BeChicMag.com

THE BRITISH ARE COMING, THE BRITISH ARE COMING!
By SHELIKA BAEZ

2006 ushered in the new generation of British musical revolutionaries with James Blunt. His song, You’re beautiful, captured the #1 spot on the billboard charts following the footsteps of Sir Elton John’s earlier accomplishment.

Younger act, Corinne Bailey Rae has since joined in with her self-titled album debuting at #17 on the Billboard chart, making it the highest any British artist has accomplished. Her song, “Put your records on” captures the soulful and optimistic sound that is Corinne Bailey Rae. Read the rest of this entry »

ONLY IN NEW YORK

At a blink of an eye cab drivers can become anything you need them to be: A psychiatrist; a friend; heck, even a midwife! But all Ellsworth Forrester wants to be is a rising star.

The Upper West Side has its own creative cabbie who has personalized the interior of his yellow automobile with inspiring buttons inscribed with civil rights quotes and get this- copies of cd’s he sells and promotes right from the cab! Forrester reminds me of David Chappelle’s character in the 1999 flick “200 Cigarettes” who drove the disco cab on New Year’s Eve in Alphabet City- except for the whole pimp thing. Read the rest of this entry »

After successful years and immense popularity reggaeton has proved that its hype was more than a phase. But today Bernardo Brigante- hardcore fan of universal music who has been following the genre since the early ’90s- examines the past, present and future of reggaeton… *ms

By BERNARDO BRIGANTE

It captivated Latinos in 2003, and reached the masses in early 2005. Now, with everyone all but renouncing their interest in the music, the genre of reggaeton has hit a fork in the road, and has to make the decision to sink or swim. Here is a reggaeton fan’s attempt to look at the music (and its social implications) holistically.

Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, I didn’t know much about reggaeton outside of Playero tapes (which I hated with a passion, by the way) and El General. Being that no concrete promotional platform existed, I’d watch what was offered to me: low-budget Boricua Guerrero videos on UHF (channel 39: HTV or something like that) along with Proyecto Uno, Sancocho and DLG. Yea, I knew it was kinda corny compared to everything else I was listening to at the time (Biggie, Wu-Tang, Supercat, Mad Lion, Nas), and the artists had no style to save their lives, but they were from Puerto Rico, stirring not just immediate interest, but also a realm of mystique to their 120 BPM songs. Read the rest of this entry »

THE RETURN OF PAULINA RUBIO

When her single “Ni Una Sola Palabra” from her latest album Ananda blew up the charts and shook the radio waves in United States, Puerto Rico and Latin America, Paulina Rubio practically took over the entire Western hemisphere- but not without a little Eastern influence.

Naming the album after a Buddhist disciple the golden child tries to reflect her happiness in the 13 track cd.

“Ananda means Happiness in Sanscrito,” says my girl Pau. “And it’s a reflection of my current status. Life is a process of evolution and growth of all forms. With every step we learn something- through the fun and exciting times and also the difficult moments.”

If this sounds like a matured woman who knows what she wants it’s because she is. And though she claims to be the same as before, some of her closest fans will agree that though she’s still fun to watch, a pleasure to listen to and more fun than ever there’s a slightly more mature tone to her lyrics and voice. Read the rest of this entry »