Category: reggaeton

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Niseff Shares Sultry Banger “Ice”

With the release of her debut EP, 2023’s Mami Spicy, the emerging and rapidly rising Puerto Rican artist Niseff quickly established a sound that that blends elements of reggaeton and contemporary pop and pairs it with her sultry delivery and empowering lyrics. 

Since the release of Mami Spicy, Niseff has released some standalone singles including “La Nota,” and her latest single “Ice.” Clocking in at a smidge under two minutes, “Ice” is a slickly produced, hook-driven track featuring skittering reggaeton beats, bursts of glistening and atmospheric synths serving as a lush, club friendly bed for Niseff’s sultry Spanglish flow.

The accompanying visual features the rising Puerto Rican artist and some girlfriends dancing in an igloo-styled club. The stylish visual recalls the glitzy, slickly produced visuals of Hype Williams and others.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Reijy Shares Heartbreaking “SI Te Vas”

Jhon Edison Villamizer is a rising Cúcuta, Colombia-born, Medellín-based singer/songwriter, best known in the Latin music world as Reijy. Villiamizer’s career started in earnest over a decade ago, with a string of hits that captivated audiences in his hometown and elsewhere. Since then he has collaborated with a who’s who list of acclaimed Latin music artists including Feid, Amaro, Kevin Florez and a lengthy list of others. 

Solidifying himself as an up-and-coming artist in Colombia, Villamizer recently relocated to Medellín, where he signed with DINASTIA Inc, one of the country’s highly renowned labels. 

Last year, the Colombian artist announced plans to release a new song over the course of a year to showcase his unwavering dedication and passion for his craft. One of the singles in that year-long series including “EFECTO w,” a lounge and club friendly bop featuring skittering trap beats, fluttering atmospheric synths and remarkably catchy hooks. The production serves as a lush and sainty bed for Villamizer’s delivery, which sees him alternating between vulnerable croon and swaggering braggadocio. The song reveals an artist, who seems to write an effortless and summery hook-driven bop.

Villamizer’s latest single “Si Te Vas” continues a run of club and lounge friendly material featuring skittering trap beats, twinkling keys paired with the rising Colombian artist’s achingly plaintive delivery. The song and the accompanying video tells a story about the narrator’s lover, who hides a terrible breast cancer diagnosis, which initially raises suspicious of infidelity. Understandably, it leads to a fight. The video suggests that the narrator’s lover tragically succumbs to cancer, leaving the narrator with bittersweet memories of both good times and bad — with the heartbreaking sense of “what could have been.”

Villamizer hopes that the video and song raise awareness of breast cancer and the need for honest communication and trust in all relationships — especially romantic relationships.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Miami’s CENCA Shares a Sultry and Buoyant Feminist Anthem

Initially starting her career in earnest back in 2015 under the name Cristina E, emerging Miami-based Latin music artist CENCA released her debut single “Recommitted,” before joining a local band by the name of Lovechild. After a four year stint as Lovechild’s frontperson, CENCA decided to step out into the spotlight as a solo artist.

As a solo artist, the emerging Miami-based artist found and gradually transitioned to a new sound that features elements of Reggaeton, Latin pop and Afrobeats. CENCA’s latest single “Tequila” is a buoyant, sultry and summery bop that reveals a grown and sexy, club and lounge friendly quality — but as the Miami-based artist explains, the song is anchored around a defiantly feminist anthem, featuring a message about freedom and inner strength.

“‘Tequila’ is a song that reflects the struggle to free oneself from a dead-end relationship and find the courage to go against the current.” The song encourages the listener to trust themselves, recognize that they’re enough and leave anything behind that no longer serves them. And the song also encourages the listener to have the courage and clear-headedness to see dysfunctional and repetitive cycles and to break them, in order to achieve significant change.

Directed by Andre Nagle, the accompanying video for “Tequila” sees CENCA recognizing that she’s in a dead-end, dysfunctional relationship and finding the courage to leave it for the comfort, emotional sustenance and support of her friends.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Reijy Shares a Catchy and Summery Bop

Jhon Edison Villamizer is a rising Cúcuta, Colombia-born, Medellín-based singer/songwriter, best known in Latin music world as Reijy. Villiamizer’s career started in earnest over a decade ago, with a string of hits that captivated audiences in his hometown while revealing an artist . He has collaborated with a who’s who list of acclaimed Latin music artists including Feid, Amaro, Kevin Florez and a lengthy list of others.

Solidifying himself as an up-and-coming artist in Colombia, Villamizer recently relocated to Medellín, where he signed with DINASTIA Inc, one of the country’s highly renowned labels.

The rising Colombian artist plans to release a new song every month over the course of the next year, to showcase his unwavering dedication and passion for his craft. His latest single “EFECTO w” is a lounge and club friendly bop anchored around skittering trap beats, fluttering atmospheric synths and remarkably catchy hooks. The production serves as a lush and sainty bed for Villamizer’s delivery, which sees him alternating between vulnerable croon and swaggering braggadocio. The song reveals an artist, who seems to write an effortless and summery hook-driven bop.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Lowa OD Returns with Vibey “Ocasional”

Lowadel Olivares Dominguez is a rising, 20-something, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-born and-based singer/songwriter, best known as Lowa OD. And in a relatively short period of time, the young and rising Dominican artist has quickly established a sound that blends Afro-Caribbean rhythms and pop melodies pareidw with unique vocals inflections.

Last year, Olivares Dominguez took the Latin music industry by storm with the release of “Ayayai,” a song that quickly became a summer anthem for fans across Central America, South America and Europe while amassing over 200,000 streams across social media platforms. Adding to a growing international profile, DJs around the world have played his music in clubs and venues, introducing him and his work to new audiences.

Now, late last year, I wrote about “Luna Y Sol,” a slick, hook-driven and radio friendly blend of contemporary R&B, hip-hop, reggaeton an Afrobeats built around a looped Spanish guitar melody, twinkling tropical-inspired production and skittering trap beats serving as a lush bed for Olivares Dominguez’s plaintive vocal. “Luna Y Sol” is a breezy and escapist bit of pop that tells the story of young love and adventure with a lived-in specificity that gives the remarkably accessible song its beating heart. 

Continuing to build upon a growing profile, the rising Dominican artist will be releasing the INEFABLE EP, an effort that thematically focuses on his different emotional experiences within the various relationships of his life. The effort’s first single “Ocasional” is a vibey bop that’s simultaneously lounge, club and radio friendly. Anchored around a reggaeton-meets-pop-meets Afrobeats production featuring skittering trap beats, glistening synths and a supple bass line serving as a lush and satiny bed for the rising Dominican artist’s easy-going yet soulful vocal.

“‘Ocasional’ or ‘Ocassional’ (in English) portrays a relationship with a woman who is after man, but the man isn’t interested in a relationship of love. This depiction of an intimate modern relationship with a smooth afrobeat style beat bumping to carry to story will get young people around the world out of their seats and moving.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Blessmon Shares Sultry “Blessi”

Blessmon is a somewhat mysterious and emerging Spanish artist, who caught my attention last year with “Ariana,” a slickly produced, lounge and club friendly reggaeton-meets-R&B bop featuring atmospheric synths and electronics and skittering beats paired with the Spanish artist’s yearning and subtly Autotuned vocal.

The Spanish artist’s latest single, the sultry “Blessi” continues a run of lounge and club friendly reggaeton for the grown and sexy cohort featuring skittering beats, atmospheric synths and the Spanish artist’s yearning delivery singing about a woman who wants his narrator to take his time — if y’all dig what I’m saying. It’s the sort of song, you want to wine down with that pretty young thing you want to see naked.

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Yonna Picart’s Slickly Produced Banger “Bluebella”

Jonathan Christian Picart is a Tampa-born, San Juan, Puerto Rico-raised and-based singer/songwriter, who can trace his music career to his interest and passion for music at a very young age: He frequently listed to Salsa, reggaeton, and American hip hop on the radio.

Back in 2019, he released his debut single as Yonna Picart, the Jangel El Antidoto-produced “#Se Te Mete.” By 2020, he released five more singles,
“#borracho,” “#etiopia,” “#5g, “#Noteconocen,” and “#tevibran,” which continued his ongoing collaboration with Jangel El Antidoto.

The Tampa-born, San Juan-based singer/songwriter’s latest single “Bluebella” is a slickly produced and swaggering, club and lounge friendly bit of reggaeton built around skittering trap-meets-reggaeton beats, glistening synths serving as a lush bed for Picart’s delivery, which alternates between yearning and swaggering within the turn of a phrase. It’s a much-needed blast of summer and sweaty dance parties.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Marcel Mendoza Pays Tribute to El General with a Sleek Bilingual Banger

Best known for his roles in This Is Us, Good Girls and DMZ, Marcel Mendoza is an emerging singer/songwriter and pop artist, with a unique voice and style. When Mendoza was 16, he wrote and recorded his first song “Impossible,” with Portuguese DJ and production duo Club Banditz, a pop/EDM track that landed at #2 on the Portuguese charts. That early success led him onto the stage at El Paso‘s Sun City Music Festival, where he performed the song in front of thousands.

Mendoza is gearing up to release his debut EP, an effort that will reportedly embrace a variety of genres and styles including Latin Urbano, R&B and pop while reflecting his evolution as an artist and his commitment to creating music that transcends boundaries.

His debut single, and the EP’s first single “Apretadita,” is a loving homage to El General‘s “Rica y Apretadita,” that sees Mendoza reimagining the beloved song by modernizing it but while preserving the essence of the original: While being a sleek and breezy, club friendly banger that sounds like a bilingual synthesis of Drake, The Weeknd and Bad Bunny, the song seamlessly blends elements of hip-hop, dancehall, reggaeton, R&B and contemporary pop paired with Mendoza’s delivery, which alternates between hip-hop swagger and plaintive R&B croon.

“’I chose ‘Apretadita’ as my first single because I believe it best showcases what I am capable of doing as an artist,” Mendoza explains. “I have such a diverse multicultural background and I felt like this was the perfect blend of genres that I will cover for upcoming songs.”

Mendoza goes on to explain that the song’s chorus pays homage to El General’s “Rica y Apretadita” and that his take incorporates his Caribbean roots — he claims roots in Puerto Rico, Cuba and Costa Rica — while remaining true to himself and drawing inspiration from his hometown of Atlanta.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Fabien Gravillon Shares Breezy Pop Confection “Je t’attends”

Fabien Gravillon is a Paris-born singer/songwriter, pop artist and actor, who may be best known in France for starring in the smash-hit soap opera Plus belle la vie. As a singer/songwriter and pop artist, Gravillon has specialized in a sound that draws from Zouk, Kizomba and Afro pop.

After the release of his debut album through Because Music, Gravillon went to Los Angeles and appeared in several videos by internationally acclaimed artists including Macklemore and  Patrick Stump‘s “Summer Days,” Collapsing Scenery and others. He also participated in several projects filmed at Fox Studios in Hollywood and for The Jim Henson Company.

Gravillon’s latest single “Je t’atends” is a slickly produced bit of hook-driven pop that meshes elements of reggaeton and chanson in a way that’s crowd-pleasing and accessible. Much like his previously released material, “Je t’attends” is an earnest plea of devotion to a lover that feels and sounds sweetly old-fashioned.

Directed by Roger Artola and Griffit Vision, the accompanying video for “Je t’attends” was shot on a gloriously summer day in Los Angeles and tells a classic tale of deception, cheating and devotion.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Cuban Artists Reivaj and Eli Luna Team Up for Flirty and Summery Bop “Ahí Nama”

Reivaj is an emerging Cuban artist, whose music career started in earnest when he was six years old, singing and performing in Voces del Barrio, a group based out of El Cobre, Cuba, under the tutelage of his father and uncles. Gradually, the emerging Cuban artist learned how to plays several instruments, along with further developing as a singer/songwriter and artist.

When he turned 16, Reivaj decided to explore other genres, and co-founded the Afro music choir Voces del Milagro, a commercially and critically successful act that won a Cubadisco prize back in 2011. And from that point forward, his fans started to call him la voz de oro.

Changing things up, the Cuban artist decided to go into Urban music and co-founded the pop duo Yerba Buena, which performed live sessions on Talla Joven and Cuerda Viva.

Reivaj’s ability to write, sing and perform in a variety of musical genres and styles led to him being cast in Rosi la Cubanita, a musical where he met fellow emerging artist Eli Luna.

Released earlier this year, Reivaj stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist with his debut single “Ahí Nama,” a collaboration that features his Rosi la Cubanita castmate Eli Luna. The song is a summery bop that meshes elements of reggaeton, contemporary pop and R&B, hip-hop, classic Latin folk, and Afrobeats built around a sleek, dance floor friendly production pairing shuffling polyrhythmic percussion, deep grooves and a remarkably catchy hook. Rooted in the undeniable chemistry between the two emerging artists, “Ahí Nama” is not just a much-needed blast of breezy, flirty joie de vivre in a dire, fucked up world, it’s also a showcase for two artists, who seem — from my humble opinion — to be destined for superstardom.

Fittingly, the accompanying video is swaggering and fun joy bomb that follows the two emerging Cuban artists and a collection of gorgeous dancers and locals throughout a variety of Cuban locales that feels a bit like a musical — and a music video.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Single: BuenaOnda Shares Crowd-Pleasing “Barrio Canela”

BuenaOnda is an emerging — and somewhat mysterious — Spanish outfit. Released earlier this year, “Barrio Canela” is a slickly produced, hook-driven bit of reggaeton with some subtle nods to Latin pop paired with sultry, pop star-like vocals. The result is a song that’s simultaneously club, radio and lounge friendly.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Blessmon is a somewhat mysterious and emerging Spanish artist. “Ariana,” his latest single is a sleek, slickly produced, summery reggaeton-meets-R&B bop built around atmospheric synths and electronics and skittering beats paired with the Spanish artist’s yearning subtly Autotuned vocal. The result is a song that’s simultaneously lounge and club friendly.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: NISEFF Shares Summery Bop “La Nota”

With the release of her debut EP, Mami Spicy, the emerging and rapidly rising Puerto Rican artist Niseff quickly established a sound that that blends elements of reggaeton and contemporary pop and pairs it with her sultry delivery and empowering lyrics.

Earlier this year, I wrote about “Ta To Cool,” a song built around skittering reggaeton beats and glistening synth arpeggios paired with a series of razor sharp, infectious and well-placed hooks and Niseff’s sultry-self assured delivery.

The Puerto Rican artist’s latest single “La Nota” is a slick synthesis of skittering reggaton beats and cumbia paired with Niseff’s sultry delivery. “La Nota” continues a remarkable run of dance floor friendly bangers – – but while arguably being the most summery she has released to date.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Niseff Shares a Club Friendly Banger

With the release of her debut EP, Mami Spicy, the emerging and rapidly rising Puerto Rican artist Niseff quickly establishes a sound that that blends elements of reggaeton and contemporary pop and pairs it with her sultry delivery and empowering lyrics. The end result is an effort that showcases the emerging Puerto Rican artist’s versatility as a performer and songwriter.

EP single “Ta To Cool” is built around skittering reggaeton beat and glistening synth arpeggios paired with a series of razor sharp, infectious and well-placed hooks and Niseff’s sultry, self-assured delivery. Ultimately “Ta To Cool” is an accessible and club friendly vehicle for a budding superstar.