childhood because of the life he reflects in many of these songs that I’d rather have than my boring 9-to-5.

Maybe I’m just that cynical that expectancy holds some weight; even so, Myke Towers sets up something interesting here, even trying to bring some quality wordplay, like with “EMRATA,” named after Emily Ratajkowski, rapping, “Se ve exótica, flow Emily Ratajkowski/El exnovio está roncando de kilero y no es ni jockey/Ella es fría como Denver, pero yo le juego abajo como Jokić;” alongside songs like “Aloha,” “Obvio,” and “Five Guys,” for example bring something to lean on. However, outside of them, many more carry little creativity, making songs like “Obvio” and “Novato” some memorable feats by Towers. Songs like “Obvio” and “Novato” are what I’d expect more of, especially as I felt after an opener like “Obvio,” we’d get more so this, songs that reflect him as a person and not the superficiality of fawning women and flexing excess like he’s compensating—maybe I’m looking at it wrong, considering the flows and beats do enough to keep attention high, Towers’ weakness shines here, even if he’s ostensibly sounding like he’s having less fun than La Vida Es Una, from earlier this year. It makes the listen-through more of a slog to finish despite being shorter than most Latin and hip-hop albums released this year, even at 23 songs.

Many songs are fun and at least bring something different, considering some of the beats Myke Towers raps and croons over. It’s incorporating much from musical and cultural roots of his birthplace, like some salsa notes here and there and taking different tonal melodies within his singing. Unfortunately, it isn’t enough to keep one enthused as they proceed from beginning to end. But as I’ve noted previously, there are some highlights. And through those highlights, I found myself finding some gems boastful for the club. It’s very by the numbers and, in doing so, plays it safe; yet, I’d still say give it a spin because much of this is your vibe, compared to mine, where I have more qualms. In the end, it’s good enough to skirt by and make you remember the earlier release in Q1 of 2023.