Tego Calderón - Tego (Clean) (CD)

All Music Guide

In the continental United States, the vast majority of Latino rappers have favored a bilingual approach. That has been true of MexicanAmericans in Los Angeles (Kid Frost, Lighter Shade of Brown, Proper Dos) and Puerto Ricans in New York (Hurricane G, Mesanjarz of Funk) as well as the Cubanborn Mellow Man Ace. Those artists have opted to rap in both English and Spanish mostly English but in Latin America, it's a different story. From Mexico City to Buenos Aires, Latin America is full of MCs who exclusively rap in Spanish which is what Tego Calderón does on his debut album Tego, an intriguing effort that draws on influences ranging from Willie Colon and Rubén Blades to the late 2Pac Shakur. Calderón's grooves often have a strong AfroCuban/salsa influence occasionally, he incorporates reggae and Dominican merengue instead and his flow definitely owes something to Shakur despite the fact that Shakur only rapped in English. Those who have some understanding of Spanish will have no prob...lem identifying Calderón as a Puerto Rican; the Caribbean dialects of Spanish (Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Dominican) are easily recognizable if you've studied that language, and Calderón's accent is quite different from the Mexican accent one associates with Kid Frost or Lil' Blacky. In fact, Latinos who aren't knowledgeable of Puerto Rican slang may not understand all of the colloquialisms that the rapper employs. Regardless, Calderón obviously has strong rhyming skills, and Tego is sonically appealing even if you don't understand everything he's saying. While most of the CD is hiphop with Latin overtones, "Planté Bandera" is outright salsa. But that track is the exception instead of the rule; Tego is a rap album first and foremost, and those who aren't intimidated by the language barrier will find it to be a solid debut for the Puerto Rican MC. Tego was also released in a clean version] - Alex Henderson, All Music Guide Read more Less