A few years in the past, Residente engaged in a confrontation with J Balvin. Admittedly, it wasn’t a good battle, no less than on these phrases, with considered one of Spanish-language hip-hop’s most achieved artists placing the popwise Colombian reggaetonero on the defensive. Lurking beneath this back-and-forth volley of since-deleted video rants and dueling scorching canine memes lay a deep seated criticism of the trade during which each artists function, one the place a dispute over illustration on the Latin Grammys may immediate respectable, virtually existential animus between them. And whereas it might be fallacious to credit score the Puerto Rican rapper along with his perceived foe’s present business drought, in sure authenticity-obsessed Latin music circles it represents a small victory for substance over mere content material.
In gentle of this well-publicized beef, it’s onerous to not see the titles and canopy artwork for Las Letras Ya No Importan (The Lyrics Don’t Matter) as an extension of the invective, with music biz cynicism and AI laziness put absolutely on blast. After all, Residente’s basically human craft compels him to channel his issues and his passions into hip-hop, the artform the place he made his identify with the seminal Calle 13 and as a solo artist. A show-and-prove alternative for a adorned veteran, the 23-track, 90-plus minute effort can really feel exhaustive and, at instances, exhausting. However when positioning your self because the equal of a Michelin-starred chef in a discipline of quick meals slingers, folks ought to anticipate a feast.
By the way, it takes greater than two minutes for Residente to reach on his personal album, the compounding intros centering the voices of his departed pal Valentina Gasparini and actress Penelope Cruz as an alternative of himself. These are clear selections with apparent that means, private or in any other case, however as soon as “313” will get going he’s effusive and romantic along with his poetry and his sentiments. “El Malestar En La Cultura” switches gears to hold forth knowingly on the intertwined roles of rap and tradition, whereas the ferocious “Desde la Servilleta” defends the very ethos of his work with bars upon bars.
At this stage in his profession, no person expects Residente to be on the slicing fringe of hip-hop manufacturing. Within the seven years since his final album, 2017’s globe-trotting Residente, he hasn’t misplaced his want to color his canvases with a broad sonic palette. However amid the obvious false begins that surrounded this long-awaited follow-up, a bit restraint would have helped make Las Letras… a cohesive work as an alternative of an unintentional splattering that inadvertently highlights the disparate origins and ages of the fabric. A few of his instrumental picks right here really feel worse than regressive, the staid nature of “Jerga Platanera” and “Ron En El Piso” undercutting in any other case stable lyricism. Contemplating what fellow elder statesmen of rap like Jay-Z and Nas have executed on late-period albums with No I.D. and Hit-Boy, Residente’s report assuredly would have benefitted from comparable focus. As an alternative, we find yourself indulging such totally regrettable novelties because the bluesy stomp n’ twang of “Problema Cabrón.”
Nonetheless, when it really works, it really works fairly nicely. “En Talla” harkens again to the times of Fania greatness, its methodically sluggish tempo giving him ample house to interact in frank sociopolitical evaluation with out lacking a beat. Beforehand launched tracks like “This Is Not America” and the cathartic nearer “René” reinforce his emcee bonafides, topically poignant and thematically fluid in ways in which would escape most different rappers. It actually doesn’t harm when he brings on style greats like Arcángel for the vibey “Que Fluya,” or the impressed pairing of Massive Daddy Kane and Vico C on the bilingual “Estilo Libre.” After all, Residente doesn’t want company to reveal his personal greatness, however Las Letras… desperately wanted somebody aside from him to make that time clearer and extra concise.
