An balance of both extremes, Rosalia provides a record that showcases the abrasion and the conventional in her own empowering manner on 'MOTOMAMI'.
When it comes to contemporary artists in the flamenco and reggaeton genres that gained enough mainstream attention and still showcase a level of artistic growth and experimental flourish, Rosalia definitely fits that category. Her debut record in 2017 already showcases her identity as a flamenco artist with a voice of an assertive and passionate maiden, but that initial identity floods away on her sophomore record next year as she embraces poppier drapes and reggaeton flourishes that retain Rosalia’s conceptual and experimental itches. And 4 years after her sophomore record, she returns back, this time aiming for a personal and balanced approach where the album title suggests an assertive and intimate feminine exploration for Rosalia.
And balance is the perfect word to describe this record, serving as a middle ground and crossover between intimate and passionate flamenco bellows and the abrasive and choppy reggaeton and bachata rhythms that intersects and curves from track to track. This record certainly allows Rosalia to embrace these swings to those genres while not compromising one for the other, with the production getting more experimentation and the performance sliding through traditional flamenco singing and the modern reggaeton rapping. An embrace that conceptually makes a lot of sense thematically, where it views the personal scopes of Rosalia throughout fame and money that is represented heavily on the sassy and empowered reggaeton tracks, and family and love that is represented heavily on the passionate and fiery flamenco tracks. The thematics also serve as a dedication to Rosalia’s inspirations in music and the embrace of the different intercultural blushes that she finds inspiring for her, hence why the samples on the certain flamenco and reggaeton cuts put forth a road of modernity to these genres, unearthing ways of experimentation and evolution.
This record certainly provides a sweep of those two sides, and it is at its best when it ties both worlds wondrously. The seductive ballad of ‘Hentai’ that cuts through with the blasts of percussion at the end, the bouncy beat of ‘CUUUUuuuuuute’ that slips through a flamenco segment before it slips out to that bouncy beat, as well as ‘Saoko’ with that fleeting yet free jazz piano embellishment at the end amidst the downbeat drums. That doesn’t mean that the other flamenco and reggaeton tracks don’t showcase a semblance of quality in them, because they also are pretty good. The warbled vocal synth of ‘LA FAMA’ complete with bass licks and a feature from The Weeknd, the spare yet bouncy beat of ‘CHICKEN TERIYAKI’, the shuffling drums amidst the crowd sounds of ‘BULERIAS’, the short yet punchy ‘MOTOMAMI’, the minimal ballads of ‘COMO UN G’, ‘SAKURA’, and ‘G3 N15’ that is really carried by Rosalia’s passionate vocal soars and vocal effects, and the echoing soundscape amidst the sharp drums of ‘LA COMBI VERSACE’ with a flashy performance from Tokischa.
The record manages to execute its ethos surrounding the sides of intimacy and aggression quite well, but it does have its weak spots. The aggressive and flashy side of the record lyrically could have been put a bit more dimensions besides the sassy flexing that can be too familiar to be at par with the lyrical dimensions of the intimate side of the record, especially towards the criticisms that Rosalia has received towards her handling of reggaeton and flamenco music which she could address a bit further besides her answers on her interviews. The reggaeton aspects of the intimate side don’t pull off a remotely robust melody, and the added sampling cuts as well as the short length of most of the tracks don’t exactly help make both sides of these worlds buck more of its conceptual ethos. The odd burial sample amidst a tempered melodic line on ‘CANDY’ doesn’t exactly end up brewing that good, as well as the questionable Soulja boy sample on ‘DELIRIO DE GRANDEZA’ that ruins an otherwise good song, the lackluster James Blake vocal line did not save ‘DIABLO’ from its doozy tune, and the synth tone and mixing of ‘BIZCOCHITO’ that sticks up like a sore thumb for the rest of the record.
This is still ultimately a vision on Rosalia’s part, where those mixtures and experimentation towards sampling, production, performance, and thematic concepts meant a big part to her. It’s essentially the personal statement for Rosalia where she will be her own musician and will make curveballs to accentuate what she can do and what she is able to do. It sure certainly succeeded despite personal nitpicks, as this was a lot of fun and sure puts Rosalia in a unique place in the world of Latin music.
Favorite Tracks: SAOKO, LA FAMA, CHICKEN TERIYAKI, MOTOMAMI, CUUUUuuuuuuTE, BULERIAS, HENTAI, LA COMBI VERSACE, SAKURA, G3 N15, COMO UN G
Least Favorite Track: DIABLO