The Weekly Coos

Myke Towers shifts the paradigm for expectancy frequently; I can’t deny I’m left surprised by it. Whether he’s implementing some hard bars into these livelier pop reggaeton songs or just coming at us with more of a Hip-Hop flavor that allows him to get grounded with his flows, significant moments hit. Of course, that doesn’t stop with La Pantera Negra or The Black Panther, where he weaves themes pertinent to a central core of the culture. It adds juice to the fire without circumventing what he is going with by dropping some quality bars. Unfortunately, as always, there is an imbalance in quality, never seeming to take that chance to expand beyond focused notes—simply put, there isn’t something close to the dynamic bop that was “El Capi” from his last album, but the significant highs on the album are everlasting. As high as I am with his writing and tenacity to surprise, his albums are inconsistent, partially because he protests too much in forcing some club bangers. Yet, La Pantera Negra is a step up from his last two albums, and more so because Towers focuses on his strengths at the behest of some forgettable reggaeton tracks.

Most of La Pantera Negra’s forgetfulness comes in the first half, where the more reggaeton-like tracks more or less feel drowned out by substandard sonic concoctions. Tracks like “Aunque Llego Otro,” “Otra Oportunidad,” and “Sexo Desenfrenado,” whiff at doing something unique with their production, instead, following a modus operandi that delivers little ingenuity and authenticity, as Towers isn’t honing and making it his own. Much of that comes from hearing and knowing the highs Myke Towers can take when the mind gets put to it, specifically emanating from his beat selections because some of these feel like throwaway beats. Towers’ does give us some glimmer of those highs with “Adivino,” “No Te Veo,” and “Venenosa,” which add more to the table, especially the latter, which gets fun with its more standard flow but has fun with the drums. “No Te Veo” beautifully gets busy, making itself more pronounced with its melodies and a production that helps meld the different vocal styles. “Adivino” brings Bad Bunny into the fold but remains similar to the Jay Wheeler feature; the beat of “Adivino,” which is more club-oriented, comes feeling fresh on the scene.

However, the inconsistency for the Reggaeton tracks gets more highlighted with the final track, “Hasta Luego,” which merely feels lackluster after the more positively outlandish “Adivino.” Outside of “Hasta Luego,” the others blend and cater more to Hip-Hop components, like Towers coming with more aggressive flows that cement some of his strength beneath a shining light. There is no back-and-forth tug and pull, weaving one for him, one for the club; Myke Towers, as I stated earlier, surprises. One such surprise comes from “Otra Noche,” which interpolates “La Noche” by Joe Arroyo, bringing some salsa flavor into this hyperactive flow, where the reggaeton notes are more pronounced; it’s this album’s “El Capi.” It’s focused and elevated to the nines, becoming a pivotal part of an epic three-track run that begins the second half of La Pantera Negra. Other surprises come from Towers’ rapping, like the opening track, “Competencia” where he calls out the idea that there is a competition, as people see him as that, bringing a sense of hierarchical confidence—eventually humbled by “Dinero y Fama,” which gets more self-conscious about his life, noting how cold it has gotten him at times. It’s a sentiment he brought up earlier on the fantastic “Frio;” it’s a trail of breadcrumbs that give us a clearer picture.

The Hip-Hop in Myke Towers reflects in the flows, a definitive highlight like the features, which consistently hit, even when their respective tracks don’t carry much memorability outside of them. Though some are there for the hooks or choruses, for Omar Montes’s sake, the others come through with the expectancy and delivery, making them non-sequiturs towards the album’s flow. Unfortunately, Jay Wheeler and NTG are on weaker tracks. The others shine, giving us something to combat against the quality of Towers’s performances on those tracks. Like the three-track run early in the second half, with more club hits, we get another fantastic run that blends it all, including the features. Cosculluela, YovngChimi, and Bad Bunny deliver their style to give each track its own identity and push Towers to be more than expected. “Diablita” is more Drill-Trap-Rap hybrids, which carry gloomy overtones, mirroring what you’d hear from YovngChimi; “Adivino” is more abstract, playing more to that bravado we hear from Bad Bunny; “Vamo A Darle” isn’t much different from others, but what it has is Towers and Cosculluela trading verses, two a piece, with ferocity. It all culminates into another solid outing that still squanders its full potential.

La Pantera Negra is a step up from Towers’s last two ventures, but it still isn’t enough for me to be that over the moon by. It’s an album that has soul, but moments of soullessness. Those come from the tracks that don’t try to be more than just the surface layer constructs, making you latch to the moments he’s rapping-rapping more. It’s an album that surprises like previous ones but still doesn’t have that same sizzle like Lyke Myke, which saw Towers deep in his rap bag and gives us some quality heaters. I’d recommend it solely because of the great tracks and the fun club hits later on in the tracklisting, but after that, it’s more or less on you if the vibe is right. Give it a spin, and I hope the vibes translate onto you.