Caminando

Reggaetón has become so popular in the Spanish-speaking parts of the Caribbean that when some Latin rap heads hear that a rapper is of Puerto Rican, Dominican, or Cuban descent, they immediately think reggaetón. But not all Spanish-language rap is reggaetón; there are numerous MCs all over Latin America and Spain who have little or no connection to the reggaetón style (which has been greatly influenced by Jamaican dancehall), and Juan Antonio Matos Torres, aka Enemigo, is a perfect example of a Puerto Rican rapper who isn't reggaetón. Caminando (Walking), Enemigo's first album for Univision Records and second album overall, contains a few reggaetón remixes here and there — and Tego Calderón, a major reggaetón star from Puerto Rico, is among the people Enemigo thanks in the credits. But as far as Enemigo's rapping goes, he doesn't flow in a reggaetón fashion; he doesn't have the strong dancehall influence. Enemigo is what one could call an informational rapper; in other words, he is someone who — like Mexican rappers Jae-P, David Rolas, and Kinto Sol — is interested in getting some messages across instead of merely showing off his gift for gab. Enemigo gets into sociopolitical territory on "Enemigo del Estado," "Retratos," and the title track, all of which deal with the realities of life on the streets. But not all of the material is that hard-hitting and sociopolitical; "Todos en el Party" and "Set It Off" (which features Dirty South star Petey Pablo) are straight-up party songs, and "Estrellas" is Enemigo's tribute to sexy Latin female stars. Some might wonder what Pablo is doing on a Spanish-language album; well, Caminando isn't entirely en Español, although about 85 to 90 percent of it is. This 65-minute CD is mildly uneven — some of the tunes are more memorable than others — but on the whole, Caminando is an engaging, worthwhile effort from the Puerto Rican MC.