MASACRE MUSICAL, DE LA GHETTO
Machete Music, Puerto Rico ***
Rating: 63
By Carlos Reyes
The urban releases are quite hard to keep on track, there are just so many of them (+ I don’t listen to FM radio), I had no clue De La Ghetto had finally released his awaited solo project. In case you don’t know him, he was part of the duo Arcangel & De La Ghetto, which wasn’t a great act but they were a standout. Austin Santos “La maravisha” was one of the surprises 2008 gave us, so I was really looking forward to discover the other half of the project. Recently, the visionary now part of Mad Decent Toy Selectah not only recommended Masacre Musical but says is one of the best releases of 2008. Although I don’t quite agree with him, I had a fun time listening to this, it’s unexpectedly romantic and that would for sure bother many. I’m still swallowing Arcangel’s official debut, which is already out in stores but it’s hard to jump on a conclusion just yet, it’s a frustrating record but frustratingly pleasant. Back to Masacre Musical, let’s get one thing straight, production-wise it’s a great urban album, there’s much creativeness with beats, even some exploration with electronic bouncing. But this guy is missing the amazingly amusing vocals of his old partner, and just like Yankee in Talento de Barrio puts too much emphasis on singing instead of flourishing his talent as a rapper. First single “Es Dificil” belongs completely to American R&B, and it’s quite good. Randy collaborates in “Nota Loca”, one of the highlights of the album and if I’m not mistaken, an assured single. Too many tracks fall into cliché and not too distinct lyrically, but the musical base is interesting to say the least. The English-language tracks actually have potential for mainstream radio, and the bilingual radio format which is increasingly popular in the states. Now here is the catch, the opening track “Gansta” is the bomb, so much that it makes the rest of the album look bad. It is musically epic, very anthem like and the album’s ultimate high point.