Album review: "La Plebe"
Any person with even a cursory knowledge of the music industry knows that every album is a group effort. Beyond the headlining name on the cover is a team of producers, songwriters, A&Rs, and more that put the work in to make a project come to life.
Over a year ago, Puerto Rican rapper Skeptic set up a music camp in the heart of Old San Juan and invited a handpicked crop of talented indie artists from the local urban music scene to take part. Over three days and nights, they — along with experienced producers who also came onboard — talked shop, honed their crafts, and cooked up a handful of tracks all inside a bubble of positive feedback and honest critique from peers.
The result is now out for everyone to listen to: La Plebe, a 10-track album featuring a diverse array of genres from reggaetón and trap to R&B and neon pop.
The LP kicks off with “Lengüisuelto,” a slow jam alt-R&B featuring Seba Otero on chorus duties while Skeptic, Mike Rodz, and Sta. Cruz fire off rapid-fire verses, briefly giving the song’s pace a kick. From there it cheekily segues into a pure uncut perreo courtesy of producers Andres Melz and Søul, plus a who’s who of independent artists who’ve been making a name for themselves over the last few years: Kevtopo, A1 NWG, Nester, and Mr. HumA (the MVP of the song, undoubtedly). All are supremely familiar with reggaetón, and one of the smartest things La Plebe does is make sure the first time you hear the artist is in an environment they’re comfortable in before inviting you to discover a different side of their sound.
Driving that point is “Velero en Portugal,” which features a mix of both approaches. Newcomer Tracy Hamlet croons the chorus in silky English, ballasted by the textured grooves of the ever-reliable HF Diez, while Nester, Skeptic, and Mike Rodz return to their stations spitting bars but this time with a lovelorn bent.
On an island where trap is currently king, too many have lost sight that hip-hop is an art form unto itself and isn’t just rhyming about dealing, wheeling, and who has more product in the cut. “Se Nota” features Erre, one of the more underlooked rappers of the indie scene, who has been a solid verse scribbler for many years now both as a solo act and member of collective Los Rarxs. He shines even brighter in “Se Le Ve,” which teams him up with fellow dynamic shooters Stz Poetic and Sta. Cruz for a riotous Giio Cent-produced track that promises to kill live.
It would have been foolish for an ensemble like this to ignore the bevy of rising female acts in the scene, and thankfully it doesn't. In point of fact, three of the catchiest efforts feature women prominently: pop siren Laya Kalima regales “Qué Te Pasa?” and “Boca a Boca” with her smooth pipes and seductive flow, teaming up in the former with Kevtopo, whom she already successfully alchemized hits with on his album Buscando Encontrarme. On “Such a Good Love,” Tracy Hamlet and A1 NWG link up with KATSY — herself a talented songwriter — and channel contemporary quiet storm R&B through an urbano lens.
As Skeptic has explained when talking about La Plebe, the project’s mission statement comes from the fact that far too often these indie artists have been ignored by larger labels. Derisively gilded as being “too unknown” to be worth any distributor's attention and investment, they opted to take matters into their own hands. In that light, the album is a success. As an exercise in giving their eclectic talents an outlet to be heard, the broad range of tracks offered leave hardly any stone unturned in demonstrating the best of what each of them can do. That in itself is an achievement that they can collectively be proud of. The hope, now, is that new listeners will gravitate towards their sound.
Banking on his veteran insight and trust in the process, Skeptic gave these artists a boost of confidence and support that is sorely needed in such a cutthroat industry. That alone would be enough to justify the album’s existence; that we get such good music out of it makes the entire endeavor only all the more worthwhile. For artists and fans, it’s a win-win.
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