If you haven’t figured it out by now, if there’s anyone in Reggaeton we really care about is Arcángel. Many still question our fixation with the rising star, but musically, it’s pretty simple to us. Once in a while, he puts out incredible singles; the kind that makes us hopeful for the genre, and the kind that refresh Latin Pop mainstream radio. He released his flawed but transitory
Optimus A.R.C.A. mixtape last November, promising to come back this year with an album superior to his excellent
La Maravilla. Honestly, we’re not anticipating it as much as The Carter IV, but the fact he realizes he has not given his best work lately is a good sign.
In the meantime, he has started 2011 magnificently, giving us an optimized version of “Panamiur”, the best Reggaeton single in many months. Arcángel and Daddy Yankee are becoming regular collaborators and this remix is burning hot. Both, guys are still sexists, (“Si estas enferma, baby tengo tu cure”) and that’s still a bit irritating (but never as irritating as “Danza Kuduro”). Musically, it doesn’t step away from any of the genre’s elements, but the execution and over-the-top lyricism are enough to discard this as just a guilty pleasure.
