Rough Guide To Urban Latino

[coll]: Rough Guide to Urban Latino (World Music Network)
Reviewed by Sadie O., 2/10/06
Just what it says it is – examples of the enormous range of music coming from barrios all over the Latin world. Some of the most inventive popular music around is coming out of Mexico and regions south, and it doesn’t even get played on the Latin stations up here, so this comp is a real godsend, although it barely scratches the surface.
No FCCs. I don’t care for 12 and 14, but the rest are good to great. Hard to pick faves!
1. **downtempo, builds slowly, hard political hip hop. Good lyrics (in Spanish), large chorus of “No Mas”. Simple and effective.
2. **Midtempo cool salsa, spare instrumentation (mostly percussion), back and forth between solo and chorus vocals which provide syncopation of their own.
3. **BIG sound, midtempo ska-based rhythm. Lots of party sounds, fun example of how ska was adapted to Latin tastes.
4. **All-girl hip hop outfit starts out imitating American hootchie hip hop and then tears it a new asshole. Yay!
5. **Great example of reggaeton, without the stupid macho sexist trappings. Midtempo, very danceable. Ends abruptly.
6. *Midtempo Cuban cumbia/ska. Lots of traditional elements (horns and goofy yells). You are totally on a street corner in Havana drinking rum with the gang.
7. **Columbian rap, downbeat and controlled but clearly angry. Both male and female rappers – nice.
8. *Uptempo merengue with lots of percussion, rather muffled vocals, some in English. Much happier sounding than most tracks. A bit experimental.
9. **Downtempo cumbia, nice booty-shaker straight from the ‘hood.
10. **Synthetic dance beat – syncopated percussion comes in and mixes it up into a way upbeat samba bloco groove. Energetic and fun.
11. *You can’t fool me – that’s Desi Arnaz at the Copacabana! Oh wait, it’s some German guy… Anyway, it’s oh so cool, midtempo mambo electronica.
12. Very much American hip hop in Spanish. mid-to-downtempo. VERY long fade at end.
13. *Electronica with a Latin beat, very chill midtempo.
14. SOOO 80’s goth pop (but in Spanish). Midtempo.
15. **Midtempo “nortec” (electronica from Tijuana). Great dance beat, damned impossible to resist.