Though they may flirt with the global zeitgeist, every once in awhile a rapper has to return to their roots. Those who fondly remember the bars on 2018’s Avida Dollars are surely on board with C. Tangana’s current run. He’s spent a large part of the last year focusing on high profile urbano pop collaborations like his tracks with Paloma Mami and Becky G. But the madrileño started out this week by releasing “5 Stars” with some of SA’s harder contingent; Chile’s Polima Westcoast and Argentina’s Neo Pisteo and Duki. Today, we’re premiering his connect with PR emcee Álvaro Díaz, the ode to having beauties and backup that is the Tainy-produced “Todas Mías.”
You could do much worse in a straight bars partner than Díaz. He made his name ducking reggaeton’s dominance in the post-aughts audio landscape of the island, and was prominent in the first wave of underground Latin trap. On “Todas Mías.” Tangana is actually the first guest on what the Puerto Rican MC is announcing as a series of five EPs, conceptualized as a spread of radio stations.
The project leads off with the three-track Wavy Pa’ Las Bby’s EP, which includes the Tainy-Tangana collab and another song produced by Lara Project. In a press release, Díaz explained why he wanted to open the series with “Todas Mías” as the lead-off single. “I’ve always really liked [Tangana’s] work and the pairing of his European flow with the Latino gives this song an amazing blend of sounds and melodies,” Díaz said.
Álvarito fans from way back will note that the very LA clip that is “Todas Mías” marks the first time that the rapper has let another person — in this case, the director Nicotine — take the lead on one of his videos. Díaz explains in the release that he trusted Nicotine’s vision to pair the sound with gritty LA River noir. “Plus, he let me give my own opinions,” the rapper adds, calling the final product “progressive, dynamic, spectacular.”
Watch the video here: