We’re happy to file another report that Latin American R&B is flourishing, from the Venezuelan bruja blends of Santa Bandida up to the new wave of R&B that’s coming out of Monterrey, the Mexican town that birthed Finesse Records and is also the home of 17-year-old vocalist Méne. He just dropped “Nunca es tu piel” for anyone who is looking to get an idea of how the young guard does long-distance anguish.
That machine gun ratatat opening the track is metaphoric — Méne’s “Nunca es tu piel” is about emotional violence. The title references the sharp pain that accompanies the uncertainty of never touching the one you love again. Everyone’s in the mood for a good heartbreak anthem this week, right?
Méne is trying to bury the pain in this brutal and slow number, which clocks in at a quick two minutes and change. We last caught up with the singer a few months ago when he was going by a slightly different name spelling and covered PARTYNEXTDOOR’s “Come and See Me,” another show of his love for sad boy sounds.
“Nunca es tu piel” is produced by Profff, who we were first introduced to as part of Ethel Verduzco’s Nayarit-based MC Peligro crew. Here, Profff shows his talent for crafting subtle, melancholy beats that sound right backing up personal narratives from his NWLA universe of vocalist-emcee collaborators. Check “No Sleep, Hard Work,” the track he recently gifted us with Guadalajara’s P.FLXWS for more from this beatmaker.