Tag: Latin Pop

Karol G – Mañana Será Bonito

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While Karol G continues to flex different sonic palettes, she still tends to fall back on meandering, drab, reggaeton beats that usually don’t divulge the layers of her vocals. Fortunately, it’s less evident in her latest release Mañana Será Bonito, which sees her explore more tropical foundations, mirroring older pop styles beneath the rich drum patterns and strings. Mañana Será Bonito is this slight divergence from the more electronic and Latin trap/pop – Karol G expresses depth in character within her emotional range, buoying a blend of contemplative and confidence-inducing records. They take you through a colorful mixture of sounds that can sometimes surprise you, like when it places the folk-influenced “Gucci Los Paños” in between two club-driven pop-reggaeton beats or when it incorporates more genre-bending. It slowly shifts the perception of Karol G’s artistry as she looks to grow past her previous era and let the music flow through her naturally as she did on Oceans, her album from 2019. Unfortunately, you get the occasional standard reggaeton beat that doesn’t move the needle, leaving you to feel like she could have done something more with it.

Opening with an intriguing sample of Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” Karol G begins to set the stage for a sound that fiercely dominates the positives of Mañana Será Bonito. It’s more akin to an album like Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny, where it played with aesthetic and construction to build this album out of a vibe. The difference between the two comes from Karol G driving thematic motifs to reinforce the idea behind the title’s translation and keep a steady flow of themes. She’s delivering music that speaks on past relationships, feeling confident in your body and rejuvenated. It’s how this gets produced – on here, Karol G shares other similarities with Un Verano Sin Ti besides the tropical overtones – she creates constructive looseness where the sound can keep flowing while constantly shifting. That doesn’t always translate to fresh, quality music that brings more than aesthetic, like “Besties” and “Gátubela.” The former is more apropos in its clubby-vibe, never growing beyond these non-exciting drum patterns. The latter delivers nostalgic production mirroring the style of the early 00s, equally feeling like add-ons. 

Keeping with one of her recurring producers, Ovy On the Drums, Karol G feels at home delivering these beautiful melodic performances over percussion-heavy beats. His inconsistency brings down Mañana Será Bonito, leaving you more enthralled by tracks he didn’t produce and or co-produced, as he can grasp his strength and have others build around it beautifully. Ovy On The Drums shines with his work on the tracks “Provenza,” “Carolina,” Amagura,” and “Mientras Me Curo Del Cora,” which Ovy co-produced, but his misses are glaring. Additionally, Ovy opens and closes the album, along with Tainy and Alejandro Jimenez, on incredible highs with tracks that truly build themselves to be more than what they could have been. Like how Ovy incorporates more tropical riffs to shroud the bachata-influenced acoustics and percussion as we get these small subtleties that help refine the album to be better than expected and a properly whelmed surprise.

However, other times it’s more derivative, leaving you wanting more and never satisfying, like “Tu Gafitas” and “Dañamos La Amistad.” They add more to its reggaeton/pop base, expanding it through distinct strings and synth orchestrations overlaying them. “Tu Gafitas” stands firmly, separating itself from the others with twinkly pop tones orchestrated by Finneas, balancing out the Latin flavor with these smooth disco undercurrents. It blossoms into this fantastic moment where Karol G continues to shine after the excellent Shakira co-authored “TQG.” Shakira comes in and commands her presence on the track, like many features that fit the aesthetic, balancing vocal layers, like on the reggae/dancehall-inspired “Karmika” with Bad Gyal and Sean Paul. It’s similar to the monstrous closer, the pop-reggaeton and lavish mix with Carla Morrison, “Mañana Será Bonito,” boasting a powerful duet to new levels, getting us to hear these distinct, reassuring directions, like with dynamic reggaeton/dembow-influenced “Ojos Ferrari.” It’s truly great work.

Mañana Será Bonito surprised me more than it did, especially after her more reggaeton-flavored KG0516, which felt staler in its approach to be more outwardly. But as Karol G refines her sense of musical direction, she explodes with radiant sounds that beautifully fit the cadence of her vocal melodies. Her features boast the delivery of the music, making some of the lesser-quality tracks somewhat digestible in the grand scheme of things, making one solid release from the Colombian Reggaeton Superstar.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Feid – FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS FERXXO TE PIRATEAMOS EL ÁLBUM: Review

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Continuing to soar through the Latin-Pop soundscapes, Colombian Reggaeton/Pop artist Feid has amassed popularity and a foundation that plateaus some of his contemporaries. Though he isn’t a powerhouse like the global superstars in his realm, he has been able to pave a path with crystalized glass reflecting the nature of his talent from varying angles. Feid’s vocal performances are just a fraction of that talent, as we witness the craftsmanship in his song structures, which see complementing melodies and harmonic transitions that enthrall the senses. We’ve heard Latin artists push past the perreo–the conceptual promiscuity, to develop depth within the confines of magnetic pop/reggaeton hits. He continues to stride on his follow-up to Inter Shibuya – La Mafia, FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS FERXXO TE PIRATEAMOS EL ÁLBUM, which continues to shift the playing field. It weaves intricate overtures and subtleties within the production, creating more foolproof vibes that keep you enticed from start to finish, despite being the weakest component.

An album that imbues some sense of celebration, FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS FERXXO TE PIRATEAMOS EL ÁLBUM is an expression of Feid’s lows and momentous highs through a musical reflection that transcends past surface-level club bangers. It builds hype within the first few tracks, notably the first two, where spoken audio elevates the potency of its delivery, making us bow to the rhythm. It grows and grows, keeping your body in motion, but the engine starts to putter along a semi-rocky ride. But that ride comes with significantly dynamic highlights you can’t help but find consistent replayability, whether it comes from the hypnotic melodies or the crisp lyricism, as the beat is there to back up Feid. Like on the captivatingly fun “Feliz Cumpleaños Ferxxo” or the enigmatic “Si Te La Encuentras Por Ahí,” we’re getting swaggering harmonic and melodic earwormy hits, and they stockpile on top of each other, despite lesser beats comparatively.

The production isn’t the most compelling aspect of FCFTPEA; however, that isn’t to say there aren’t any spectacular moments. The consistency isn’t as forthcoming as on Inter Shibuya – La Mafia–we still get moments like “Nieve,” “XQ Te Pones Así,” and “Quemando Calorías” shift the paradigm of conventionalism concerning the core influence that the beat takes from and embodies. “Nieve” is this radiant House track that sees Feid flexing while subtly showing his heart on his sleeves as he recounts who he is to this significant other. “Quemando Calorías” brings kinetic drum beats and nuanced electronic tones that escape the trappings of simple reggaeton. It’s a consistently unique surprise to hear these sonic shifts that take us away from the predominantly familiar but effective reggaeton hits. It isn’t like “XQ Te Pones Así,” which incorporates nostalgic percussion patterns that elevate the strengths of Feid and Yandel’s vocals.

Unfortunately, the beats aren’t as consistent as they’ve been in the past, instead of leveraging the slightly experimental nature of the album. Feid expresses bravado with his songwriting prowess, allowing the production to coast fluidly, but sometimes you can’t overcome some of its simplicities. “Lady Mi Amor” is too plain and suffers from being less than interesting after teasing something mystifyingly electric. Similarly, “Aguante” gives us these harmonious pianos and synths to start–when the drop occurs, the synths never change, keeping a consistent rhythm–later becoming more cumbersome to the simple but effective reggaeton beat. There’s modest consistency in that regard; it further leaves it up to Feid to stitch it all together. He couldn’t do so with “Normal,” another track with a less–than impressive beat but enjoyably pertinent lyricism. It makes you reflect on past work, notably the imbalance between excellent and meh. There’s a continuous show of highlights that you almost forget the aforementioned nothing burgers. Instead, you could be indulging in the vibrant “Belixe,” an EDM/Reggaeton hybrid that hits the right notes of sunset dance vibes. I know I’ll be.

FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS FERXXO TE PIRATEAMOS EL ÁLBUM is fun and whimsical, at times, transformative, but it isn’t the quality one would expect after his last album. But that isn’t to say it was a cluster of a mess. I found myself lost in the rhythm, letting it replay with ease, but as it rounds out, I would still rather revisit the colorful flurries we get on Inter Shibuya – La Mafia. It’s still a big recommendation from me if you’re eager to explore more of the Latin-Pop/Reggaeton world.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Camila Cabello – Familia: Review

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Composed and structured, these are a few reasons why Familia by Camila Cabello resonates more musically compared to previous records. Unfortunately, that doesn’t say much as it still misses to hit the mark as a pop album. For the few times my ears perk up, they quickly flatten as Camila tries to blend flavorful Latin Pop within whatever bad ideas flow through her creative mind. It’s as if she tries to find a middle road between earwormy harmonies and melodies and consistently basic songwriting. She’s had some catchy and replayable hits, mostly coming from songs that have some roots in her native culture. Familia lets her vocals naturally materialize over its production and give us a pulse of vibrant Latin Pop textures, but some production and songwriting are still on the opposite end.

Unlike the glitz and glamour of pop that masked Romance, Familia has a more natural feel with its vision musically. It doesn’t get wrapped by overly produced pop textures; instead, it gets stripped, rearranged with the Latin music that influenced Camila Cabello in her youth and during her time with family during the pandemic. There are elements of Rumba, Salsa, Bachata, and Folk, but It’s not exclusive to those as they get blended into whimsical pop tracks with identity. It doesn’t matter the approach Cabello brings; there is synchronization between her vocal melodies, harmonies, and the production, which is the driving hook for more easy replayability. 

Unfortunately, going that route would be more for the synchronization that allows you to listen to 11 of 12 songs without taking a totally jarring detour. It gives the technical aspects of the music traction, even if songs teeter between more conventional or more vibrant, but it’s only as good as the writing. Camila Cabello isn’t known for having deeply enchanting choruses. Her writing can stand out, specifically in her verses, but for the most part, it stays mundane. It doesn’t match her melodies as they come across as radiantly captivating. It’s a happy medium that, despite the direction the production takes, it feels natural. It doesn’t make every song incredible, but it keeps steady for better or worse. It left me wishing she kept it tighter to being open face Latin Pop, but she takes a few directions, one works; the others don’t.

However, that isn’t to downplay some of the standouts on Familia. Opening with “Celia,” Camila Cabello hits the right chords as she evokes her inner Celia Cruz. It builds off the Salsa-like rhythm and creates this hypnotic pop song that mirrors what Celia kept going for us, the addiction to dance. Since Cabello’s solo debut, anytime the production utilized Latin music to guide the style, she’d shine. It was evident with the quality shift from “She Loves Control” and “Havana” to “Inside Out.” We don’t get an inconsistency in style on Havana since any shift in style still carries a consistent piece of Latin music built-in. The subtleties fuel any centric-glitzy pop and give them definition like the use of maracas, and other percussion notes, on the trip-hop-centric “psychofreak.”

Camila Cabello is mostly a hitmaker, and sometimes it shows when certain corners get cut to check off boxes like catchy choruses and earwormy melodies. None of those occasions come from songs about Shawn Mendes, as they tend to the more basic. That isn’t to say that Cabello isn’t capable of writing great verses, shining when she writes Spanish language songs and hybrids. It separates the greatness of “Celia” and “La Vida Buena” with “Quiet” and “Boys Don’t Cry.” The latter two aren’t as profound, embodying a little more conservative electro-pop notes and mundane lyrics, mirroring the simple but effective melodies. Some of the songs are personal, but the vocabulary isn’t always eye-popping like in “Quiet.” In the song’s verse, Cabello tries to deliver a sexy lead-in but falls flat with forgettable descriptions; on the pre-chorus, it’s the same with the lines, “It’s you, boy/I’m cool like an icicle ’til I see you, boy,” and her vocals mask it for the most part. It doesn’t make them good, despite having technical components down.

It’s similarly the case with the last two tracks on Familia. It left me with the same feeling as Camila Cabello’s previous albums, predominately underwhelmed. Through the hurdles of getting caught by catchy melodies, great songs do stand out amongst the others, which continue to show us Cabello’s strengths. It may be fun to get lost in, but it’s very memorable. Familia will deliver some tracks that can fit varying playlists, but those are minimal. Hopefully, Camila Cabello grows from this and makes more Spanish language hits.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

Daddy Yankee – LEGENDADDY: Review

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2022 has been one helluva of a year–from the postponement of the annual Grammy Awards to April 3rd to Maury Povich retiring and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon performing this summer at Lollapalooza–nothing has churned more emotions than the announcement of Daddy Yankee’s retirement: the architect of who defined reggaeton as a genre. It’s bittersweet for fans, but he leaves with a monstrous send-off on his 8th and final studio album, LEGENDADDY. Being his first album in a decade, we’ve seen reggaeton’s growth from nuanced ballads to pop-bangers which bridge samples of sonic influence. It’s all relative to your cultural roots and the music that inspired you from youth. Daddy Yankee made reggaeton what it is today, allowing for a free flow of ingenuity to become universally accepted as new artists create their foundation. LEGENDADDY takes various eras of reggaeton and weaves them into a musically transcendent timeline of music history, with Daddy Yankee surprising us at almost every turn.

Let’s not mince words: we’ve heard singles throughout the last few years, each showing different directions with auspicious production and captivating flows and melodies as Daddy Yankee ignites a flame into these new, younger artists who he’s influenced. LEGENDADDY features some of these artists as they match wits with the DY, expressing themselves within the sounds they’ve refined themselves. Myke Towers joins Daddy Yankee for “PASATIEMPO,” a stellar dancefloor electro-pop/reggaeton anthem that incorporates more melodies than the reggaeton-trap hybrid “ZONA DEL PERREO” and “HOT.” Whenever Daddy Yankee is trying to command the dancefloor, he juxtaposes these sounds to give us an essence of his range in style. Following “PASATIEMPO,” Daddy Yankee sings and raps over tropical-laced percussion on “RUMBATÓN,” taking away the house-pop sample for authentic representation. 

We hear elements of salsa, bolero, or bachata in its rhythm phase of the 2000s, to its hip-hop side and trap/perreo side of today. It’s organized chaos, allowing us to marvel at the work he delivered throughout the years. The production is as vibrant as ever, and each track has its value on the dance floor. Unfortunately, not every track lands on all notes. “ZONA DEL PERREO” suffers from redundant lyricism; it’s a simple track about dancing, particularly perreando or dancing Doggystyle. The production is lush and feels like a waste, as Natti Natasha and Becky G become forgettable with poor mixing and autotune. It isn’t like “AGUA” with Rauw Alejandro and Nile Rodgers, which precedes it. “AGUA” mixes the complexions of reggaeton with disco, bringing a slightly funky bass to round it out while Daddy Yankee and Rauw Alejandro rap and sing in a beautiful tangent.

Daddy Yankee is more than the surface layer reggaeton tracks we hear. Beneath the production, Daddy Yankee rarely takes a step-back with his lyricism, as he flexes and expresses these emotions in coded melodies that have us gyrating whenever we stop doing the 1-2-3 step of Bachata. Within these songs, we hear Daddy Yankee flexing his status as a legend, his humble beginnings, and aspects of relationships–like “IMPARES,” which sees Daddy Yankee lamenting the emotional distance between him and his wife due to his mistakes. Following the previous song, Daddy Yankee raps about his imperfections while finding acceptance in his faults as he justifies opposites attract–this gets juxtaposed by how it expresses hiccups within the relationship. The multiple layers on these tracks come from commanding confidence behind the board and microphones, as Daddy Yankee and his producers create these productions that feel fresh and different than last.

Beyond proclaiming his status on “CAMPEÓN,” Daddy Yankee takes the time to reaffirm it. After a few danceable and emotional bangers, Daddy Yankee comes with “UNO QUITAO Y OTRO PUESTO,” which encapsulates his youth with potent energy in an attempt to lay down his legacy in music form. It’s a true reggaeton-hip hop hybrid that he is known for–it has been one of the reasons I’ve personally been in awe of his talent, from the “Rompe Remix” to “Gangsta Zone” and “TATA Remix,” there isn’t a moment that he fails to show how extensive that utility belt is. This energy is rampant throughout LEGENDADDY, showing in different ways, but nothing as mesmerizing as tracks where he drapes it with powerful verses, like on “ENCHULETIAO,” where he raps about being hooked to the hustle.

LEGENDADDY is a triumph. It shows why Daddy Yankee has been the driving force behind the escalation of the genre today with his influence for the next generation, bridging many genres and languages together. We forget Daddy Yankee was making songs with Fergie and Snoop Dogg before we saw Bad Bunny make a song with Will Smith or DeLaGhetto making a song with Fetty Wap. It’s a fantastic album that plateaus him higher than most pop artists, and his name will remain in the ears of many for years to come.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.