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.
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 INEFABLEEP, 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.”
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.
Indy Fontaine is a Cuban-born, Miami-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, who can trace the origins of her career to her early childhood: Singing alongside her uncle and his old guitar, she fell in love with music when she as three. And by the time she turned six, she was enrolled full-time at music school in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, where she trained to be professional vocalist and musician.
Fontaine went on to graduate at the top of her class from Havana‘s prestigious National School of Art. By the time she graduated, she already had over a decade experience playing gigs all across Cuba, including music festivals, live radio and TV sessions and more.
Upon graduation, she joined Sol y Sun, an act that has played sets across the international music festival circuit between the States and Cuba, including some of the most popular venues in Havana. Sol y Sun also frequented national TV and radio shows.
The Cuban-born singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer relocated to the States, where she steps out into the spotlight as a solo artist. Her forthcoming 11-song, full-length debut reportedly ranges across a number of genres and styles Adult Contemporary, Easy Listening, Soft Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock and R&B — with songs in English and Spanish. The album’s material is rooted in the song-as-story tradition, inspired by love and real life situations.
Fontaine’s latest single “El Amor No Alcanza,” which translates into English as “Love Is Not Enough” is the Cuban-born artist’s subtly modern take on bolero, a genre that originated from Eastern Cuba that frequently focuses on affairs of the heart in a sophisticated fashion. Built around arrangement that features twinkling keys, electric guitar, a gorgeous flute line, along with bongo-driven percussion and serves as a lush bed for Fontaine’s yearning and heartbroken delivery, “El Amor No Alcanza” details the emotional drama of a tumultuous relationship with a seemingly lived-in experience — although it’s informed by a friend’s relationship.
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.
Mike Alfonso is a Santa Marta, Colombia-based salsa singer/songwriter and musician. His latest single “Empezar De Nuevo” is a breezy and remarkably catchy bit of salsa with Caribbean rhythms that features some of the country’s best players.
Thematically, “Emepzar De Nuevo” is an old-timey love song that tells the story of a couple, who gives their love a second chance to get it right and make it better. If you’ve had that “one who got away” in your life, this song will be for you.
Sonically, Alfonso’s latest single brings back fond memories of parties in Corona, Queens and of hearing salsa blasting out of car stereos, portable radios and speakers in parks and apartments in the summer.
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.
Lowadel Olivares Dominguez is a rising, 21 year-old, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-born and-based singer/songwriter, best known as Lowa OD. In a relatively short period of time, the young and rising Dominican artist has quickly established […]
Larry & Joe is an acclaimed folk duo that performs a unique fusion of Venezuelan and Appalachian folk featuring harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, maracas, guitar, upright bass and whatever else they could fit in their tour van. The duo features:
Joe Troop, a North Carolina-based Grammy-nominated bluegrass and old-time musician, who spent over a decade in South America with his acclaimed “latingrass” band Che Apalache. With the pandemic, Troop got stranded in his old stomping grounds and as a result, his primary project was forced into hiatus. Troop shifted into action, working with asylum seeking migrants.
Larry Bellorín, a Monagas, Venezuela-born, North Carolina-based Llanera music legend, and asylum-seeking migrant. Bellorín has worked various construction jobs to make ends meet, and writes and performs music in whatever spare time allowed.
Currently based in North Carolina’s Research Triangle, Troop and Bellorín are versatile multi-instrumentalists and singer/songwriters on a mission to prove that music has no borders and that music is the universal language. Their work is a distinct blend of their musical and cultural inheritances and traditions paired with storytelling about the ways that music and social movements coalesce.
The duo’s latest single is an ebullient rendition of “Mi Burrito Sabanero,” one of the most beloved and oft-covered Latin holiday songs ever written. The duo’s rendition features a bilingual intro and break, and lyrics mostly sung in Spanish, as well as a playful and dexterous nod to “Here Comes Santa Claus” on the violin. The song also adds some instrumentation to the arrangement that aren’t on the most known versions — including banjo and others. “Mi Burrito Sabanero” further cements the duo’s boundary busting sound and approach rooted in a deep empathy, playfulness and a much-needed sweet, kindness, while offering something for everyone to enjoy.
Deriving their name from the Nahuatl word for The Mockingbirds, the Richmond, CA-based Los Cenzontles (pronounced senn-SONT-less) — is an acclaimed touring and recording band and nonprofit cultural arts academy for kids. Over their three-plus decade history, the recording and touring outfit has dug deep into cultural traditions, creating a vibrant, contemporary sound infused with the gutsy soul of Mexico’s rural roots, releasing over 30 albums.
The collective have supported those albums with tours across the US, Europe, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Mexico. And they’ve collaborated with an eclectic array of acclaimed, internationally recognized artists including The Chieftains, Los Lobos, Los Tigres del Norte, Ry Cooder, David Hidalgo, Linda Ronstadt, Taj Mahal and a lengthy list of others.
Their core members also serve as the programming staff and teachers of Los Cenzontles Academy, where they have been passing on musical traditions to new generations and inviting their students to perform with them on stage and participate in production projects since 1994.
Released earlier this year, the Richmond, CA-based outfit’s remarkable 33rd album Son Con Son, En el Suelo Americano sees the prolific collective collaborating with son jarocho masters Grupo Mono Blanco and Cuban cuatro master Kiki Valera to create material that meshes Cuban Son cubano with Son jarocho from the Mexican state of Veracruz.
Over the past couple of months I’ve written about two album singles”
The Mono Blanco-penned “Matanga,” a virtuosic and shimmering mesh of Mexican folk and Cuban folk cultures built around an arrangement that features Cuban congas; Zapeteado de tarima, a percussive drum-like instrument that you tap your feet on; quijada, a percussive instrument made from the jawbone of a donkey, cow, horse or mule that’s cleaned of tissue and dried out, so that the loose teeth rattle when struck with a fist; jarocho jarana, an eight-stringed guitar-meets-mandolin-like instrument with the strings in five courses — usually arranged in two outer strings with three double-courses in between; requinto, a smaller, higher-pitched version of a guitar, and used throughout much of Latin America; cuatro cubano, another mandolin-meets-guitar-like instrument that can be single-stringed, double coursed or tripled coursed paired with Mano Blanco’s soulful delivery singing lyrics that tackle the universal themes of love and loss.
“Matanga” was rooted in a unfussy production that captures remarkable musicianship and old-fashioned craftsmanship with the immediacy, familiarity and playfulness of a bunch of friends jamming together on the porch on a Sunday afternoon, playing the beloved old songs and finding something new every single time.
“Como un Perro” is a slow-burning and shimmering ballad that meshes both Cuban and Mexican folk traditions that sounds like the salsa, meringue and bachata ballads.
Son Con Son, En el Suelo Americano‘s latest single “Sobre Una Tumba, Una Rumba” is a great old standard that sees the prolific Californians collaborating with Group Mono Blanco and Kiki Valera. The new single continues a remarkable run of material rooted in virtuosic and soulful playing, an unfussy yet clean production that captures an you’re-in-the-room immediacy while seamlessly meshing Cuban and Mexican folk traditions in a way that bring back fond memories of my own childhood here in Queens.
Yeisy Rojas is a Cuban-born, Norwegian-based, classically trained, jazz violinist, singer/songwriter and composer, who played with the National Opera Orchestra in Havana before relocating to Norway back in 2016 to get her master’s degree in jazz violin.
Rojas’ work sees her blending Cuban music, Latin jazz and funk with powerful social messages — in particularly, she speaks up against racism in her homeland. Her latest single “Mama Ines,” which features Julito Padrón is an adaptation of Nicolás Guillén’s 1930 poem “Ayer Me Dijeron Negro” that pairs the poet’s words with a breezy and soulful arrangement that meshes elements of Latin soul, funk and jazz — and reminds me very fondly of the sounds of parties in the South Bronx, Lower East Side, Corona, East Elmhurst and so on.
Music is a weapon and as Rojas explains “My message is specifically for my land Cuba, where I hope there will be more equality and rights for our Afro community.”
The accompanying, gorgeously shot video for “Mama Ines” is shot in what appears to be Havana and features a collection of beautiful dancers, who are represent almost every skin complexion you’d come across in Cuba, revealing the country’s soul, heart and decency.
Deriving their name from the Nahuatl for The Mockingbirds, the Richmond, CA-based Los Cenzontles (pronounced senn-SONT-less) — is an acclaimed touring and recording band and nonprofit cultural arts academy for kids. Over their three-plus decade history, the recording and touring outfit has dug deep into cultural traditions, creating a vibrant, contemporary sound infused with the gutsy soul of Mexico’s rural roots, releasing over 30 albums.
The collective have supported those albums with tours across the US, Europe, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Mexico. And they’ve collaborated with an eclectic array of acclaimed, internationally recognized artists including The Chieftains, Los Lobos, Los Tigres del Norte, Ry Cooder, David Hidalgo, Linda Ronstadt, Taj Mahal and a lengthy list of others.
Their core members also serve as the programming staff and teachers of Los Cenzontles Academy, where they have been passing on musical traditions to new generations and inviting their students to perform with them on stage and participate in production projects since 1994.
The Richmond-based outfit’s remarkable 33rd album, Son Con Son, En el Suelo Americano was released earlier this month. The album sees the collective collaborating with son jarocho masters Grupo Mono Blanco and Cuban cuatro master Kiki Valera to create material that meshes Cuban Son cubano with Son jarocho from the Mexican state of Veracruz.
Last month, I wrote about the Mono Blanco-penned album track “Matanga,” a virtuosic and shimmering mesh of Mexican folk and Cuban folk cultures built around an arrangement that features Cuban congas; Zapeteado de tarima, a percussive drum-like instrument that you tap your feet on; quijada, a percussive instrument made from the jawbone of a donkey, cow, horse or mule that’s cleaned of tissue and dried out, so that the loose teeth rattle when struck with a fist; jarocho jarana, an eight-stringed guitar-meets-mandolin-like instrument with the strings in five courses — usually arranged in two outer strings with three double-courses in between; requinto, a smaller, higher-pitched version of a guitar, and used throughout much of Latin America; cuatro cubano, another mandolin-meets-guitar-like instrument that can be single-stringed, double coursed or tripled coursed paired with Mano Blanco’s soulful delivery singing lyrics that tackle the universal themes of love and loss.
“Matanga” was rooted in a unfussy production that captures remarkable musicianship and old-fashioned craftsmanship with the immediacy, familiarity and playfulness of a bunch of friends jamming together on the porch on a Sunday afternoon, playing the beloved old songs and finding something new every single time.
Son Con Son, En el Suelo Americano‘s latest single “Como un Perro” is a slow-burning and shimmering ballad that meshes both Cuban and Mexican folk traditions that sounds like the salsa, meringue and bachata ballads I grew up listening to in Corona, Queens, NYC — while being rooted in soulful, earnest performances and virtuosic playing.
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 Jovenand 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.
María Mónica Gutiérrez is a Bogotá-born, London-based singer/songwriter, musician, who during the course of her decade-plus long music career has established herself as one of the most unique and intense voices in the contemporary Colombian scene — as a member of bands like Suricato and Ságan and as the creative mastermind behind the acclaimed solo recording project Montañera.
Gutiérrez’s third Montañera album, the Rizomagic-produced A Flor de Piel is slated for a November 17, 2023 release through Western Vinyl. Thematically, the album is reportedly a meditative journey of self-discovery across oceans, time and the traditional confines of genre. Gutiérrez began the album as a way to explore her identity after a difficult move to London for school left her feeling untethered and alone in a strange new place. Understandably, the 5,000 mile journey across the other side of world and across a seemingly endlessly ocean imparted her with a new understanding of herself as a human and as an artist.
The album also reportedly sees the Colombian-born, British-based artist examining the immigrant — and migrant — experience through a rich soundscape inspired by and drawing from disparate sources, including traditional Colombian and Senegalese music, contemporary ambient and experimental production and whalesong from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Pairing skillfully restrained synths and electronic textures, A Flor de Piel sees Gutiérrez re-contextualizing traditional sounds and sentiments into something fresh, urgent and vital. And for the Bogota-born, London-based artist, it’s a fitting representation of her personal struggles, while echoing universal truths, as she summons the strength and wisdom of past generations. As she describes it, “The album has accompanied me through inner journeys of finding myself in a new territory — of redefining myself, of remembering who I am — in a strange place.”
A Flor de Piel’s latest single “Santa Mar” is the only album on the track that features percussion, as well as Cankita, Bejuco’s marimba player and Tumaco, Colombia-based traditional vocal group Los Cantaadoras de Yerba Buena. Built around Cankita’s twinkling and percussive marimba, atmospheric synths and electronics serving as an ethereal and dreamy bed for Gutiérrez’s yearning vocal paired with the expressive harmonies of Las Cantadores de Yerba Buena. The result is a song that evokes a deep, mediative sense of peace and mindfulness — and at a time when we all could use it.
“It’s a song that talks about peace in Colombia, specifically with the afro pacific women,” the Bogotá-born, London-based artist explains. “The lyrics were inspired by them after investigating their musical practice for my master’s studies. Understanding their personal and collective healing processes within the peace-building process of the country. I want to portray the importance of womanhood for peace-building in their territory and the song talks about the forces of the sea to cure and the sea as a female saint, of how these women have the power of the sea in themselves. The marimbas are played by the amazing Cankita from Bejuco, who is very close with the Cantadoras de Yerba Buena, he calls them his “aunts”, his masters. It’s a true honour having the voices of these elder women in the album, they have such a strong life story and nevertheless, so much vitality, strength, and drive in life, a true inspiration for me.”
