New Music Latin is a collection of the best new Latin songs and albums it recommends Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week's picks below.
Camilo, cuatro (Sony Music Latin/Hecho A Mano)
Camilo's new album, cuatrois the culmination and sum of four FA — one, two, three and now cuatro — released individually over the last few months, and now together in this final, grand finale. While the concept may appear to be a marketing ploy, it wasn't designed that way. The songs became simple songs – inspired by Camilo's professed love for his wife and muse, Evaluna, as well as his love of the diverse tropical rhythms that were the soundtrack of his childhood. (So much so that “Una Vida Pasada,” his collaboration with Mexican star Carin León, is salsa.)
But cuatroHis greatest triumph lies in the narrative. Each song is a story, of love lost and won, told in Camilo's efficient yet poignant and compelling prose. Standouts include “Gordo” and “Una Canción de Amor Para La Pulga” (La Pulga is Evaluna) — and get ready for a surprise in “Sálvame,” a salsa cover of RBD's hit with Cuban timba master Alexander Abréu and his band. , Havana D'Primera. — LEILA COBO
Trueno, El Último Baile (Sony Music Latin/Sur Capital Records)
For his third studio album, El Último Baile, Trueno thoroughly presents the genealogical and cultural impact of hip-hop music. “I'm keeping it real, esto es lo que prendista […] por acá no hablamos sin tener conocimiento” (I hold it true, this I represent […] we're not talking clueless here), he freestyles the nearly 45-second intro, further proving that he lives and breathes the movement.
Home to 13 tracks (no collaborations), Trueno digs deep into the half-century-old genre. Previously released singles “Tranky Funky” and “Ohh Baby,” for example, are backed by pounding piano, bass, and drum beats, bringing to life a psychedelic funk-rap fusion à la De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. A lot of old and nostalgic rap covers the album, but so does groovy R&B – as heard on “Real Gangsta Love,” about falling in love with a girl from the hood. dancehall and Afrobeats, as heard in “Como Antes”? sensual-yet-futuristic trap on “Night,” a song about feeling lost after a breakup. and hard electronic beats, as heard in “Cuando el Bajo Suena” and “La Nota”.
“With the album, I try to expand a different idea through each track with a musical genre that was part of the hip-hop culture,” expresses the Argentinian artist in a press release. “It's a journey through certain eras, certain decades of hip-hop and the genres that came out of it – that's where the idea was born. I want to offer a little celebration for the world at a time that was perhaps socially and economically critical. Like many of us in Latin America.” — JESSICA ROSE
Gabito Ballesteros, THE GB (Los CT Records)
Even before dropping an entire project, Mexican singer-songwriter Gabito Ballesteros had already established himself as Música Mexicana hitmaker with songs like “Lady Gaga”, who also wrote “AMG”. Now, me THE GB — his first studio album since his 2023 debut — Ballesteros reiterates his commitment to maintaining the momentum of local Mexican music. With the frenzy that has characterized his music, he kicks off the 22-song set with “Sad Loqueron,” fueled by prickly guitars and a wailing trombone.
Ballesteros opens with pleasure, with a moody song about heartbreak – which is very much what he's about – but also touches on the faster-paced corridos tumbados that have launched himself (and other acts like Natanael Cano and Peso Pluma) at the top of the charts. Both Cano and Peso, two of Ballesteros' biggest supporters, are of course artists on the set. The big three first team up on the flashy 'Lucky Charms', the second song on the set, which finds Peso, Cano and Ballesteros singing about a lavish lifestyle that includes Lambos and Bentleys.
While it's clear Ballesteros can do corridos tumbados well, he also shows off his ability to cover classic songs — like Son by Four's “A Puro Dolor” and Julieta Venegas' “Me Voy” — and make them his own of, in a nod to the music that has influenced his musical palette. Other stellar collaborations include Chino Pacas (“Bichi”), Blessd (“Balenciaga Rose”) and Fuerza Regida (“Sonrisa Colgate”). — GRISELDA FLORES
Kinky, “un x100to” (OCESA Seitrack)
For more than two decades, Kinky has redefined the traditional rock band paradigm with its innovative blend of electronic music and norteño talent. As masters of this unique musical fusion, the Monterrey ensemble recently released five beloved local Mexican songs, including “Fuentes de Ortiz” by Ed Maverick, Rocío Dúrcal and “Déjame Vivir” by Juan Gabriel (featuring Majo Aguilar ) and G. El Paso del Gigante,” singles the outfit released earlier this year.
Today they reveal the last two shots in the barrel with album/01Pld7YTG3G2kxUpcInxJe?si=RxjcEexpSRSjpoo_GSTekA” target=”_blank”>5 Disparos E.P — which includes dynamic reinterpretations of Los Ángeles Azules' “Nunca Es Suficiente” featuring Natalia Lafourcade, and “un x100to” by Bad Bunny & Grupo Frontera. The latter transforms from familiar guitar strums and a cumbia beat into a brilliant uptempo dance-pop anthem that sparkles in the night. Few artists can reimagine and elevate an amazing song while maintaining its original spirit as deftly as Kinky does. — ISABELA RAYGOZA
Rauw Alejandro, “Touching the Sky” (Sony Music Latin)
On his first solo release of 2024 (after a few collaborations), Rauw Alejandro presents a disco-infused synth-pop banger that marks “a new chapter in his musical career,” according to a press release. Written by Rauw, “Touching the Sky” has everything to be a summer anthem — from feel-good lyrics about the thrill of finding new love and enjoying the moment, like “I throw myself on a parachute for you/ My heart used to be gray, now it's red… I feel like I'm touching the sky,” to the perfect beat for the track, with electronic beats and the piercing voice of the Puerto Rican star. The song is accompanied by a cinematic music video, directed by Martin Seipel, which shows Rauw and a troupe of dancers taking to the streets of New York. — SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS
Alex Anwandter, Dime Precioso (5 AM)
After his Latin Grammy nomination El Diablo en el Cuerpo (2023), with Alex Anwandter Strikes Back Dime Precioso, his sixth studio album — a lively nine-track synth-pop opus made for the dancefloor. More experimental than ever, the album opens with a seductive, charming beat with sparkling effects, setting the stage for Anwandter to play the role of a strange lost boy. Elsewhere, “Tu Nueva Obsesión” captivates with funky bass lines that dance with iridescent keys and the spotlight track “Paris, Tal Vez?” enchants with ethereal thoughts about the romantic mystique of Parisian nights.
“The title 'Dime Precioso' refers to wanting to constantly feel wanted in a chaotic and hopeless world,” the Chilean star said in a press release. “And how absurd – funny at times but mostly tragic – to give in to this obsession while horrible things are happening right now.” Claiming influences from Burt Bacharach to '90s house music, Gil Evans, Brazilian MPB and Latin pop, the singer-songwriter and producer continues to stand out as one of today's most innovative indie artists. — IR
Alejandro Fernández & Anitta, “La Tóxica” (UMG Recordings)
Alejandro Fernandez, known for his iconic ranchera style, has ventured into a unique collaboration: his new album, Te Llevo En La Sangre, not only does it feature the best of the ranchera tradition, it also features the Anitta collaboration “La Toxica' as his focus track. This marks the Brazilian star's first foray into the local Mexican genre, adding a new twist to the album. The soon-to-be norteño anthem celebrates the freedom of being single and the healing process away from toxicity, while the duo playfully join their voices on the chorus: “I've already been freed from another, toxic, romantic, intense and unsafe. ” they sing. — INGRID FAJARDO
Listen to the New Music Latin playlist below:
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