Los Dueños De La Discoteca Review

07/13/2005 7:22 AM, AMG


While reggaetón -- an intriguing mixture of hip-hop, dancehall and Latin music -- hasn't received a great deal of attention from the non-Latino media, it has taken the Spanish-speaking world by storm. Reggaetón isn't an exclusively Caribbean phenomenon, but artists who have Puerto Rican, Cuban or Dominican heritage seem to be especially adept at reggaetón-style rapping -- and that has to do with the way Spanish is spoken in the Caribbean countries. While Mexican and Central American Spanish tends to have a very melodic quality, Caribbean Spanish can, at times, be fast, rhythmic and guttural in a way that is perfect for reggaetón. It certainly works well for Jhosy & Baby Q on Dueños de la Discoteca, which is well served by the Dominican MCs' decidedly rhythmic way of speaking español. The fact that this CD contains a lot of sung choruses to go with the rapped verses softens the blow a bit, but ultimately, Dueños de la Discoteca is a celebration of rhythm more than melody. It is also a celebration of nightlife; Dueños de la Discoteca is Spanish for "Owners of the Dance Club" -- an appropriate title for a CD that is, above all else, a party album. Mirroring the thug-life imagery of gangsta rap, some reggaetón can be violent and sexually explicit. But Dueños de la Discoteca, for all its insistent funkiness, is relatively unthreatening. Baby Q, speaking in Spanish, has been quoted as saying, "Nosotros queremos exponer la otra cara de reggaetón: el reggaetón limpio y de diversión" -- roughly translated, "We want to give exposure to the other side of reggaetón: the clean, fun side." If you want to make some English-speaking comparisons, one could say that Jhosy & Baby Q's vision of reggaetón is more LL Cool J than Ol' Dirty Bastard -- more Kool Moe Dee or Big Daddy Kane than Eminem. In other words, this album isn't bubblegum, but it isn't an exercise in rampant thuggery either. And while Dueños de la Discoteca is mildly uneven, the album's best tracks make it a generally promising debut for the Dominican twosome.

~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide