Kalimen Nueva Era CD

When Ricky Martin and Shakira started recording in English, it certainly wasn't something either of them did out of absolute necessity. Martin and Shakira, like many other Latin stars, had already sold a ton of CDs by catering to Spanish-speaking audiences. And like rock en español and Latin pop artists, Spanish-speaking reggaeton stars such as Tego Calderón and Daddy Yankee have demonstrated that they don't need the English-language market to be commercially successful. But the Caribbean-dominated reggaeton style is only part of Spanish-language rap, which also includes everything from South American artists to the Mexican urban regional trend that Kalimen is a part of. If urban regional has an equivalent of Nelly, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Sir Mix-a-Lot, or Kid 'n Play -- that is, the funkier, more substantial pop-rappers -- it may be Kalimen. The Mexican-American duo makes a lot of pop moves on Nueva Era, but they aren't wimpy or lightweight about it; infectious tunes like "Momentos" and "Bailando Solo" demonstrate that grit and pop appeal are not mutually exclusive when it comes to rap. Even on "He Cambiado" -- a hip-hop interpretation of female Latin pop group Aroma's "Mentiras" that features Aroma member Techi -- Kalimen has an edge. Of course, Kalimen does some things on this 47-minute CD that Nelly, Mix-a-Lot, and the Fresh Prince will never do -- they rap in Spanish exclusively, and they frequently combine hip-hop beats with cumbia (both the Tex-Mex version and the Colombian version). Not all of the tracks have the cumbia influence, but many of them do. While Nueva Era isn't quite as consistent as it could have been, the material is memorable more often than not -- and overall, Kalimen demonstrates that pop-rap can be a worthwhile part of the urban regional trend. ~ Alex Henderson

Kalimen: Z, Dadadi.