Search - Gringo :: Gringo El Independiente

Reggaeton is gradually spinnin' out of control and into a di

A. Torres | jersey city | 04/11/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Man it was hard for me to literally grasp this album. I've been a fan of baby rasta & gringo since i first heard of them. These guys are so talented and if anything where the hardest rappers when they first came out. Their lyrical skills as far as battling where ridiculous. Their Reggaeton tracks were totally provocative and had parties pumpin. After realizing that these two had parted ways, i was disappointed in that and now i see that reggaeton is seriously declining in quality little by little. When I heard that each of them were coming out with solo albums i was thrilled but after getting them i realized that their lyrical flows had changed to fit the norm in reggaeton.



Gringo's album is an album struggling to stay hard with urban and reggaeton roots. I find that even he has jumped on the band wagon and incorporated a salsa track on his album like some other artists. The album is decent and gringo has let go of the raspy hard voice we are so used to and toned it down in his reggaeton tracks to a more softer tone. Not only that, but the softer tone follows on his album with softer lyrics. In the Sentenciados and Prophecy albums Gringo and Rasta had catchy inventive lyrics. That has totally disappeared in both their albums and leaves you wondering where are those crazy lyrics. Rasta totally changed his flow and sings most of the time, and gringo you'll find in this album is struggling not to do the same.



Tracks wise i can say their are only a handful that are good to O.K. The Intro describes how gringo feels about him and Baby Rasta splitting and what caused it. I find that the best duos are seperating because of money and greed. Sad, because B.R. & Gring and other duos that split truely put reggaeton more on the mainstream level and the quality of tracks are declining in my opinion. The second track "No Hay" is decent. The Fourth "Cemento" is an O.k. Party Pumpin track that i thought could have had more catchier lyrics and includes Polaco and John Eric(Neva would have thought Polaco would been on this considering Beefs in da past). Another Ok track is "Abrazo Del Oso". "En La Distancia" is more of a vocal, non-reggaeton track wit gringo expressing his confusion as to why his shorty doesnt answer his call. This track sounded good and La India's voice is always powerful and beautiful. "Nena Caliente" another ok party pumpin track but missin catchy lyrics. One track dat caught me by surprise was "Undress yourself". Most of us Rasta & Gringo Fans would recognize this track from one their past albums, only difference its translated into English.



Aside from that im not going to elaborate anymore on this album. I hear it and still i sit their hoping that something off the hook would seperate this album from everyone else considering his lyrical past. He too is falling into a mainstream reggaeton trap-softer tone, mediocre lyrics. I dont kno if this is me but other fans of this dude will realize something is different in this album. I can only recommend it and say buy it to the new reggaeton heads and fans of gringo, or just to get some tracks. Well my fellow fans 3 out of 5 is what i give this. Im hopin B.R. & Gring peace up and get togethat to kill the comp cuz we need our old duos back"