Maluca - Review

Maluca 

   New York City native Natalie Ann Yepez records and performs as Maluca Mala.  A general translation would be ‘Bad Girl.’  Her tropical punk style matches the music.   Maluca + The Partysquad’s  “Lola (Ging Danga)” features a classic dembo beat, with choppy drums and lots of vocals, (as well as maybe some sirens or synth air horns.)  The music is sexy as hell.  The video is fun, and it’s a great club or party song.   “El Tigeraso” uses a clean club beat with merengue rhythms interspersed.  It is my favorite track of hers.  Aggressive but clean, the song has excellent storytelling and bilingual rap.  It gives the perspective of a woman in NYC.  The video is fun, tacky in a wonderful way, with a colorful femme fatale style.  It’s very in tune with the alternative scene.  

   Her song “Mala” employs a soft whisper rap over a catchy, more pop commercial beat.  It has a dub bass, synth-pop hooks and spacey dembow percussion throughout. A strange tropical cyber punk theme besets the video, which accentuates the artists style.   Her style stands out compared to other dembow, urbano, and reggaeton.  She has qualities similar to Buraka Som Sistema, El Alpha, or Los Teke Teke, but is she is distinctly different.  She blends rhythms from dembow, merengue, and hip hop more smoothly than the other groups and is certainly more experimental.  

   With the following Maluca has gathered there’s no doubt you’ll be seeing her regularly on tv, touring and in magazines.  Check her out on YouTube, SoundCloud, Instagram, and Bandcamp.   Follow @sharks_eat_meat to find out more about Maluca and other artists.  

Review by John Coulter