Daddy Yankee:
Barrio Fino

Release Date: 04 July 2005

Reviewed By: Arif Amin

1. Intro

2. King Daddy

3. Dale Caliente

4. No Me Dejes Solo

5. Gasolina

6. Like You

7. Muro

8. Que Paso, Paso

9. Tu Principle

10. Cuentame

11. Santifica Tus Escapularios

12. Sabor a Melao

13. Empuje

14. ¿Que Vas a Hacer?

15. Salud Y Vida

16. Intermedio "Gavilan"

17. Corazones

18. Golpe de Estado

19. 2 Mujeres

20. Saber Su Nombre

21. Outro

Coach Carter - Soundtrack
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Since the 90s, the UK has constantly been hit by a storm of international flavours that have been received with love, with artists such as Noreaga, Jay Sean, Juggy D, Sian Supa Crew and Jin making their marks. 

The Puerto Rican movement has matured and has culminated with an explosion of new groups, and right now, Daddy Yankee, meaning ‘top dog of his hood’, is not just top of his hood but at the top of the Reggaeton scene. Reggaeton is a fusion of reggae and hip hop, as well as Latino rhythms, and a lot of you may recognise him from his infamous hook up with Nas on ‘The Profecy’ joint. If you don’t, you can’t have missed him on the smash hit ‘Gasolina’ which has taken over most music channels of a lot of genres this summer, after spreading all over the rest of Europe and the Billboard Charts! 

This album is untouchably hot and it’s to no confusion why it was the most anticipated album in Reggaeton history, and has already sold a million in the US adding to Yankee’s five platinum albums.  

The intro starts with Yankee representing his hood and like many platinum albums, this is powerful and spoken from the heart, setting the tone for the album. As we move onto the ‘Dale Caliente’ track, it’s clear that the style from what you have sampled on MTV of Daddy Yankee’s joint ‘Gasolina’ is not just a one off, and that this style flows throughout the veins of the album. The touch of female vocalists in ‘Dale Caliente’ and in nearly every other track ignites this high-fuelled energetic feel of the tracks.  

In ‘No Me Dejes Solo’, translating ‘Don’t Leave Me Alone’, the Latino lyrics laid down by Yankee is echoed by artists Wisin Y Yandel with a hard Hip Hop feel, softened with a woman’s touch. Up till now, the album has been filled with Spanish lyrics, but on ‘Like You’ the fusion with English lyrics touches a sensation which is experienced when Capone and Noreaga rock the mic.  

As ‘Barrio Fino’ flows on, you can really feel how ex-baseball player Yankee has been inspired by salsa music, which injects variety to his collection, and adds to the summer feel which the album is distinguishably targeted at. ‘Sabor a Melao’ even has its own bonus salsa remix; the original is a piece which is appropriate for the afternoon poker session in the Mediterranean café with the remix having an evening feel to it, ready to take your lady onto the dance floor in a Mediterranean Hip Hop club. It’s this variety which really opens up the appeal Yankee sends out via ‘Barrio Fino’. 

From ‘Tu Principe’ (Your Prince) to ‘Santifica Tus Escapularios’ the album takes a deeper feel lyrically, and although it is in Spanish, Yankee communicates his thoughts by fluctuating his voice between pure Hip Hop and expressionism of speaking from the heart. This is enhanced by artist Lennox, who features on the track. 

With Raymond Ayala aka DaddyYankee covering all aspects a platinum album should for it to be remembered in the Reggaeton name, this album must be slippin’ up somewhere right? I hate to say it, but it does, as a couple of tracks, such as ‘El Muro’ (The Wall) and ‘El Empuje’ (The Push) have a repetitive feel to it and you will soon be reaching for the skip button.  

Despite this, ‘Barrio Fino’ is guaranteed to be a classic, and like most classic albums there’s always a diamond within. Kanye had ‘Jesus Walks’ in his debut album and recently Akon enclosed ‘Ghetto’ on his. ‘Barrio Fino’s diamond in the rough is ‘Que Vas a Hacer?’ (What Are You Going To Do?), which features the lovely May-Be, who together are this year’s Latino answer to last summer’s Lil’ Flip and Lea’s deadly combination on ‘Sunshine’. This duet will naturally set any place off with love with credit to its sexy and silky Spanish lyrics. 

The final theme of the album has a military feel through it, especially in ‘Corazones’ (Hearts) and successfully closes to the outro fit for an album of this calibre. 

‘Barrio Fino’ has lived up to its suspense since Yankee featured on Terror Squad’s ‘100%’ video, and the 24 tracks are justified for the need of variety in this album, which it succeeds in doing to a level beyond great expectations. Even though Daddy Yankee was forced to give up his dreams of going pro in baseball due to a gun shot, ‘Barrio Fino’ has scored him a home run. And for the record to prove this is just not any old classic to be forgotten in a decade, Yankee hooks up with ‘PAPI!-N.O.R.E.’ Gemstar and Big Mato to create a remix of ‘Gasolina’, which erupts in a heat of explosion which has built up throughout the album and continues our unbearable anticipation for the originality of Yankee and his next album...  

Rating 4.5/5: 

Top 3 Tracks:

1. Que Vas a Hacer?

2. Gasolina (Remix)

3. Tu Principe

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