Way before La Mala Rodríguez became a world-wide star, a Barcelona rapper named Mucho Muchacho was the first artist to come out of the then-burgeoning Spanish hip-hop scene and achieve international recognition. His 1998 album Hecho Es Simple, signed under the group alias of 7 Notas 7 Colores, was nothing short of revolutionary and hugely influential for Spanish-language rappers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Well, Cookin Bananas is basically the return of Mucho Muchacho to the top of the now-established scene. Under the new alter-ego of Skinny Banana he joined forces with the best producers in the game, Cookin’ Soul, and formed a dream team of sorts that aims to bring back the glory of the Spanish hip-hop golden age.
With cover art that’s an outright rip-off/tribute to the classic Velvet Underground one by Andy Warhol, the debut album by Cookin’ Bananas is offered as a free download, presumably because it includes a huge pile of uncleared soul samples. But free doesn’t mean that the content is of a lesser quality. Once you pass the self-indulgent, extra annoying intro (wonder how stoned they were when they recorded that?) the album is all killer, no filler. Even if you don’t like rap (or you “only like Calle 13“) I bet you’ll love tracks like “Todo Sobre Mi Desmadre” where each ingenious verse is a title of an Almodóvar movie.
Download Cookin Banana’s full album by clicking the picture below:
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