Billed as the soundtrack to the film of the same name,
Talento de Barrio
is a full-length showcase for
Daddy Yankee
that is essentially the follow-up album to
El Cartel: The Big Boss
(2007), a wide-ranging effort that found him experimenting with crossover tactics and collaborating with pop-rap artists including
Akon
,
will.i.am
Fergie
, and
Scott Storch
. Unlike that album, which yielded mixed results,
doesn't aim to expand
's fan base; rather, it aims to consolidate his already massive following. There are no English-language songs, no pop-rap collaborations, no
productions, nothing even potentially embarrassing -- it's pure reggaeton. Granted, there are some Latin fusions (most effectively,
"Llamado de Emergencia"
fuses Columbian vallenato with reggaeton) and also some autotuned vocals a la
T-Pain
(the choruses of
"Temblor"
and
"¿Que Tengo Que Hacer?"
), but
is clearly a return to
's strengths as a street-level reggaetonero. This makes
a less interesting album than
, whose broad range of crossover tactics was fascinating even when certain songs didn't work out as well as planned. On the other hand,
is an all-around better album than
. Not only is it more stylistically consistent and more reasonably paced at 15 songs in less than an hour's time; most importantly, it sticks with what's already proven successful. Three highlights in particular exemplify what works best for
:
"Pose"
is another in a line of electrifying club tracks (
"Gasolina,"
"Rompe,"
"Impacto"
),
"Somos de Calle"
is a socially conscious rallying call for the streets, and
"Salgo pa' la Calle"
is a melodic gem featuring a fantastic hook by
Randy
(of
Jowell & Randy
) and a standout production by
Luny Tunes
Tainy
. ~ Jason Birchmeier