Farina‘s addiction to perreo is contagious on her new single “Adicta al Perreo.” On Friday, the Colombian rapper released the track and its accompanying music video as she paid tribute to street culture, namedropped Jennifer Lopez and Rick Ross, and declared herself the “queen of TikTok.” “I’m really excited to …
Read More »Five Artists on What It's Like to Sing Elvis Costello's Songs in Spanish
When Elvis Costello decided to re-record his album This Year’s Model entirely in Spanish, he knew he wasn’t going to do it alone. He saw the entire thing as a lively, hands-on collaboration in which he’d give Spanish-speaking artists access to the original master recordings from the iconic 1978 LP …
Read More »Watch Jennifer Lopez, Rauw Alejandro's 'Cambia El Paso' Video
Jennifer Lopez and Rauw Alejandro dance their way through change in the video for new single, “Cambio El Paso” (“Change the Step”). The track marks the first time the duo have collaborated. In the visual, Lopez and Alejandro dance their way to feeling unencumbered to find what they want. It …
Read More »Rico Nasty Joins Kali Uchis on Thundering, Bilingual 'Aquí Yo Mando'
Kali Uchis embraces the brute-force 808s and chattering hi-hats of trap on her new single “Aquí Yo Mando.” Uchis is casually commanding here, making her control clear in the song’s opening lines: “You do everything that I say,” she raps in Spanish. “If you’re with me, only I call the shots.” Uchis …
Read More »Bad Bunny in Captivity
S omewhere on the northern shore of Puerto Rico sits a modest Airbnb with white stucco walls and a roof covered in fake grass. Inside, the island’s most exciting young superstar is fighting off boredom any way he can. It’s mid-March, days after Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced ordered …
Read More »Latin Music Is Growing Faster Than Overall U.S. Music Market
Latin music’s streaming surge only intensified in 2019, according to new research from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The trade body revealed Thursday that revenues for the genre in 2019 reached a new high of $554 million — roughly one-third, or 28% more than the previous year. It …
Read More »The First Time With Nicky Jam
Puerto Rican–Dominican singer, songwriter, and actor Nicky Jam is one of reggaeton‘s most prolific talents. Following his 2019 full-length release, Intimo, he kicked off the year with a feature role alongside Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in their latest blockbuster, Bad Boys for Life. In this edition of “The First …
Read More »This Week in Latin Music: Introducing 'La Cardi' B, New Piso 21 and Christian Nodal
This week was all about the all-star collaborations. Fat Joe locks in Anuel AA and Cardi ‘La Cardi’ B on Spanglish track, “Yes”; Tito El Bambino, Pitbull and El Alfa run wild in “Imagínate”; and Piso 21 recruits Christian Nodal on “Pa’ Olvidarme de Ella.” In case you missed it, …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Sech, 'Otro Trago (Remix)'
At first listen, Panamanian singer Sech might be easily mistaken for a long lost Latino member of Boyz II Men. (And had he been alive in 1991, he surely would have finessed the band’s Spanish-language hit, “Al Final de Camino.”) As part of a new generation of Latin pop stars …
Read More »Bachata Legend Juan Luis Guerra Fights Nostalgia on New Album, 'Literal'
It had been five years since Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra last released a studio album: that is until May 31st, when the titan of bachata and merengue would unveil his latest LP, Literal. Guerra’s 11-track LP traverses genres beyond his typical repertoire, including salsa, son and even electronic — …
Read More »