New Jersey rapper CRIMEAPPLE returns with another album. This one titled “El cantante,” it serves as the follow up to his EP that had just dropped in December. The tracklist spans nine tracks, seeing features from RLX & Bori Rock.
From the Fatbeats website:
Embracing his career path as an emcee/entertainer, CRIMEAPPLE returns with his latest solo effort, El Cantante, which serves as an ode to Hector Lavoe and The Fania Era of salsa music’s profound storytelling.
CRIME is joined by a supporting cast of praise-worthy producers throughout the project whom include Bohemia Lynch (Westside Gunn), Michaelangelo (Avenue, Vel the Wonder) as well as his frequent collaborator, Buck Dudley, among others. And while there’s tracks that borrow aesthetics akin to latin music—such as the syncopated rhythm patterns on “Tuesday,” or the looping pan flute heard on “Out the Way”—you’ll still find the archetypal soundscapes that have defined CRIME’s discography.
These include the soulful/zone-inducing loops on tracks like the album opener, “My Song,” as well as “Together,” “Encore,” and “Precious.” And then there’s the chest-pounding bangers like “Cosos,” where CRIME lyrically remains in his bag with unrelenting, braggadocious rhymes: “You cheesecake, rappers know I get on this shit and eat great / Get better at any take and drop on anyone’s release date”.
All in all, El Cantante is a self realization of sorts as the New Jersey emcee shares his current life perspectives as he touches on what it’s like to be considered a hip-hop legend by many, while also reflecting on the path that brought him to this point in his career.
Pre-order El cantante from fatbeats
This sets CRIMEAPPLE up for another exciting year of releases. He had started his previous year in 2022 off with a follow-up to one his best releases to-date, Jaguar on Palisade 2. Later on in the month of May, he dropped a short EP with DJ Muggs titled Cartagena. June had saw him releasing the instrumentals for his 2019 album Viridi Panam.
Within June, he had also released an album fully produced by DJ Skizz titled Breakfast in Hradec. The next month saw him release the instrumentals for his 2021 album, Mátalos con más éxitos. In October he released another album with DJ Muggs titled Sin cortar, being his first release in full Spanish language as well. The month after, he released an album once again returning to primarily Spanish titled You’re Dead Already. The previously mentioned EP that ended his 2022 was titled Kilómetros: A Traveler’s Guide.