Aerosoul

Kalimba Marichal Ibar's career is the stuff that pop star dreams are made of. From childhood television appearances to joining up with youth vocal pop group la Onda Vaselina (with whom he would stay for three years), this could only be foreshadowing to his inevitable debut as solo artist. Like a Mexican Justin Timberlake, this child performer turned pop group member turned club/dance bad boy leans towards the funky side. His 2004 record Aerosoul evokes memories of early Michael Jackson, with plenty of disco sensibility given a sparse hip-hop face-lift. Employing the behind-the-scenes talents of Aureo Baqueiro and Mario Domm, both Mexican pop royalty, the record has plenty of both big-budget gloss and back alley dirt. Kalimba himself gives some real soul and grit to his delivery. Still clearly on the young side, the 21-year-old vocalist has some distance to go before he sheds the thin whine that's telling of both his youth, and the genre. Even that considered, Kalimba is cut above the average, with plenty of attitude and machismo to make up for being a little green around the edges. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi