Artist: ChocQuibTown
Colombian reggaeton group ChocQuibTown dropped their newest album today titled
El Mismo (Translated as The Same) and I have to say that it is great.
El Mismo is the group's fifth album to date and it brings the flavor and energy that the group is known for. The titled track is set to an upbeat Latin instrumental and the three of them do a decent job on terms of flow and energy. It's relatively ok as it gives you an understanding of their style, but the proceeding tracks after the original version of "Cuando Te Veo" are the noteworthy pieces in this album. This LP has a varied range in terms of tone and sound. You have tracks like "El Mismo" and "Una Raza Llamada Sabor" that are the more upbeat salsa type songs while you also have the placid tracks like "Cuando Te Veo" and "Nuqui". "Salsa & Choque ft. Ñejo" is my personal favorite of the dance tracks. It had a hoe busting out some salsa by her lonesome.
I have to also point out that the production is exceptional on this album. Slow Miguel did a superb job on constructing this. The tunes are fine salsa and reggaeton beats. The guitars and xylophones featured throughout are my favorite instruments. The saxaphone on "Nuqui" was also a nice touch to add to the serenity the song evokes.
As far as the rapping goes, I feel that it is done rather well. Carlos has the best flow out of the group, Gloria's rhymes are a nice blend from her vocals, and Miguel has the best energy. I cannot comment on their lyrics as they rhyme in Spanish and not being well versed in it. I know Spanish well enough, but enough to dissect it from music, especially something as fast moving as rap. If I could find lyrics for this album I'll dissect them then.
This album also features four renditions of their leading single "Cuando Te Veo". All of them are pretty good and apply a different genre to each version. A couple of the mixes actually sound better than the original. I have to say I probably like the Pop version the most. I'm not sure why Cuando Te Veo" was the choice for the leading single. It's too safe. I feel that "Salsa & Chocque" would've been better and would have done better. It has the hot dance vibe to it which I feel would be popular in the clubs and bars It should definitely be the next one.
Overall, this album is fantastic and I have to say their best album to date.
El Mismo is a recommend of the highest caliber.
9/10
Notable Tracks:
Salsa & Chocque ft. Nejo,
Una Raza Llamada Sabor, &
Nuqui (Te Quiero Para Mi)
Artist: all city
MC Melodee promoted her track on this album this morning and since I dug what I heard I gave it a listen. Onra is an Irish hip-hop producer and today he brings his feature heavy project Fundamentals today. Immediately I feel a click with the album. Onra's trance inducing beat on the intro pulled me in and the proceeding tracks never let me go. Chuck Inglish is the first rapper to appear on this. His flow is pretty good on this track, not perfect, but the only qualms I had is that it's a bit hard to understand him sometimes so I couldn't actually judge the lyrics. He definitely needs to work on his enunciation. The other featured rappers are within the same skill level, some are better than others;MC Melodee, Black Milk, and Daz Dillinger specifically.
The range of rappers featured provide different sounds to encompass the production on the project. To specifically talk about the production I find it above the standard. His choice of beats are in the style of boom bap, r&b, and electronic. This means that nearly the entire album has a tranquil vibe to it. He also seems to tailor a couple of tracks to the emcee. "Love Tip" sounds like something from Cookin Soul or off of Melodia's
Electronic Love album and "That's Me" sounds like something that Black Milk produced himself. That's the note of a skilled artist that knows what type of beats fit with his emcee.
The vocalists on this album could be a bit better. Most of them sound like lounge singers, well Suzi doesn't. She sounds more like those modern female R&B singers that I don't like. KC is a little better, but not by much. I won't bother looking up any albums from him if he has any. To be conclusive here, this is a great album with some fantastic production and some skilled emcees on it. I'd recommend it.
8/10
Recommended Tracks:
Love Tip feat. MC Melodee,
That's Me feat. Black Milk, &
Money
Artists: Pumpkin & Vin'S da Cuero
Pumpkin releases her followup collaboration album with producer Vin'S da Cuero on Peinture Fraiche. I listened to Le Beau Temps last year and thought it was ok, but this one is definitely better. Vin'S does a good job on the production on this album. His sound is a blend of 90's style beats with a bit of techno. 20syl also has a featured track on here and while it's good I feel that he should've mixed it up a little bit. The beginning part of it sounds too much like something from Motif. The entirety of this album with the exception of "FIFTY FIFTY" evokes a relaxed tone. I could get lost in it while scribbling away in my drawing pad.
Like with El Mismo I can't judge most of this on a lyrical level as it's in a language that's foreign to me, but it's even worse in this case as I've only had two years of French classes in my lifetime. Pumpkin however is crafty young woman who has a love for the genre and displays mad skills when it comes to flow. I don't know what the hell she is saying, but it sounds good and her accent doesn't overbear on the works. The featured emcees on here are all great. Unlike Fundamentals, I think I might look into Mr. J Medeiros. She brings back Boog Brown and Rita J from Le Beau Temps and both sisters hold it down on these tracks as does Dynasty on "MOUVEMENT".
This album is an all around good package an has me looking forward to hearing more from her. Shoutouts to the Illest Blog for introducing me to her in the first place.
8/10
Recommended Tracks:
FIFTY FIFTY feat. 20syl,
BYE BYE MADELEINE feat. Mr. J Medeiros, &
LA MER À BOIRE (A CAT CALLED FRITZ REMIX) feat. Jay Prince