Barrio Fino en Directo [CD/DVD] [Edited]

Performer: Daddy Yankee
Artist: Lloyd Banks; Young Buck; Snoop Dogg
Producer: Luny Tunes; Monserrate; DJ Urba
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Daddy Yankee was one of the leading figures of the reggaeton movement in the mid-2000s, and this dual-disc compilation package is a testament to the Puerto Rican rapper's talent and popularity. BARRIO FINO EN DIRECTO namechecks Daddy Yankee's immensely popular BARRIO FINO album, and several tracks from that album are featured here in live concert versions. Also included on the CD are four new studio cuts, including "Gangsta Zone," with Snoop Dogg, and "Machete Reloaded," with Paul Wall. The presence of these mainstream hip-hop artists shows just how far reggaeton was able to cross over. On both the live audio tracks and the live footage included on the DVD, it's clear that Daddy Yankee is a first-rate and much-loved performer (his arena-sized audiences sing along with every word). The high-energy music, which draws on dancehall rhythms, hip-hop attitude, and Latin-flavored samples and accents, is as infectious here as on any of Daddy Yankee's releases. Fans won't want to miss this key overview. The DVD also includes special features like music videos, photos, and behind-the-scenes documentary footage. Daddy Yankee kept his presence front and center amid the reggaeton feeding frenzy of 2005, releasing a very satisfying stopgap package, Barrio Fino en Directo, in late 2005, just in time for the holiday shopping rush. The title references Daddy's super-selling album from a year before, Barrio Fino, and the album serves as a nice companion piece, reflecting upon all the success that album enjoyed in the wake of its release. This CD/DVD package has a little bit of everything: the CD features a ten-track seamless set of live recordings from all over America (North and South), and it also features several new recordings, including collaborations with Snoop Dogg and Paul Wall, while the DVD features live concert footage, the "Corazones" video, various documentary footage, and a photo gallery. It all adds up to a lot of entertainment value, and a lot of insight into what's made Daddy Yankee such a phenomenon. In particular, the live recordings are especially impressive. The sound quality is pristine -- on a par with his studio recordings -- and the performances are absolutely electrifying, all of them recorded in giant arenas packed full of tens of thousands of screaming fans (check "Lo Que Pas�, Pas�," where the entire arena sings along, word for word). If you have any reservations about the reggaeton movement, the mania of these live performances will be all the evidence you need -- this is no trend; this is a full-fledged movement, one with strong sociopolitical undercurrents. (The other Daddy Yankee live album released in 2005, the archival Ahora Le Toca al Cangri, pales in comparison.) The new studio recordings are all promising, raising the level of anticipation for Daddy's next studio album to a ridiculous level. Of particular interest are the collaborations with Snoop and Paul Wall, as these two popular rappers try their best to adjust their flows to the tricky, fleet-footed rhythms of reggaeton. The DVD footage is engaging, though somewhat of a mishmash -- a grab bag of content that functions chiefly as a visual scrapbook of Daddy's whirlwind year. Fans will love Barrio Fino en Directo. It's no cash-in; it's a lovingly assembled stopgap release with good intentions. Anyone new to Daddy Yankee, however, will want to start with Barrio Fino. It's a great, hit-filled album that's a prerequisite to understanding why this young swaggering Puerto Rican was able to captivate arenas full of Latinos in all corners of the Western Hemisphere. ~ Jason Birchmeier

Rolling Stone (p.94) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A] solid stopgap from reggaeton's biggest star. The live cuts are as exciting as they were on BARRIO FINO..."

Although he's neither the originator of the reggaeton style nor even the genre's first home-grown superstar, Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee was instrumental in introducing the Latin hip-hop/dancehall hybrid to a mainstream audience in the United States and abroad. Yankee (aka Raymon Ayala) began appearing on reggaeton tracks as early as 1993, but it was 2004's BARRIO FINO and its infectious single "La Gasolina" that made him a household name. He has since collaborated with up-and-coming reggaeton artists as well as hip-hop stars like Snoop Dogg and Lloyd Banks.

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