First Stream Latin: New Music by Mau y Ricky, Carlos Rivera, Jessie Reyez & More

First Stream Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs, albums, and videos recommended by the Billboard Latin editors. Check out this week’s picks below.

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Mau y Ricky, “Papás” (Sony Music Entertainment)

Playing off their sibling status doesn’t always have organic results for Mau and Ricky Montaner. But “Papás (Parents),” with its immediately recognizable verse (we can only begin to imagine the Tik Tok challenges generated from that opening line –“I don’t want to meet your dad; I know if he sees me he’ll kill me”) is well-played all-around. Dropping the pop/reggaetón they’ve largely focused on for a more reggae-punk/rock vibe, “Papás” is funny, and catchy and memorable, but it’s also really well-crafted. Aside from showing Mau and Ricky in their best light –as singers and instrumentalists—the song is full of layers and unexpected bridges that urge –more than required—you to listen again. And the video directed by Stillz (“Yo Perreo Sola”) is totally fun. This is not the throw-away pop/reggaeton that is crowding our sonic space right now; this is a hit. — LEILA COBO

 

Carlos Rivera, “Vuelves (Si Fuera Mia)” (Sony Music Entertainment)

Like many artists in 2020, Carlos Rivera found the need to reinvent himself to keep his commitment with fans amid the current health crisis. Feeling inspired during the coronavirus lockdown, the Mexican crooner began to revamp some of his favorite songs, ultimately making a project soon to be released. “Vuelves,” originally recorded by Spanish artist Rozalen on her album Quien Me Ha Visto (2015), is the first song Rivera releases off of his upcoming tribute collection. Because of the limited resources due to social distancing and quarantine, Rivera “simply wanted to sing my favorite songs.” Accompanied by only a guitar at the Mexico City Studios, Rivera delivers an enchanting version of “Vuelves,” showcasing his remarkable vocal abilities. The single forms part of his forthcoming set dubbed Si Fuera Mia. Watch below. — JESSICA ROIZ

 

Jessie Reyez “Before Love Came To Kill Us” (FMLY/ ISLAND)

Singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez releases the music video for the title track of her debut album Before Love Came to Kill Us. The Claire Edmondson-directed audio-visual takes Reyez through the streets of her Toronto hometown, a collage of images ushered by the sui generis tenor of the Colombian-Canadian hoarse voice with a barrage of questions and contemplations about love, hope, chances and longing, all with a chiding note and palpable genuineness: We’re not supposed to/ but I can’t learn my lesson/ I miss when you were my best friend/ before love came to kill us…/ So under the mask of the moon/ could we dance in the past before love… before love came to kill us.  — PAMELA BUSTIOS

 

Jowell y Randy, Viva el Perreo (Rimas Entertainment)

Reggaeton duo Jowell y Randy was not going to let the global pandemic ruin their 2020. Instead, they recruited some of their famed producers and colleagues to bring to life their sixth studio album, Viva El Perreo, born entirely during the quarantine. Home to 14 tracks, the album, which is a homage to the essence of old-school reggaeton and perreo, counts with collaborations by Don Omar, De La Ghetto, and J Balvin, to name a few. Bad Bunny is one of the mastermind producers behind the album going under the pseudonym of San Benito. In an exclusive interview with Billboard, Jowell & Randy elaborate more on their new album. Read it here and stream it below. — J.R.

 

Ednita Nazario, “La Más Loca, La Más Bella” (Sony Music Entertainment)

Nazario is a diva who has made a career singing soaring ballads, and this one is no exception. Set to a medium-tempo rock arrangement where electric guitars and drums dominate, Nazario belts out this song about a woman in love –“The Craziest, Most Beautiful”—and bent on driving her man mad. There is no coyness here; Nazario goes to the point without playing games or beating around the bush. The vocal execution is over-the-top emotional and hugely satisfying. — L.C.

 

David Guetta, Human (X) ft. Various Artists, “Pa’ La Cultura” (Human (X)/Warner Music Latina)

David Guetta has recruited some of the hottest names in Latin music for the charity bop “Pa’ La Cultura.” Sofia Reyes, Abraham Mateo, De La Ghetto, Zion & Lennox, Manuel Turizo, Lalo Ebratt, Thalia, and Maejor all come together for the head-bopping, hip-shaking, party banger that laces EMD, urban, and other global rhythms. “Pa’ La Cultura” comes a week after Multifaceted talent incubator NEON16, music executive Tommy Mottola, and MITH Media unveiled HUMAN (X), a multimedia charity initiative with the purpose of curating and funding messages of humanity. Their goal, according to an official statement, is to spotlight and fund important causes to create a tangible solution. All proceeds of the single will be donated to the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and their ART/WORKS fellowship program to help immigrants impacted by the global health crisis. — J.R. 

 

Yasser Tejeda & Palotré, “Pa’ Villa Mella” (Guitambú Music Productions)

Dominican ensemble Yasser Tejeda & Palotré lolls in the jazz and subdued undertones of the bass, and the frisky chords of the guitar in the sophisticated “Pa’ Villa Mella,” a tune which takes the name of a northern city in Santo Domingo. The New York-based group comprised of Jonathan “Jblak” Troncoso (percussion and background vocals), Otoniel Vargas (drums and background vocals), Kyle Miles (bass) and Tejeda (guitar, lead vocals, and background vocals) is gripped in the fusion of the earthly and the mystical, the folklore of its Afro-Caribbean culture with progressive jazz syntheses. The song arrives with a short music clip, part one of a two-chapter story, directed by L. Cuervo and produced by Guitambú Music Productions, with its leading character smitten with its hometown, fueled with nostalgia and longing for a lost love. — P.B.

 

Esteman, Daniela Spalla, “Te Alejas Mas De Mi” (EMI Music Mexico)

Colombia’s Esteman has collaborated with the likes of Mon Laferte and Carla Morrison in the past. Here he joins forces with Argentine pop singer Daniella Spalla in a 70s retro song whose peppy beat and disaffected delivery belie the wistful lyrics. The melody is sweet but the vocals –his easy tenor and her throaty nonchalance, which harmonize beautifully– are the real reason this track works. — L.C.

 

Nobeat, “Vámonos” (Interscope Records)

As he continues to establish his name in the music industry, Nobeat presents his latest single and video for “Vamonos,” showcasing once again the versatility he’s bringing to the game. This time around, the 21-year-old Colombian artist, who was highlighted on Billboard’s Latin Artists to Discover During Quarantine, sings about seduction and taking risks in love. “Let’s leave, far away from where no one will find out and if your ex looks for you, tell him the magic already died,” he sings in the dembow-infused reggaeton track. “Vamonos” follows his infectious singles “Perreo San” and “Snicker,” all released under Interscope Records. Watch the music video below. — J.R.

 

Monte – “Jungla” (The Orchard)

Monte, Simon Mejia’s side solo project, releases “Jungla,” the second single off his forthcoming set Mirla and the followup to the album’s title track. Unlike its predecessor, this field recording is riddled with electronic pouncing and acidic-synth beats, a fast-paced journey reflective of the urban commotion. The Colombian producer and founding member of Bomba Estereo, pairs up the sonic landscape of the city with the echoes of birdsongs and insects looming in the darkness of the jungle. The experimental cut, written and produced by Mejia, is second part of a dystopian trilogy about man and nature and arrives with a music video directed by Simon Hernández, a variegated patchwork of urban scenery images, the omnipresent din of the city and the harmonious vibrations of nature. “‘Jungla’ is a journey through a river in the middle of the Colombian jungle,” stated Mejia. “The sunset falls and the sound of the insects and birds starts to fill the environment, until it becomes a mass of deafening frequencies.”  — P.B.

 

Shaka y Dres x Rayvon Owen, “La Locura” (ONErpm)

Latin duo Shaka y Dres has joined forces with Virginia-based artist Rayvon Owen for the new trilingual (Spanish, English, French) anthem “La Locura.” Fusing reggaeton beats with Owen’s R&B pop melodies, “La Locura” is summer-ready, a song about a man who’s going crazy over a girl. For Owen, the collaboration carries nothing but good vibes. “I hope it inspires people to have a good time as well… especially during this difficult time in the world. Hope it reminds people, across the globe, that we’re in this together,” he tells Billboard. Belgium-born brothers, Shaka y Dres, of Salvadoran descent, “La Locura” is about desiring the prohibited. “Allowing our instincts to take over without thinking of the consequences. Living always in the present,” they say. Watch the music video below. — J.R.