Rolling Afro-Latin Music 2020: Reggaeton, Salsa, Bomba, Latin Jazz, Bachata, Merengue, Urbano and more Latinx

https://www.forbes.com/sites/garysuarez/2020/04/28/juice-wrld-logs-his-first-billboard-latin-chart-hit/

All about collaborations on Billboard Latin charts

At Virtual Birdland again.

If you look in the feed seems about half the comments are from the band themselves.

That's too bad.

More indie-pop I guess but gonna mention here anyway the new Helado Negro with Xenia Rubinos collaboration "I Fell in Love"

I like it

i love Xenia a lot but that track's not doing it for me.

It is happening again. They got a new mixing engineering recently, I heard.

nice version of "Iko Iko"

AfroLatinjazzalliance Facebook page.

In other news, Bad Bunny is on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Plus there was controversy where a certain Bad Bunny song was taken off Spotify allegedly due to a foul Spanish language slang verse. I think's back. Also read that young reggaeton fans were recording tiktok challenges with the song, where they would play it for their abuelas and see the reaction.

Bad Bunny with another album already--

He didn’t rest for long. A few weeks after our first conversation, Martínez and Berlingeri recorded a new song in his home: “En Casita,” a twee trap ballad about wanting to visit a lover but needing to stay in quarantine. A month later, Bad Bunny dug deep into his vault of unfinished songs, and finalized an 11th-hour follow-up to YHLQMDLG titled Las Que No Iban a Salir, a collection of 10 tracks scrapped from previous sessions.

Martínez first teased the tracks during an Instagram Live stream, sipping rum and singing whimsically into a wooden spoon. Most of the songs were produced during the Yo Hago sessions, but still lacked Bad Bunny’s swaggering verses. Martínez phoned reggaeton veterans like Nicky Jam and Don Omar, who recorded new guest vocals from their homes; he then headed to his engineer La Paciencia’s house, and finished vocals on the remaining tracks in two days. “There was no real meaning behind it,” he says. “I just thought, ’Damn. What people need is entertainment.'”

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bad-bunny-cover-story-lockdown-puerto-rico-new-albums-996871/

To his mother’s great discontent, Martínez quit the church choir at 13 and adopted a new spiritual practice: He’d stay up until dawn, craft beats on his computer, then improvise freestyles for his friends at school. If there were no fresh beats at the ready, he would improvise over salsa music; as he got older, he began regaling neighbors from his balcony with songs by the great Puerto Rican salsero Héctor Lavoe, a critical strand of Bad Bunny’s musical DNA. He describes his musical phases as seasons in his life: There was bachata season, indie-pop season, even Bee Gees season. “There was a time where I would only listen to the Bee Gees,” he admits. “Bee Gees, Bee Gees, Bee Gees. And West Coast rap classics.”

Bad Bunny

enjoying "sigues con él"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRUjdlCynU0

Nice remix with Romeo Santos as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BccyzhMWVmg
Arcangel ft. Sech & Romeo Santos • Sigue Con Él (Remix)

Sigues

Yea, Santos' balladeer style works well with the wispy reggaeton pop

I know it’s not urbano, but NAAFI from CDMX is a very important contribution to underground latinx club/electronic/ experimental music https://naafi.bandcamp.com/

Here's a catch-all neoperreo list assembled by the label of the same name:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4WXOOhvawKi2ISUDzC9Hqv?si=aohU50RRSSCY--U44SCKPA

TECHGRL, El Plvybxy, Tomasa del Real are the most interesting to me.

Oh, Chilean Tomasa del Real was living in Los Angeles in 2019 (maybe still is).

Harold López-Nussa - "Jazzton" feat. Randy Malcom (Official Video) ...Despite the use of "ton", I don't hear any reggaeton in this new track. But it's a fun one with a vocalist and some salsa and Latin jazz; plus dancers in the video leaping off the paper charts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wi_khLhqfc

There's a new double album Annuel reggaeton release with lots of big name reggaeton guests

http://remezcla.com/music/raymix-comes-out-as-gay/

some nice news about raymix

Happy to hear it! I only knew him from his “Fake Lover”, which I’ve been having on medium rotation here, especially the remix with Lalo Ebratt et al:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8yAtl7z7kQ
Raymix ft. Lalo Ebratt, Yera, Skinny Happy, Trapical Minds & El Dusty • Fake Lover (Remix)

Listening to some of his stuff today, including smash hit “Oye Mujer”, I’m reminded me that I’ve been neglecting that “Inténtalo”-type Mexican sound for too long.

This is his current hit with Paulina Rubio, “Tú Y Yo”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvOp8bFbQBc

Seeing Beyonce holding a Robert Farris Thompson book had me curious what this Yale professor who knows African and Latin music as well as art is up to. Not sure , but here’s a 2019 essay about mambo he wrote

https://gagosian.com/quarterly/2020/03/21/essay-overture-ridding-passing-moments-their-fat/

Farris Thompson appears to be on Facebook but not other social media. Wonder if he’s ever weighed in on reggaeton or more recent Afropop sounds ?

Wayne and wax Marshall says is "Reggaetonera" by Anuel AA has a Kraftwerk sample. I will have to listen again

Kraftwerk sample must be manipulated or subtle. Not that obvious

i couldn't hear it but ?

Meanwhile in Billboard news:

As Ozuna’s “Caramelo” hits No. 1 on the Latin Airplay chart (dated Aug. 15), he nabs his 20th leader on the list which launched in 1994. The song hikes 5-1 in its eighth week on the chart (up 41% in audience impressions to 1 million, in the week ending Aug. 9, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data).

The new achievement places him in a tie with Daddy Yankee for the third-most No. 1s among all acts on Latin Airplay, both with 20. Above them are only Enrique Iglesias who continues at the helm with 31 No. 1s and J Balvin with 23

Singer Willie Torres (Joe Cuba Sextet, Alegre All Stars, Orlando Marin, La Playa Sextet, etc, etc...) passed away on Sunday. RIP

New Maluma reggaeton album out

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/9427944/best-latin-summer-songs-2020

I like KAROL G - Ay, DiOs Mío!

and Rosalia & Travis Scott - TKN

Karol G one is more pop

This long Carina del Valle Schorske interview piece is worth a read — discussion with him re salsa pioneer Hector Lavoe and his role as a rural working class icon plus re Tengo Calderon and how Tego would have been more popular if he was white ( but was always a legend to Bad Bunny)

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/10/07/magazine/bad-bunny.html

Meanwhile Bad Bunny is in a tv commercial with Snoop Dogg for a beer while there are McDonald’s ads with the J Balvin meal

Saw both of these while watching NBA or baseball

they are both phenomenally popular mainstream artists, yes

No prior reggaeton artists were able to get this amount of mainstream popularity

That NY Times interview with Bad Bunny has a lot that is worth digging into and reading, btw.

Xp no argument! But about four have now.

https://www.bluenotelive.com/eventsold/eddie-main

Eddie Palmieri afro-Caribbean Jazz sextet Thursday night stream from the Blue Note in NYC for $15

I missed the Palmieri gig ( but have seen in him in the past with various bands and solo).

Spacing out on a new reggaeton song i heard in the car that impressed me.

I dvr’d some of the Billboard Latin Music Awards on telemundo last night, and watched a little. Snoop rapped on Spanish with a Mexican traditional music group. “Calma” that has been out since at least April 2019, won best pop song.

still really curious what reggaeton song you were spacing out on!

Natti Natasha w/ Zion & Lennox “Te Mueves “ is the song

https://youtu.be/ceuhJ9F99DM

I have liked certain Zion & Lennox songs in the past too, but have never really sat down and listened intently. They have performed in DC area multiple times and I have yet to see them ( but I should).

yeah, “Te Mueves” is pretty good.

Am also liking Sech’s “Relacion” , although I kinda like the choir backing him up more than Sech on that cut

RIP Puerto Rican salsa singer Cano Estremera

https://heavy.com/entertainment/cano-estremera-death/

RIP 99 years old Cuban percussionist Candido

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/01/arts/music/j-balvin-fortnite-concert.html

j Balvin did a Halloween concert on Fortnite