Street Signs

Another album not in my copy of the book. There's an awful lot of divergence between different versions and (as I've noted before) a lot of more contemporary releases added and then quickly removed. It's almost like the people who curate this don't know how to evaluate modern music for its lasting impact. Anyway, I had never listened to Ozomatli before, but I knew of them as Cut Chemist's other group. In addition to Cut Chemist, Chali 2na has also collaborated with them, further cementing their connection to Jurassic 5. Ozomatli also share some of Jurassic 5's issues - namely, their lack of depth. They're fine, there's nothing wrong with them, but like a meal lacking much caloric content, you're going to be hungry again in an hour. There's a wiffliness to them, a lack of edge, a lack of bite. It's frustratingly clean and safe and, well, kind of boring. It shouldn't be. It's blending elements of a lot of genres, but it never feels like more than the sum of its parts. Why? How can you combine disparate elements and sound somehow formulaic? Better than Oasis though.

Remember when we forgot for awhile that other countries had instruments too? I'd listen to Chali 2na read the phonebook

hmm, I really thought I was going to enjoy this album. I feel like maybe there was a time when I listened to Ozomatli and liked them. This just feels like a mashup of the least interesting latin music and hip hop. It's upbeat and poppy and boring

Excellent - shame the whole album isn't on spotify...

Just because you put a latin twist to mediocre music doesn't make it any better.

A waste of time and space. Clear Latin music influences without doing anything interesting or worthwhile with it. Lyrics are corny and lack any sort of worthwhile message. Every genre influence it brings in does nothing to meaningfully expand on the core ideas, leading to cheap attempts of hip-hop, funk, rock, turntablism, and so forth. This drags on for nearly an hour without improvement. Skip this one.

After getting over halfway through the list of 1001 albums, this is the first one I didn't manage to play from start to finish. Why? Because I literally couldn't find anywhere to listen to it. Spotify has the first track only. YouTube has it all unavailable. It's not on any other music streaming services I use. I struggled but managed to listen to all of the tracks in different formats, some of them live versions, others from "diverse sources". For "Santiago", the best I could do was find a drum cover, so the track being played in the background with some random person drumming over the top. At times I wasn't even sure I was listening to the correct track, but I persevered to the bitter end. I'm going to give it 3 stars because I'm kind of annoyed about how inaccessible this album was in the UK and it wasn't amazing anyway, kind of a mix of good tracks and bland ones.

Wow. What a feast. A feast you can dance to. A feast that makes me want to put down all of this work I have to do, turn my back on the september morning chill, and head to L.A. to swear off winter forever... Each song has *such* a good groove, layering sounds and languages and cultures...I'm constantly being surprised by the inclusion of different instruments as these songs unfurl.... While there are a number of sounds here that have appeared in more popular music and tracks over the years, none of this feels done just for the sake of including a sound. As well, these tunes aren't overproduced. They're expertly mixed but still managed to retain the rawness of live music celebration... This kind of discovery is what participating in this 1001 albums exercise is all about... "The revolution will begin this Saturday night..."

Never heard of this band until now. Not sure why they are not huge radio mega stars. My theory on the fly is the hype machine doesn't know how to market this kind of music unless there is an individual (ie. Bruno Mars) to focus on. Their sound is varied with all kinds of different touchstones; funk, latin pop, rock, alternative maybe even, rap, hip hop and jazz . Everything is performed with a verve and energy that is absolutely infectious. This is not typically my genre but this album will remain on my playlist. Favorite song; Love and Hope. 4 🌟

Didn't hate this, but it felt like every song was the same, and didn't ever end.

Proficiently bland, with platitudes earnestly proffered over a mishmash of mild hip hop and orchestral stabs, sometimes like a latin-flavored Bollywood soundtrack without the full commitment to spectacle required. Probably a fixture in the lobby of youth hostels worldwide

2.8 - A bland fusion of Latin rock and hip hop that you’d head at a free summer concert in some medium-sized city.

This Lin Manuel Miranda ass bullshit. Oh god this might be the worst thing we’ve gotten so far

Totally loved it and all it's eclecticism! It has salsa, jazz, funk, reggae and hip hop.

Cool mix of influences; latin, middle eastern, hip hop, etc

Excellent. Loved the entire album. Listened to it the entire day, and started diving into their other work.

Finally, an album that I’ve never heard of. That’s really great. Lots of different international styles. Mostly Latin, but also some styles from India and Africa.

Hadn’t heard of them, but thoroughly enjoyed some of the songs.

7/10 i liked the concept of fusing so many genres. However, it felt a bit shallow overall , like they settled for having unique beats and left it at that.

Today we have a random rap motives mixed with latin rhythms. It sounds extremely naughties - as early 2000s as possible. I have never heard of this band before, so as with anything that comes from this times, if you haven't listen to it then, there is no chance you will like it now. The songs are okay, they are pretty fun, it's definitely an interesting collaboration between genres, but it's too late for me to really enjoy it. The moment to listen to this album is long gone, even though it sounds like I am in my sixties, and hate new music. Still, I appreciate it, pretty innovative idea.

Every song in "Street Signs", Ozomatli's third album, is a blast of latin rock, funk and hip hop in your face. An ensamble of great musicians with a great variety of references coming together to create a nuanced and cohesive record that talks about workers rights and imigration in a very interesting way, that keeps you hooked from start to finish. "Believe" and "Santiago" are beautiful songs.

Take the worst parts of multiple musical influences and blend them together. Might be the worst album I've encountered on the list.

Listening to this had multiple health benefits including a lifting of spirits, and a slight loosening of hip joints. Suffice to say I had never heard of this band before today and I am so glad I know of them now.

This is exactly why I started this project—an album I never would’ve touched otherwise. It’s a fun and genuinely interesting listen. It’s very of its time, but it works, pulling from everywhere: hip-hop, rap, a little Ricky-Martin-era pop energy, even splashes of Indian and African influence. It shouldn’t blend this well, but it does. It’s the kind of record that throws a lot at the wall and somehow most of it sticks. A pleasant surprise I didn’t see coming.

A fun blend of salsa, jazz, rock and hip hop, emerging from an attempt to form a workers' union. The attempt failed but led to a cultural center, where Ozomatli were formed. The music remains conscious of Latino and workers' rights, so also being a celebration of Latin culture in California. Frustratingly, the album isn't streaming and even on YouTube it's pretty spotty (as of this writing). There's also not a lot of information about this particular album anywhere. But there's enough to get an idea of the band and the mark that they made.

Loved the album, first song was a banger and the other ones were quite catchy. Didn't expect to have so much fun listening to a Latin Funk Album

Wasn’t a fan of this one. Kinda cheesy.

Full album not on Spotify-use YouTube. Even on YouTube can't find the full album. Saturday Night is good, but album is very hit and miss overall. More miss than hit.

An interesting blend of genres and influences that doesn't quite stick the landing - some tracks swirl with the perfect mix of Eastern/Latin/Hip-Hop rhythms, but others bite off more than they can chew and fall into a repetitive (and boring) holding pattern.

This could be made for bad film soundtracks, specifically for party scenes needing mild spicing up, nothing threatening, or perhaps a remake of “Weekend at Bernie’s”. It’s terrible, but I did enjoy going down a Wikipedia wormhole about the Brat Pack after this prompted me to look up “Weekend at Bernie’s”.

Am I being too cynical here? I’m imagining Robert Dimery going, “Oh no, we forgot that we need a Latin album in the book… what about the album that won the Latin Grammy last year?” In today’s world, where English-speaking artists are releasing high profile Spanish-speaking collaborations with huge Latin artists and dominating charts, where these artists are not just ascendant, but genuinely groundbreaking… should *this* be one of the few Latin albums on the list? For me, 1 stars means no, it should not. 1/5 I did like the Killer Mike sounding guy though. Not saying the music was unpleasant or even un-fun. But it should not be here.

damn this album slaps, idk what everyone in the comments is on about. fun songs, interesting instrumentation, great mix of english and spanish tracks. also, chali 2na is great on this and i recognized his voice immediately from his work with linkin park. favorites: all but tracks 8-11

Where did this come from?!? What a rush! Color and rhythm. Latin funk, hip hop, and protest. It’s damn near perfect. Spins: 3 Playlist Additions: - Believe - Love And Hope - (Who Discovered) America? - Te Estoy Buscando - Saturday Night

Very cool hybrid of Latin, Rock, Hip Hop, and Middle Eastern sounds. Worth a spin in the future for sure. Strong vocals, and big rock guitars. Very catchy songwriting with some very memorable and singable choruses. I’ve listened to the album 3 times which is very unusual for me with this challenge.

Are you ready for a revolution? It’s time to get hot! What a lovely Friday surprise. This album feels like such a party as it addresses serious topics. So groovy and funky and hip hoppy. This was a lot of fun. I can see why it won a Grammy! Discoveries like this are why I love this project so much.

> the Beatles This rules. People who rated it low I'll bet love yellow submarine

Well that was different. Mashing up Latin mariachi-style guitars/vocals + rap + whatever else(?) I can't tell if the result is cool, lame, cliche, or what. I have never heard of this group, I don't know how to pronounce it, and I frankly don't know how to rate them. I appear to be lost in the land of confusion.

It was a bit hit and miss for me. I love the enthusiasm and heart behind all of it though.

not bad

Street Signs I think I’ve heard of Ozomatli, but only because they did some stuff with Cut Chemist, but had no real idea of what kind of music they make. Obviously it's a YT listen, which makes it a bit of an annoying experience with ads after every song, and not all the songs are available, so it’s kind of a difficult one to rate. However I did enjoy the general vibe, and mix of Hip Hop, Rock, Salsa, Middle Eastern strings etc. Generally I’m not a fan of Salsa but I like it on here - I think the fact that they stuffed so much from many genres into every song in a clearly joyful way it all kind of works. I’m a bit of a sucker for Middle Eastern strings, so I really enjoyed Believe, It sounds quite 90s rather then mid 200s in its production but it's a fun opener. Who’s To Blame is excellent, love 2na’s appearance and the middle eastern riff on what sounds like a melodica, with the more Indian sounding percussion. Bit of a gem. Saturday Night is good too, the dip dive bit and the trumpet punctuating the rhythm. Ya Viene el Sol is nice too. Props to Beatle Bob. Hard to give it a rating when you can’t really listen properly or fully. What I did hear I liked a lot, an energetic fusion album filled with loads of great bits and influences. I’d definitely listen again, but it’s such a shame it’s not on streaming. I’ll go a high 3. 🚸🚸🚸 Playlist submission: Who’s to Blame

A little bit of this goes a long way.

This is just absolutely not my thing.

nope

Not in my edition of the book! 2004. 1 star. Background Latin hip-hop for soulless cocktail parties. Additional point deducted for spending as much time finding the tracks as actually listening to them.

Feels like it was trying to ride on the highs from Santana's Supernatural, but in an unoriginal generic way. Song breakdowns with rap feel forced and inorganic.

Background music in a burger restaurant or something like that. It was fine but repetitive. Definitely didn’t need to listen to it before I die

It’s like the Miami Sound Machine (minus Gloria Estefan) had a baby with Eminem…and that was on the better tracks. I was not a fan. I love world music and I love foreign language music. This was uninspiring to me.

This was my first time hearing Latin alternative music. A genre that is so weird and unnecessary. The face this album won an award shows maybe I don’t know shit about music because I thought the album was bad. It was a mix of so many kings of music and was not great. 3.3/10

I guess this is party music. Hard to get in the party mood while at work on a rainy Wednesday morning. Some of the more hip hop tinged tracks sounded okay, but overall too eclectic for me.

Rating: 4.3/5 Short Review: Energetic, joyful, and relentlessly alive. Ozomatli throws together Latin music, hip-hop, funk, rock, reggae, and community activism and somehow makes it feel effortless. This album is less about perfection and more about momentum and spirit. Favorite Track: “Believe.” Big hooks, big heart, and one of the album’s most uplifting moments.

OMG This album was so good!! I love the Indian, Latin, Hip-Hop mashups. I would totally listen to this again.

One of those cross-genres gems of 2000s

This was an incredible album, and amazingly I had never heard their music or even of the name of the band. Despite the universality of music, I am woefully ignorant of a lot of non-English music, so this is a great experience. This is also the first album which I couldn't listen to on Spotify, which is really interesting also. I absolutely loved this, the range of songs, the joy of the emotion in the singers, the amazing supporting instruments. I just adored listening to this and experiencing the joy of discover. I will be listening to more of them in the future.

An interesting mix of hip hop, middle eastern, Indian, and Mexican beats and stylings make up this album’s sound. Strong lyrics speaking to systemic inequality and imperialism. I quite enjoyed this one.

Music is a universal language, simple as. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m a little higher than a 5. It might just be my love for early 2000s Pharrell-style production talking, but I REALLY enjoyed this. The aspects of it that others might see as weaknesses (too Black Eyed Peas-coded, corny record scratching, too much fusion with Latin elements, ‘bootleg Santana’) are precisely the exact reasons I liked this a lot. I enjoyed every track here, all of which brings something fun to the table, whether it’s in some strong rap verses (shoutout to Chali 2na), some great lyrical / vocal delivery, but I especially loved when this thing hit more of an energetic & danceable vibe, most exemplified by “Déjame en Paz”, which might be my highlight of the whole thing. If you can’t feel the rhythm of that track, you genuinely have no joy. I do have my nitpicks; I think the first 2 tracks are a little stagnant at times & go for just a bit long, in a way that could easily create some worries about the overall pacing of the album for a first-time listener. With some trimming & some extra spice to them, those tracks could punch just a little harder. By “Street Signs”, it flows a lot better, up until “Santiago”, which does kickstart another wave of tracks that go just a little long / get a little repetitive. It’s never in a way that kills the energy of the track or the momentum of the album, but it is in a way where your ears catch that repetition lingering for just a bit long. Those nitpicks, however valid they might be, are cancelled out by the remarkably high highs of this album; the stretch of “(Who Discovered) America?” through “Dejame en Paz” is a fantastic 5-track run that carries its momentum as strongly as any album we’ve gotten so far from the early 2000s, & “Cuando Canto” is just a great album closer. Even with all my nitpicks about the early / late stretches of this album, their instrumentals are still great & the infectious joy & energy that they’re bringing to the table just feels like a net positive with all the current hell around us. Is it ‘millennial-coded optimism’ that hasn’t aged as gracefully as they would’ve thought back then? Yeah, probably. It’s optimism I don’t mind revisiting though. Hence, a little higher than a 5. When this album’s at its very best, it feels like a party, and I haven’t gotten that sort of effervescent musical high in a bit. I think it’s a great album, I’m glad it’s on the list, and while I sort of see why people would be over this style of music, I’m just a total sucker for it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to jump around to “Dejame en Paz” at least 5 times in a row. It’s good exercise.

Extremely addicted, the sounds and mixes, perfection.

I've heard of this group but never heard their music before. I thought this was really fun and cool! I had no idea they were Latino. I'm having a hard time deciding between 4 and 5 here but at the very least I'm going to listen to it again.

I liked all the different styles!

Wow!!!!!&

Love it love it love it great

Hip hop jazz rock from a group of socially and politically conscious Latino chaps from murica? Why, yes please

Viva el musico chicano

Yay por lo chicano

This was not at all my genre, but I really, really loved it anyway. Every song had its own unique sound and all of them were so fresh and funky and just an absolute delight to listen to. The writing and performances were amazing and the production and recording were absolutely immaculate. I loved this so much I listened to it three times and probably would have gone for a fourth but I had other things I had to do away from music. I will definitely be listening to this album again. Five stars, easily.

Oh man how have I never heard of Ozomatli before? This was a total blast! Especially the songs where they add strings, some excellent music there. Believe kicks it off nicely, with those wonderful strings, and a nice rap section too. Love And Hope also has the strings, very nice. Street Signs was really fun, good rap and some nice piano work. Who Discovered America was really fun. Who's To Blame had a nice beat. Te Estoy Buscando was lovely, great strings in that one. Saturday Night was a fun chill song. Dejame En Paz flowed really nicely. Santiago and Cuando Canto were really good. Loved it, definitely need to listen to more Ozomatli! Best song: Who Discovered America

The first half of this album was incredible. The second half was pretty pleasant, but didn't hit the same high for me personally (probably because I don't speak the language). Still, overall an very good album and I wanna listen to more Ozomatli now.

This is fun. Not exactly my thing, but I like it

This is the latin machine that does not stop it just keeps churning, body yearning, dance floor burning, esse vato loco let's go!

Holeee godDAMN

I was extremely pleasantly surprised by this album. The back end was a little too heavy on the cumbia for my tastes—not that cumbia itself is off putting but the elements of fusion are where this record really shines—but the A side is a revelation.

AMAZING. Cinematic and different and fun. Wow what an album

One time I forgot about some Pico de Gallo in the back of my fridge for a few weeks and when I found it it was covered in a thick layer of blue fuzz. The smell was unbearable. Unlike that experience, Steet Signs is the kind of Salsa Funk I can really get behind. It's a shame spotify doesn't have all of it available, but I'm planning on buying this one anyway so I'm not too worried... Just glad I found a way to listen to it all (albeit with a different/live recording here and there and maybe not at the highest quality). I do wonder how much the overall rating of this album has suffered from people marking it down because they're annoyed that it's not as available to listen to. For me, Steet Signs is an easy 5 even with the difficulties associated with actually listening to it. Chali 2na's track in particular is excellent (and apparently he was a founding member of the band, so I may need to find some of their earlier stuff!) and I really enjoyed the overall sound. This album brilliantly walks that difficult line between showcasing variety and range, and having a definitive and recognisable sound. Avoiding becoming stale and boring while maintaining a cohesive vibe and experience is a hard thing to do, and they've pulled it off very well here.

Didn't know what was going on for half this album but every track was fire

What a surprise with this album! I really enjoyed every single song.

The 2020 mention in Saturday Night freaked me out. Anyways this bangs. It's a nice break from all of the rock albums that I've gotten lately. The genre mixing is well done. The album as a whole is welcoming, I feel like it's music for anyone and everyone while still having a strong, specific perspective.

Loved the high energy and mix of styles and culture on this album. Funk, Rap, Latin Beat all done well. A very pleasant surprise..

Excellent. Again not the album that I recall being super into.

This was fantastic and took me a wonderful journey of different kinds and styles all full of energy. I need more like this and have been pleasantly surprised with a lot of international music I came across.

SO FIRE OW OW IT BURNS!!!! 🔥🔥🔥

Latin funk

I couldn't get into the album

Such a unique style of music that I love when albums like this come up. The Salsa/Rap/Rock was so high energy I was loving every second of it straight out of the gate. Dejame En Paz was an absolute jam I was rocking so hard to that. That was such a fun album to listen to I can't help but give it a 5

This record makes me feel good all over. Very quality record and I forget about its existence until times like this and it makes me happy. Love this band and I have been lucky to see them a few times and early in their career.

This was a surprise to see on the list. I love Ozomatli, and while I would rather see the Embrace The Chaos album, this one is still a banger. It’s wild to see other reviews on here and how low the average rating is. But considering the demo on this challenge, I guess I shouldn’t be too shocked this has too much seasoning for their ears.

I thoroughly enjoyed this album! 5/5

This album is a block party where every culture brings its own sound system and somehow it all syncs up joyfully. Latin horns, flamenco guitars, hip-hop beats, and global rhythms swirl together into one big, booty shaking SHOUT. It’s vibrant, tasty, and feels like summer finally came to life.

I wasn't familiar with the album. A nice surprise in the combination of rap and Latin rhythms.

Really, really enjoyed this. Had to track it down on YouTube, and some of it isn’t there but what I heard I could not fault. Excellent.

Another awesome new discovery

9/10 very fun and creative! interesting to hear latin musicians’ interpretation of funk and hip hop

My favorite songs were Street Signs and Saturday Night. Overall, a banger album!

Good guitar, good voices, don't know what they were saying half the time but it was banging. Good rock

5 out of 25

Oh, such an unexpected surprise ! Eclectic and so much quality.

Thank you! A great band I'd not come across before!

Damn, haven't heard it in 20 years, but that's a hell of an album, incredibly beautiful.

I’ve never heard of Ozomatli before. For some reason, based on the name, I was expecting ambient electronica. I have literally no reason I can identify for this assumption, but I was dead wrong. It’s very Spanish feeling - not only because a lot of sang in Spanish, but it has that traditional flamenco-ish feeling. But in addition to this, it also adds a fair amount of funk and hip hop. It’s a crazy fusion that I found to perfectly suit my tastes. I was loving this album from front to back, despite needing to find some dodgy compressed version on YouTube due to it seemingly not being on Apple Music. I enjoyed this a lot.

I LOVED this! Great sound, energy, and happiness. i listened to more of them and similar bands for the rest of the day.

This album does not completely exist in Digital space, but i loved the songs i was able to find so much so i bought a CD for insanely cheap. This is ricky martin, 2pac, latin folk/rock fusion backed up by the occasional rap(more like hop-hiphop) addition. An absolute banger.