Latin Pop
Steve Aoki and Farruko Drop Collaborative Single “Aire” Just Ahead of 4/20
Steve Aoki has teamed up with Puerto Rican superstar Farruko for a new reggaeton single called “Aire.” Out on Ultra Music, the uplifting tune provides a pleasant poolside ambience. Released just ahead of the celebrated cannabis holiday 4/20, the lyrics praise the plant, stating “the atmosphere is good and it smells like marijuana” in Spanish. Using dembow rhythms, steel drums, and the dancehall vocals of Farruko, this song is ideal for summer. A blend of Spanish and English, the lyrics discuss a party that “doesn’t end until tomorrow,” and has hemp aplenty. In July 2020, Aoki launched his Dim Mak En Fuego imprint as an evolution of his Dim Mak label founded in 1996. This new banner gives a spotlight to Latin culture and experiences, and challenges the old ways of traditional Latin mus...
Kali Uchis Performs “telepatía” on Fallon: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-09T15:32:03+00:00“>April 9, 2021 | 11:32am ET Kali Uchis performed a glowing rendition of her hit “telepatía” on Thursday night’s episode of Jimmy Fallon. The track, which appeared on her 2020 Spanish-language album Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios), took on a viral life of its own on TikTok and has since become the R&B singer’s most iconic song. She released a video for it last month that showed off her hometown of Pereira, Colombia, and she gave it the full dramatic treatment for her Tonight Show appearance. She began the performance while reclining on a granite staircase, encircled by white rotating spheres and cast in the glow of the moonlight. It’s a dream...
How Cruz is Bridging the Gap Between Electronic and Latin Pop Music
It’s no secret that Latin pop and electronic music go together like wine and cheese. The two have lived in perfect harmony for years. However, unlike cheese, the ingredients of this unique marriage never spoil. In fact, like cheese’s boozy counterpart, the combination gets better with age. Cruz knows how to ferment the grapes of dance music’s vines to produce the finest wine. With an innovative approach to music production, the Grammy-winning artist has a profound ability to twist Latin pop and electronic music into his own unique blend. The proof is in the pudding: his global 2019 hit “Ya No Soy Asi,” a sultry collaboration with hotly-tipped singer-songwriter Thiago X, went viral on Spotify in 13 countries. Cruz’s latest crossover track, ̶...
Kali Uchis Walks the Streets of Colombia in Self-Directed Video for “telepatía” : Watch
Fresh off a Grammy win for her work on Kaytranada’s “10%”, Kali Uchis is showing off her hometown of Pereira, Colombia in her self-directed new video for “telepatía”. The song appeared on Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios), Uchis’ first Spanish-language album. While her embrace of new sounds and rhythms might have seemed risky, the onetime blog-darling has grown into a bona fide star on the strength of the viral hit “telepatía”. The track became a TikTok sensation, earning Uchis the top spot on the Billboard Latin Pop chart, and it’s lingered near the peak of Apple’s Latin and Spotify’s Global charts. This tale of long-distance longing focuses on a steamy mental connection. “Quién lo diría que se podría hacer el amor por telepatía?” she sings, which roughly translate...
Kali Uchis Shares Spanish-Language Single “La Luz”: Stream
Over the summer, Kali Uchis shared the Rico Nasty collaboration “Aquí Yo Mando”. The track found Uchis singing mostly in Spanish for the first time, and it looks like we can expect a lot more bilingual lyrics from the Colombian-American artist. She’s today shared “La Luz”, the second single from her forthcoming sophomore full-length, which is said to be “her first Spanish language project.” “La Luz” — which translates simply to “the light” — features a guest verse from Puerto Rico singer-songwriter Jhay Cortez alongside production from Tainy. The Latin vibes are strong with this one, bouncing slowly on a sweaty beach groove. Like “Aquí Yo Mando” before it, the track finds Uchis making it very clear who’s in control. “You or if it’s not me/ We’re going to turn the lights off/ And we’re goin...
Cardi B Joins Brazilian Artist Anitta on New Single “Me Gusta”: Stream
It’s been less than a month since Cardi B successfully sent politicians, conservatives, and sexists into a tizzy with her massive Megan Thee Stallion collaboration “WAP”. But already the New York rapper is back with another joint single sure to get people talking again: “Me Gusta” with Brazilian pop singer Anitta and Puerto Rican rapper Myke Towers. “I really love this song,” Cardi B gushed on Twitter earlier this week. “I don’t get on a song the same day I hear it. Like, I gotta listen to it a couple of times. But as soon as I heard the song, at the end of the night, while I was going to sleep, I kept repeating the hook in my head,” she said, adding, “You guys know how I love Spanish music, you guys know how I love Brazilian funk, and I’m just really excited.” Check out “Me Gusta” below v...
J Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny Team on New Single “UN DÍA (ONE DAY)”: Stream
Dua Lipa (photo by Ben Kaye), J Balvin (photo by Heather Kaplan), and Bad Bunny (photo via artist’s Instagram) As her smash sophomore album Future Nostalgia demonstrated, Dua Lipa is plenty comfortable flexing into various pop genres. For her latest foray into new territory, the British singer has joined three of reggaeton’s finest — J Balvin, Bad Bunny, and producer Tainy — on the collaborative song “UN DÍA (ONE DAY)”. Tainy first laid the groundwork for the track over a year and a half ago, executive producing the cut with his NEON16 partner Lex Borrero. He called up Balvin to handle the vocals, who in turn reached out to Dua Lipa. Bad Bunny hopped on last, adding his own voice during the same 2019 session that birthed “Callaita” (via Billboard). Trading Spanish and English vo...
