Weekly Mezcolanza: Psycho Woof of Cuarto Poder

MIXTAPE: Mixed Taste – La Pelua: Mechada Meets Amarillo Cheese
DJ: Psycho Woof of Cuarto Poder

If you prefer listening to the whole song, from beginning to end, and you don’t really care about mixing skills, then this mixtape is perfect for you. Put together by Venezuelan rapper Psycho Woof, of the Cuarto Poder crew, this 55-minute long set is pretty basic and straightforward. Simply a selection of songs by different artists where one’s outro fades into the next intro and so on, with no attempt at beat matching or blending tunes. More like a podcast than a DJ set, and maybe that’s just what it is.

So, what can we really look forward to here? Once we get rid of all turntablism expectations, we can focus on the selection and judge the songs at face value. And let me tell you, I was surprised by the quality of many of these tracks. I’m not an expert in Venezuelan hip-hop. In fact, aside from Cuarto Poder, I haven’t heard much, so this mixtape was a good introduction into that field, showcasing the verbal talents of local MCs like Apache, Rimatematico, and NK Profeta.

But the real surprises kick in when Psycho Woof diverts from the orthodox hip-hop grounds into other hybrid genres and dares to mix in (or more accurately drop) tracks by the likes of Los Amigos Invisibles, Latin Bitman, and La Vida Boheme (be on the look out for these cats!), even a nü-cumbia remix of Nirvana! Now that’s something I wasn’t expecting from a rap mixtape.

Oh, and just a reminder, Cuarto Poder has a US debut album recently released on Nacional Records, and regardless of its corny old-school title (In Tha House), it’s pretty dope, so go check it out.