José Feliciano, aka Moffa, has come a long way in the last six years since he started uploading his music on SoundCloud. He achieved virality with some of his eariest tracks and has since become one of Puerto Rico’s most exciting indie darlings. The platform, which launched the career of many heavy hitters from the island, like Bad Bunny and Young Miko, allowed Moffa the space to dabble with the idea of starting a music career. Once he noticed that he was gaining traction with thousands of listens online, the decision was easy, and he dove in head first. No matter how much the young singer veered toward a practical life and validation from friends and family, music always pulled him back. Moffa was destined to be an artist, and his debut album Playground is exemplary of his musical aptitude and discipline while being a formal announcement to the world that he’s arrived.
For the past five years, the Hato Rey native has dropped a streak of singles, which have allowed him to grow his reputation and audience, as well as rub elbows with industry peers. Many of those singles feature artists like local indie sensations like Alejo, paopao, and ROBI. Other big ticketd collabs include Young Martino, YannC of Full Harmony, Caleb Calloway, Ñengo Flow, Manuel Turizo and Karol G. Last year, rumors floated around that the singer was going to drop his debut toward the end of the year. “It was something we discussed but it didn’t feel like the right time to drop an album. We weren’t prepared… And I felt like I wanted to prove myself, and I wanted the time to build excitement about the project and create something meaningful,” Moffa tells Remezcla.
His instinct was spot on, after collaborating with some of Latine music’s biggest hitmakers. However, the new album shows us an entirely different side of him. With the release of Playground, Moffa is ready to show the world that he’s more than just the new kid on the block. The project is demonstrative of his songwriting, seamless vocal transitions between genres, and ability to curate a cohesive full-length project. Moffa was heavily inspired by music found within Black American culture.
“This album is kind of a risk-taker. There’s influences in it that’s pulled from the U.S. and is a mix of sounds that I like and haven’t quite heard other artists in my field doing lately,” he shares. Odes to Gospel, R&B, and hip-hop are prevalent throughout, but he also adds his own tropical spin through his own flow and language.
In a moment’s notice, Moffa can hit R&B vocal jumps to a gospel-inspired melody for a romantic track like “Bluedream,” then follow up with the lyrically raunchy but melodically glittering pop and hip-hop-inspired “Puzzy,” where listeners can hear the subtlest ode to reggaeton riddims through Moffa’s delivered licks, and still jump into another hip-hop beat that features a pounding bassline like the one heard on “SEXTAPE.”
Playground conjures nostaliga through its ability to capture musical stylings from two decades ago, the hopefulness and naivety of young love, and the physical excitement of a head-bobbing beat. The project’s overall vibe was inspired by popular Stateside R&B phenoms such as Bryson Tiller, Chris Brown, and Trey Songz, all best known for their sultry and soulful vocal vibratos, which closely match Moffa’s singing voice. “I know these guys have had their own issues in the past, but musically, I felt like I could tap into that same kind of sound a little bit and then flip it and turn it into something that’s more me,” he says. That’s exactly what he did on “Vitaly,” which features deep hip-hop percussions sprinkled with bouncy spatial synths reminiscent of 2000’s avant-garde club tracks like Ciara’s “Goodies,” though was directly inspired by Brown’s “Loyal.”
The album is an intimate portrayal of Moffa’s development, both as a young adult and a young artist. Many of the tracks describe situations experienced by either Moffa or his closest friends involving romance, sentimentality, sucieria, and, most notably, dedications to his family. The baby-faced artist is well-known amongst peers for his warmth and playfulness, which he attributes to his natural ability to acknowledge his inner child and find joy in even the toughest moments.
Playground … is a place where kids play and have carefree fun, but it’s also representative of who I am by nature.
Though reggaeton is what helped him get his foot into the industry, the debut record allows him to step away from the expected and carve his own lane using his greatest instrument, his satiny singing voice. Moffa skillfully balances the delicate tightrope of pulling inspiration from key musical and cultural moments that transcend generations and gives it a fresh perspective through his own imaginative interpretation and endearing storytelling.
Originally, the album was going to be titled I’m Just A Boy, but Moffa felt it was a little too plain for him. “[Through this project,] I want people to learn a little but more about me, but I also want people to feel seen and remember that they’ll always have that inner child within them,” he explains. “That’s where Playground came in. It’s a place where kids play and have carefree fun, but it’s also representative of who I am by nature.”
Playground is out now.
