There were a lot of reggaeton releases in 2006, yet few were as curious and promising as
Los Rompe Discotekas, a CD mixtape presented by
Hector Bambino "El Father" and Roc la Familia. The latter is indeed a Latino branch of Roc-a-Fella, the longtime powerhouse label headed by
Jay-Z that splintered when he became president of Def Jam. This seemed to be a power move of many major urban labels in 2006 -- get a piece of the reggaeton market, quickly -- with, for example,
Diddy branching off Bad Boy into the exploding Latino sector as well (or at least announcing that he planned to do so). It's easy to view such moves cynically, as business-only practices that care just about the resulting return on investment, not the actual music and the cultural aspects being appropriated. Well, one listen to
Los Rompe Discotekas dashes such cynicism in this instance. Even if it is the product of The Island Def Jam Music Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the industry,
Los Rompe Discotekas is an outstanding reggaeton release, one of the best of the year. It'd be interesting to learn how much involvement
Jay-Z had in this project beyond his lazily phoned-in hook for the lead single, "Here We Go Yo" (where he's billed as El Presidente). He's not credited as executive producer (that would be
Juan Perez), so it's plausible he and his people wisely kept their hands out of this project, letting the reggaeton guys have full creative control.
Hector has the lead role as host, but he's featured in less than a half-dozen of the 15 tracks. So
Los Rompe Discotekas is essentially a mixtape, with various artists getting shots to shine, among them such major players as
Wisin & Yandel,
Alexis & Fido, and
Don Omar. The production is split almost entirely between Mekka and the
Luny Tunes collective. English-language features by
Fat Joe,
Memphis Bleek, and
Freeway are quite effective. There aren't any true standout tracks; each is first-rate by 2006 standards, and the highlights tend to be those featuring the more prominent names. Lastly, it's worth mentioning that this album -- unlike the similar
Luny Tunes albums -- runs only 53 minutes, which for a change is refreshing, as this music is mighty intense, with its fast tempo and relentlessly hard-hitting beats. ~ Jason Birchmeier