Rolling Afro-Latin Music 2021: Reggaeton, Salsa, Bomba, Latin Jazz, Bachata, Merengue, Urbano and more Latinx

"si es trucho es trucho" is a jam

From a press pr email about the April 17 Marc Anthony livestream concert ( where he will be joined by Daddy Yankee)

This coming Saturday, April 17th two of the most iconic Latin singers join the worlds of reggaetón and salsa music on stage to perform “De Vuelta Pa’ La Vuelta,” their latest single, which has spent 13 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Tropical Airplay, marks the first collaboration between the two Puerto Rican powerhouses

diggin dat Dominican dembow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4OCilO8oDo
El Alfa • Arrebatao

That’s a good one

Bad Bunny has announced a 2022 US arenas tour.

And it is selling out quickly.

Meanwhile the May 2021 LAMC is free and online

https://latinalternative.com/phone/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2lYgStaLOGm_ZbrKX8zpBfxJTE37QLAvyIIj8BmYMQD1sSWnSZR6BefzM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDr5FxxA58w

New Natalie Lafourcade duet Cien Anos, with Pepe Aguilar covering 1953 song popularized by Pedro Infante ; from her upcoming album Un Canto por Mexico, vol. 2.

The 'Un Canto' project benefits the cultural center El Centro de Documentación del Son Jarocho.

Marc Anthony concert stream Saturday night April 17 crashed as it could not handle demand

"si es trucho es trucho" is a jam

― dyl, Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Bad Bunny singing & dancing to “....trucho” on IG

"Young Zapatistas -- you know what they like?" He mumbled inaudibly into the microphone. "They like" mumble-mumble. "They really like" mumble-mumble. Finally, with reluctance. "They like -- reggaeton. There, you made me say it."

-- Subcomandante Marcos, quoted in Paul Theroux's "On the Plain of Snakes"

I didn’t remember to jump online quick to buy 2022 Bad Bunny tix, and now Stubhub, Ticketmaster etc are just selling them at insane prices. Maybe prices will drop close to show

Friday April 30, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

(Bronx, NY) Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture presents “The Musical Journey of Jane Bunnett” on Friday April 30, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom, Facebook Live and YouTube. There will be tributes from percussionist Pedrito Martínez, pianist Hilario Durán, Yissy García of Maqueque and producer and writer Nat Chediak. The evening is hosted by Michael Ambrosino, producer and host of Currents, Dialectics & Dialogs at 33third.org

I missed that last night.

If you would rather catch up on reggaeton tv appearances than Latin jazz streams there is this

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/9548779/latin-artists-late-night-tv-2021-list/

amazing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jYEz66J_J4
Karol G ft. Mariah Angeliq • El Makinon

I need to pay so much more attention to Karol G. I also loved "Bichota", but she's got a whole album to explore, KG0156 - Moka mentioned it upthread.

there's also the Sech album 42 to check out. reggaeton needs more of my love, basically.

btw I’m including all the reggaeton/dembow/urbano tracks on this thread (there haven’t been all that many unfortunately) in an integrated Rolling Spotify playlist for all the Caribbean music threads (soca, dancehall, reggaeton/dembow/urbano, Martinique, other caribbopop). now 75 tracks in, feel free to follow:

ILM rolling Caribbean vibes 🥁🥁🥁

https://tidal.com/magazine/article/the-rise-of-dominican-dembow/1-56634

I missed the Friday May 7 Eddie Palmieri and small band stream $25 fee , via a Philadelphia entity . Not sure if still available

Apparently Latin Alternative Music Conference sessions are available now after that conference

https://latinalternative.com/phone/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2lYgStaLOGm_ZbrKX8zpBfxJTE37QLAvyIIj8BmYMQD1sSWnSZR6BefzM

great beat / riff:

original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N06bpHYU1ow
Nio García & Casper Magico • Travesuras

star-studded remix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4pOLx72GkU
Nio García x Casper Magico x Ozuna x Myke Towers x Wisin & Yandel • Travesuras (Remix)

Tokischa, Haraca Kiko, El Cherry Scom: “Tukuntazo”

Plus 9 more

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/the-10-best-songs-by-latinx-artists-in-2021-so-far/

some very nice tracks on that list, but no "Si Es Trucho Es Trucho", no glory.

posted Sofia Kourtesis' "By Your Side" on the Bobbins and Summer Hits threads.

Reggaeton star goes the 80’s disco pastiche route (ripping off a bit of Fergie in the process). Dropped a week ago and is climbing to the top of the charts in Spain and Latinamerica, seems like it will be an early summer anthem in there:

Rauw Alejandro - todo de ti
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFPLIaMpGrY

^ reposting from the summer 2021 rolling thread.

If this ends up having stating power It’ll be curious to see if it ends up influencing other trap/reggaeton artists to shift into other pop territories. You can only do so many songs with the same dembow beat... after 4/5 years of almost every latin hit using a variation of it I think the audience might want a change.

*staying power

I know he’s not the biggest reggaeton/trap doing this shift. Bad Bunny has been hinting at an interest in doing pop/rock for quite some time and with guitars making a comeback in 2021 it might be the perfect time to release a song that continues on his “tenemos que hablar” route.

I could also see J Balvin following the guitar trend but we’ll see.

I don’t know if the audience is more tired of that same old reggaeton/trap beat or the disco pastiche sound though lol

either way i do like the song

Yeah I like it.

Not sick of the reggaeton beat tbh lol

https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/N/New-York-and-the-International-Sound-of-Latin-Music-1940-1990

Recent book by Ben Lapidus that author Ned Sublette mentioned he is reading

https://cri.fiu.edu/events/2021/teaching-the-cuban-discography-the-archive-as-clave/

Plus a free July 1 online Ned Sublette Cuban records talk

http://www.internationalsalsamuseum.org/advisory-board/

Some folks are trying to create a salsa music museum in the Bronx. They recently had a press conference

Rauw Alejandro in New York Times article by Isabelia Herrera

He adds house, bolero, baile funk, r‘’n’b to his sound

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/arts/music/rauw-alejandro-vice-versa.html

my favourite Rauw of the ones I’ve heard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mPXwuPc650
Rauw Alejandro ft. Mr. Naisgai • 2/Catorce

like it a lot more than “Todo de Ti” upthread

(he gets bonus points for his name too. that phonetic spelling of Raúl he goes by happens to also be a Dutch word meaning rough or raw - tho I guess the “raw” association (in English) may be deliberate on his part)

From Rauw's opening phrasing and pauses I can see why Bad Bunny is a fan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP9Bto5lOEQ

Patria y Vida” is song inspiring Cuban protestors

Patria y Vida has been a phenomenon since its release this year. The song is a collaboration between a group of Afro-Cuban reggaeton and hip-hop stars based in Miami, such as Yotuel Romero and Alexander Delgado, along with rappers Maykel Osorbo and El Funky, who live in Cuba. A YouTube video of the song has been viewed nearly 6 million times.

NPR article

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/13/1015318087/the-hip-hop-song-thats-driving-cubas-unprecedented-protests

I wonder if song “Patria y Vida” is getting any radio or or online streaming playlist attention outside of Cuban circles ? Or too political & not pop enough for mainstream Latinx marketing?

Old guys & older music nerds are seeing npr, The Guardian, & Rolling Stone articles about song shared online

Doh! Heard some Latinx pop and reggaeton I liked in car radio but didn’t figure out who the artists were.

But since then have been listening to Rauw Alejandro. Critics like to play up the songs that go beyond pop reggaeton , and he deserves credit for trying even if they don’t always work. I like the disco-y “Todo de Ti” and the more minimalist “2/Catorce “ mentioned above or elsewhere on ilx

James Redd may be the only person other than me who cares about this here, or mybe someone else on jazz thread (sent to me by a publicist though, so someone else must care)

The Afro Latin Jazz Alliance (ALJA), in partnership with Lantern Organization and Mega Development, has announced, along with the New York City Department of Housing Development and Preservation, plans to bring a new 16,000 square feet Afro Latin Music & Arts Center along with 330 affordable housing units to East Harlem. The project, Timbale Terrace, will construct a new mixed-use development on the east side of Park Avenue between East 118th Street and East 119th Street (formerly a NYPD 25th Precinct Parking Site) with a performing arts center operated by the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance. Timbale Terrace will offer housing to low-income families while the Afro Latin Music & Arts Center will provide community programs, music and technical production training, after-school programs, free arts education classes, community event spaces, world-class live performances, and more.

The opening of the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance's very own Afro Latin Music & Arts Center affords an opportunity to advance a wider range of innovative Latin jazz programs to diverse communities across the metro area. Timbale Terrace consolidates and expands ALJA's varied initiatives offering comprehensive support to their close network of standout musicians and educators in the form of live performances, educational teaching ventures, individual artist grants, and an ability to participate in a citywide lottery for apartments at Timbale Terrace. 50% of the affordable units will be given a community preference status for residents who live in East Harlem. Many teaching artists and musicians will qualify as Timbale Terrace applicants based on their household income.

RIP Fania label legendary pianist Larry Harlow

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/20/1029760076/larry-harlow-salsa-music-icon-dead

rauw showed up on the ty dolla $ign/dvsn collab album. he sounds great on the track, but the track itself is pretty lifeless (unsurprising for a murda beatz production)

Was reading about a Canadian based producer who is mixing reggaeton and afrobeatS together

checked out the whole rauw album and it's very good imo. all his genre experiments work to some degree (especially the jungle/garage one), and he's got a stronger voice than basically all the mainstream reggaetoneros at the moment (maybe besides ozuna, but rauw's slightly lower pitch seems more english language-radio-friendly to me).

anyway, big fan of rauw, definitely think he can be the next balvin/bunny level star in this space.

I really like this new Marc Anthony song (which is apparently a reworking of an Africando song I've never heard). His scraggly look and newly gravelly voice work well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EarnVR8_Og

Have never seen Marc Anthony live and am tempted to see him Friday night at Capital One Arena in DC but Live Nation isn’t requiring vaccinations at arena shows here until October, so I don’t quite feel ready for that ( plus wife and I will be helping out my elderly Mom anyway that night). Another time hopefully.

Interesting. Wanna say I never saw him live, but I did once, sort of.

Greg Tate-musician and critic in a public FB and IG post

A giant of African cultural scholarship no longer walks among us but along what Sun Ra called The Celestial Road. Professor Robert Farris Thompson’s lectures and books impact on C. Daniel Dawson,David Hammons. Jean Michel Basquiat, Kelly Jones, Kerry James Marshall, Henry Louis Gates, Judith Wilson, Sanford Biggers, and Arthur Jafa was immense, especially Flash of the Spirit which we essayed upon in Flyboy In The Buttermilk under the title ‘Guerilla Scholar On The Loose’. Peace go witcha Professor RFT.

Another book to add to the list...

Bobby Sanabria said about Farris Thompson:

Professor of Mambo, Cool, and the Multiverse. I was honored to have him write the liner notes to our first Grammy nominated album, Afro-Cuban Dream: Live & In Clave!!! way back in 2000. His books are essential reading. His final book on Mambo will be forthcoming.

His tango book looking good to me.

7.
Rauw Alejandro
"Todo de Ti

NPR top song list

Pareles listed some alt Latino stuff in NY Times - Bomba Estereo and others

Pareles best 2021 album list in NY Times has Bomba Estereo, Mon Laferte, & Mdou Moctar in his top albums plus in his 15 more deserving albums -Arooj Aftab, “Vulture Prince”

Khaira Arby, “New York Live” and Cuban pianist Omar Sosa- East African Journeys

Jon Caramanica has reggaeton on his list including Rauw Alejandro

This C Tangana album that made Rolling Stone top 10 ( as did Rauw A ) is pretty good. He’s from Spain and used to write w/ Rosalia ( and they were together). He’s got rumba , flamenco, bachata, folk and rapping and singing on his 2021 album.

Still have yet to listen to Michele Rosewoman but she always seems to have a great band.

C Tangana is my most listened to album of the year according to my Spotify unwrapped. For a dabbler like me it's a nice dip into the various genres. My favourite is Ingobernable with the Gypsy Kings. NPR also has it at as their no.5 album. I had not paid any attention to him before this year and but then I realised most of the Rosalia's El Mal Querer album was co-written by him.

I really like the way C Tangana utilizes multiple genres and does so in a way that doesn't seem forced.

A decade old, but I just came across this whilst checking up on Kirk Lightsey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR5ezSoPCuw

Jerry Gonzalez has been gone 3 years now. His brother for a bit too. I liked their attitudes and their playing. Does Lightsey's 2021 Coltrane revisited have a Latin jazz feel to it?

Don't know, will check it out. I never even knew Lightsey and Gonzalez were so tight.

Did Greg Tate ever write about Latin jazz or salsa?

Not that I am aware of but it is certainly possible.

Feel like probably not much though.

He was a big fan of Robert Farris Thompson (an advocate for African and Latin), but Tate seems to just to have been into African music more than Latin (in addition to African-American)

2. Yotuel, Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno, Maykel Osorbo, El Funky, ‘Patria y Vida’

Jon Pareles #2 song on his 2021 song list in NY Times

He has a C Tangana song too plus a few others that might interest folks on this thread

12. Jorge Drexler and C. Tangana, ‘Tocarte’

A Camilo song and a Yendry song too on Pareles list too

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/07/arts/music/best-songs.html

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-spanish-language-albums-2021-1269982/

Something for everyone--35 albums. reggaeton, pop, salsa, rock, folk . Well maybe not Latin jazz

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/22/arts/music/reggaeton-electronic-fusions.html

Reggaeton & edm hybrid songs plus some Reggaeton & r’n’b or house hybrids

Jazz Critics poll 2021 has a separate category for Latin Jazz

Latin

1) Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo, El Arte Del Bolero (Miel Music) 23
2) Arturo O’Farrill, . . . Dreaming in Lions . . . (Blue Note) 21
3) Eliane Elias, Mirror Mirror (Candid) 8
4) (tie) Carlos Henriquez, The South Bronx Story (Tiger Turn) 7
4) (tie) Ches Smith & We All Break, Path of Seven Colors (Pyroclastic) 7
6) (tie) Rubén Blades y Roberto Delgado & Orquesta, Salswing! (Rubén Blades Productions) 4
6) (tie) Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, Virtual Birdland (Zoho) 4

Rolling Afro-Latin Music 2022: Reggaeton, Salsa, Bomba, Latin Jazz, Bachata, Merengue, Urbano and more Latinx

new 2022 thread