Tag Archives: Kiko El Crazy

Calacote Signs Exclusive, Global Publishing Deal with Universal Music Publishing Group

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Calacote is going universal…

The 22-year-old Dominican urban Latin artist, whose real name is Luca Newton, has signed an exclusive, global publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).

CalacoteThe ambitious singer-songwriter, who was born in North Carolina and is of Dominican and French descent, hopes to revolutionize the Dembow movement with his Caribeño and European roots, and trilingual lyrics.

Through his new deal, Calacote will be given the opportunity to collaborate with many of UMPG’s composers in English, Spanish, and French.

“Calacote represents a new sound within the Latin urban community,” Alexandra Lioutikoff, president of US Latin and Latin America at UMPG, said in a statement. “UMPG is thrilled to sign a multilingual talent like him with truly global potential as both a songwriter and an artist.”

Ana Rosa Santiago, vice president of Latin Music at UMPG, added that the newcomer is “energetic, versatile and a fresh new prospect in Latin Music.”

Calacote, who unearthed his talent and passion for composing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, moved from Canada to Miami for a shot in the music industry.

He was discovered by the award-winning Latin hitmaker Maffio, and later signed to his label Alkatraks Music Group in 2021. The artist’s proposal is a “unique and unheard of” musical mixture full of witty hooks and experimental fusions with Dominican dembow always at the forefront.

“I’m thrilled to be working with the amazing team at UMPG,” Calacote noted. “This marks an exciting chapter in my career, and I am excited to have the opportunity to collaborate creatively with UMPG’s writers in the U.S. and abroad as well to develop commercially with Alexandra’s and Ana Rosa’s input. I know we will achieve great things together.”

“Alexandra and Ana Rosa understand our vision and we are excited to be collaborating with them and the entire UMPG global team on the development of Calacote’s career,” said Maffio.

On Jan. 14, Calacote will release his third single “Intercambio” in collaboration with Venezuelan rapper and Latin Grammy nominee Akapellah. The single follows his debut track “Azafata” and his Kiko el Crazy-assisted “Bruja.”

His debut album is slated to be released in the second quarter of 2022.

Darell Releases Sophomore Album “LVV the Real Rondon”

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Darell is bringing the real…

Four years after releasing his debut album La Verdadera Vuelta, the Puerto Rican rapper, singer and songwriter returns with his sophomore set titled LVV the Real Rondon.

Darell

Featuring 16 tracks, the album kicks off with “Un Barrio,” a mambo-infused trap song that tells the story of Darell’s upbringing. “From the hood, that’s where I’m from,” the lyrics go. Songs like “Bandolero,” “LVV En Su Piel” and “Llorando” bring to the forefront a Latin trap and hip-hop-heavy production.

In his Kiko El Crazy-assisted track “Dinero Facil,” Darell experiments with dembow melodies, and on “Billetes de 100” with Gerardo Ortiz, he doesn’t shy away from experimenting with artists of other genres.

LVV the Real Rondon includes collaborations with Miky Woodz, Pablo Chill-E, Juanka, Ñengo Flow, KEVVO, De La Ghetto and Young Hollywood.

Jowell & Randy Back in Top 10 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums Chart for First Time Since 2013 with “Viva El Perreo”

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Jowell & Randy are back with a bang…

The Puerto Rican reggaeton duo, composed of Joel Muñoz and Randy Ortiz, is back on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart as Viva El Perreo, their fifth studio album, debuts at No. 5 on the August 22-dated survey.

Jowell & Randy

It marks Jowell & Randy’s return to the Top 10 on the chart since 2013 when Sobredosis debuted and peaked at No. 10.

“Somehow we feel that our effort is recognized,” Jowell tells Billboard. “It is definitely a great achievement for us at this stage of our career. It’s what we aspire to as artists every time we release new music. We are proud.”

Viva El Perreo starts at No. 5 with 7,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending August 13, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, most of which stemmed from streaming activity.

The album’s songs logged 10 million U.S. on-demand streams in the tracking week, a career-high weekly total for the duo.

The Top Latin Albums chart ranks the most popular Latin albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

Viva El Perreo was released August 8 via Rimas Entertainment and produced by DJ Orma, SubeloNeo, DJ Blass and Bad Bunny.

“The production of this album was somewhat atypical due to the pandemic,” Randy adds. “Most of the ideas were handled by Bad Bunny and we managed to exchange and approve our ideas from home using technology. The process of recording our voices took place under strict security measures, quartering us for several weeks in a studio. Once the voices were recorded, they were distributed via the internet to the producers who each took charge from their respective studios to finalize the mixes and give the last details to this musical project.”

Viva El Perreo is a follow up to La Alcaldía del Perreo: The Album, Jowell & Randy’s last entry on Top Latin Albums in 2016, which debuted and peaked at No. 23.

The new 14-track effort features collaborations with Don Omar, J Balvin, Miky Woodz, De La Ghetto, Barbie Rican and Kiko El Crazy.

“We enjoyed working with Don Omar the most,” Jowell continues. “It was a personal and professional goal that we had as a group,” “We have been fans of his music since his origins and we learned a lot from him while we shared in the recording studio.”

Viva El Perreo was preceded by one song on Hot Latin Songs, which blends airplay, digital sales and streaming data: “Anaranjado,” with J Balvin, peaked at No. 31 on the current chart.

“We have developed a chemistry with J Balvin that we don’t have with anyone else in the genre,” Randy adds. “Our friendship for years and the trust we have in each other allowed us to work freely and feel comfortable when composing together.”

Viva El Perreo concurrently debuts at No. 5 on Latin Rhythm Albums, the duo’s fifth consecutive top 10 there.