If you’re looking for a collection of words (mashed together, not in a sentence) that could describe what Fuete Billete’s debut album, Música de Capsulón, is all about, you don’t have to listen too far into their record. In the third track, “Bien Guillao,” Beibi Johnson, Pepper Kilo, and their producer Freebase explain it all: “Prendas, putas, pepas, pacas.” Welcome to the world of Fuete Billete, who’ve set out to recount the stories of the street life and of lived experiences, over heavy bass tracks, hard, almost mechanical beats, and the occasional R&B-tinged track.
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Their lyrical approach to these stories is quite controversial—if assaulting, at first—with an incredible amount of misogyny. There’s not a single track where women aren’t referred to as sluts and, as I’m sure you’re all aware, that’s problematic, to say the least. That said, there’s also a lot of comedy and satire with local flavor, not only in the songs, but in the skits that are distributed throughout the record, letting you know that it’s not all serious. It’s amusing to hear contemporary sanjuaneros speak in natural slang about places we all end up hanging out in at some point; fertile ground for peculiar stories.
Musically, the beats Fuete Billete rap over are a mixture of ’90s R&B (big ups to that Aaliyah sample on “Una en un millón!”) and rap, mixed in with some trap, bass, and crunk meant to incite some serious booty shaking on the dance floor. The booty shaking is achieved. Nonetheless, it would’ve been great to hear them twist those beats and drag them into unfamiliar territory. They also feature guests like Overlord, Lola Pistola, O_X de Amerkv, and Moña PL, which diversify the range of voices and rapping styles on the record.
Música de Capsulón is a “take it or leave it” kind of deal. It’s a great party record, but I also would’ve liked a bit more substance with the dance and sing-alongs. You can check out the whole record below.