Daddy Yankee has been touted as a spearhead of the reggaeton movement, a musical hybrid born in his native Puerto Rico, which incorporates elements of reggae, salsa and hip-hop.
Barrio Fino has all the attributes of an “entry-point” record – one that introduces the uninitiated to its genre – sounding both pop enough to attract people with no prior knowledge of reggaeton, and fresh enough to excite those searching for new musical trends.
Taking dancehall reggae’s frenetic rush, and combining it with the breezy, Latin-flavoured hip-hop perfected by Big Punisher and The Beatnuts, Barrio Fino simply bursts with pop vibrancy.
The pace is unrelenting over 24 tracks, which may make it a difficult end-to-end listen for some, but should thrill anyone looking for a musical shot-in-the-arm.
Daddy Yankee’s music is rigidly formulaic, but what a devastating formula it is: pumping machine-gun rhythms, menacing raps, and liberal splashes of Spanish guitar and brass adding pop colour.
Virtually any of the tracks on Barrio Fino could be a summer smash, but there are a number of stand-outs. ‘Gasolina’ (already a hit single) sounds like Lil’ Jon absorbing more Jamaican and Latin influences, while ‘Lo Que Paso, Paso’ is exultant, addictive summer pop.
‘Corazones’ flirts thrillingly with the lavish, gothic hip-hop pioneered by Swizz Beats, but the standout is ‘Golpe De Estado’, a gangsta update of Los Del Rio’s notorious ‘Macarena’.
Daddy Yankee has been securing platinum discs for several years, but his popularity was localised almost exclusively within Latin America. Barrio Fino should confirm his status as a worldwide household name.