Reviews (page 4 of 7)
The rapping was pretty corny and the rest, which was very different, sounded generic. But not bad to listen to. Low 3.
6/10 - I thought this album was kind of good. There were some duds but love and hope and some of the Spanish songs were enjoyable
Not bad. Latin-Indian fusion funk sound. Just into 3star territory.
This feels like a strange inclusion. Can't find it on Apple Music and had to listen through a Youtube playlist that included at least a couple of live versions and a drum cover. Hard to thus really rate it fairly, but I thought it was kinda ok, kinda interesting, kinda catchy. At times tacky and sounding dated in an early 2000s way. 3/5
This is a weird confluence of styles. I don't hate it, but I don't particularly love it either. Kind of reminds me of Jurassic 5, but more latin(?). There are points when the combination is fun, but more often it strikes me as quirky. (Who Discovered) America? is a nice downtempo jam. Dejame En Paz is a fun one. I think Nadie Te Tira is my favorite on the record. This is the softest of possible 3s for me.
Didn’t love it didn’t hate it.
Something different, but I didn't love it. The Latin twist gets a bit boring. Listenable and relatively enjoyable.
Favorite songs: Saturday Night, Santiago, Believe, (Who Discovered) America?, Cuando Canto Least favorite songs: Love and Hope, Dona Isabelle 3/5
Could not really listen to the album but from what I have heard this was a little bit chaotic and not really my style, could be nice though for people who like a mashup of ska, oriental style, electro, hiphop etc.
Хуй еще найдешь этот альбом. Поэтому пару треков послушал - ну угарная хуйня
Latin grooves with elements of funk and hip hop
Very cool album, shame it's not available to stram - even the YouTube playlists are missing half of the album. I liked what I heard though
Only one song on Spotify so listened to a few from elsewhere. Nice soundc
Had a hard time piecing this together on youtube. I still couldn't gind a track. Perfectvfor sunny weather this one
Very enjoyable, good sounding record. I'm not into this style of music so I don't understand why this record is mandatory listening, but I liked it.
The Latin sections were fun but the rap fusion bits didn't fuse all that well imo, the sound wasn't very cohesive
Me gusta un poco
Great features! Excited to read up on this one.
A nice change of pace
Only 2 songs available on Spotify But hey, they're pretty good ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I remember being into this band for a second
Spent more time trying to find a way to listen to this album in the UK than actually listening to the album. Have to say it was actually decent, some good tracks on it
Pop with street and latin flavours... interesting
More World Music with Middle East vibes and Spanish and other influences.
Interesting
Unable to find in full on Spotify, I listened to Believe, judging my rating based on this one song, which I did actually enjoy! Hoping to find a CD in the wild somewhere to fully appeciate this album
not too bad
Random Rap motives mixed with Latin Music elements. While blending elements of different genres it never feels like more than the sum of its parts. This gives the songs a wiffliness, a lack of edge, a lack of bite, making them kind of boring and at the same time inoffensive.
Album 804 of 1089 Ozomatli - Street Signs (2004) Rating : 3 / 5 I can't speak to the themes due to the language barrier but this bit of Latin, hip-hop, funk, and world music was a nice listen.
Lots to like. Upbeat. Worldly. Positive messages with a nice hip hop vibe to it. The album does get a bit long in the tooth after a while.
Not for me
Fun mix of Mexican rhythms and hip hop and rap. Will check these guys out a bit more
Their politics are as silly as Rage Against the Machine, but they are more musically interesting than Oasis, so they have that going for them. A interesting display of the musical diaspora that the U.S. has absorbed into its culture, particularly in Los Angeles County, but it didn't stick with me after the album was over. I am not convinced it belongs on the list. Unlike other listeners I had no trouble finding and listening to the complete album on Apple Music.
I enjoyed it.
Covers some genres but not necessarily any I’d go out of my way to listen to…
this sounds like a movie soundtrack where the characters have to leave america to meet a drug dealer who does all his business out in the open at some bar
Very cool Latin rock mix. Little bit generic and verging on cheesy at times, but for the most part a really interesting and enjoyable listen. Super groovy and nice mix of languages - spoken and musical.
Pre-listening thoughts: i read somewhere that one of these guys was in Jurassic 5 and I liked their album we got so maybe I will like this too (praying) Post/during listening thoughts: this swings between okay and good for me. Like some songs are really catchy but some are just really not. It feels like an album that's not sure what its identity is. Idk. 5.5/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no Fav tracks: Love and Hope, Who Discovered America? Least fav tracks: Dejame En Paz
Nautinnollinen funkkislevy! 3.5/5
Favorite Track: Street Signs
N/A - Wasn't on Apple music UK so didn't get the chance to listen.
I liked the Spanish music vibe. Very enjoyable.
It was good but i couldn't even listen to most of it because it's blocked
Revolutionary and delightful in that way. Not music I enjoy but a message I can get behind. Some of the rhyming is quite nice.
I do enjoy having non-English-language albums in the list. It seems like a big range of styles - some tracks I enjoyed quite a bit, others I disliked and skipped through. A frantic energy. All but a couple of tracks I would be happy to have on in the background.
This is a cool album, I don’t think it’s their best…my personal favourite is their debut, followed by Embrace the Chaos. Such a Cool band and I love this style of music. This isn’t their best, but it’s still pretty fun to listen to
This album was a lot of fun. I don't know how often I'll return to this on my own, but if I'm ever at a Mexican restaurant in the future and one of these comes on, I will spend the rest of the meal trying to place where I know the song from in a not unpleasant way.
What the heck is this? Well it's pretty good.
This was like Smooth by santana but mixed with linkin park. It was kinda shitty but somehow I liked it
Could be on the soundtrack of a jason bourne movie when they travel to the middle east
What a weird album, Latin at times, full on hip-hop at others. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and it was a good album for a trip through the country. I wouldn't shy away from listening to it again.
Never heard if this album or the band. It is entertaining, if a little repetitive towards the end. The first track is really good, blending latino and bhangra rhythms and instrumentation with rock/pop. The rest are not quite as good but the mixing pot of latin, ska, dance is fun to listen to.
Nice of them to put all the english songs in the first half and the spanish songs in the second half. Not my kind of music english or spanish but still can appreciate the craft. 5/10
Only two songs on my Spotify.
Fun listen :)
I can't say I've heard of Ozomatli before. They are a Latin American rock band that serves as a melting pot of various styles, such as salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, and hip hop, all while giving a voice to Latinx culture and workers' rights. It's certainly a noble cause that the group assumes, which had me optimistic going into their third album, Street Signs. So, how did their cause translate to a record? Well, I can't deny this album sounds dated to the early 2000s with the turntable record-scratching from Rene "DJ Spinobi" Dominguez, alongside the generalized rap-rock fusion vibe in the presentation. For sure, the group tries to exhume fun in their sound, and there are some technically impressive elements. In particular, I want to highlight the rapping cadence of Justin "El Niño" Porée on songs like "Believe" the title track, as well as Jabulani "Jabu" Smith-Freeman on "Who's to Blame", and their traded bars on "Saturday Night" where both their flows are well-constructed amidst the phat beats, funk guitars and occasional Middle Eastern tablas. There's a good time to be had when they're on the mic. But also sharing the mic are singers Asdru Sierra and Raúl Pacheco, and it's the songs where they lead that break the momentum of this record. Their singing is passable but nothing extraordinary as the songs they sing over range from middling salsa in their native tongue such as on "Te Estoy Buscando", "Dejame en Paz" and "Cuando Canto", to at worst the lyrical clunkiness of "(Who Discovered) America?" as the comparison of the discovery of America to pursuing a beautiful woman is rather on-the-nose. Also, I can't help but realize that, for how much the group sing and rap about sparking a revolution, nothing profound was said on this album. They go for populism in their calls to strengthen global unity, but there's not much further said than that. I was looking for them to be more precise and consistently powerful in their messaging. At the end of the day, I was left wanting more out of Ozomatli. I get their appeal as they have their hearts in the right place. But if we're talking about the revolution starting on Saturday night, there better be more firepower than this.
Unavailable on Spotify in my country so had to go through Youtube which only had about half the album uploaded with varying audio quality and ads between each song. What I heard was pretty good, but as I haven't heard the entire thing in a real format I have to mark this one down as unreviewable. Gonna try to keep my eye on it in the future in case something changes. NA/5
Je n'ai pas les attributs et les caractéristiques qui m'autorisent à me prononcer sur mon appréciation de cet album.
I could only access one song for some reason, but it was unlike anything else I’ve heard. Fresh perspective. Spanish is a pretty language to listen to. I’m getting some Middle Eastern vibes from the vocals and production. The rapping is cool, nice flow.
3.5 - fun album that blends a lot of genres
Fifa Street music. Some great tracks.
Kind of messy, doesn’t stick too much to one theme. Does have some Spanish hits though which was unexpected.
This is fun. Not perfect, but really good.
Hard to review this one. Had to listen on YouTube as it isn’t on Spotify. Even then I couldn’t find all the tracks so between that and the adverts it was hard to immerse myself in the album.
Couldn't listen to the whole thing - but found most of the tracks on YouTube. Was much better than expected - shame it's not on UK Spotify
wouldve been a 2 musically but they seem so niiiice
Tricky to find so will definitely have a deeper dive to make sure I have heard it all as it definitely was a record brimming with energy and soul. I imagine they are fantastic live
Fun Latin rock and rap mixture
I spent about an hour trying to source this album. The only songs I could find were fantastic but unfortunately could not get to the rest
Pretty good
Never heard of these fellas before now but this is pretty fun and varied. Nothing too spectacular but I’d definitely listen again
Hard to find every song. I skipped Santiago because I only found a live version and the sound quality was bad. They have a good thing going for the most part. Sometimes they remind me of Santana. I didn't like Te Estoy Buscando and Saturday Night.
This is definitely not my cup of tea. There’s nothing bad about it, just not my genre.
Not bad, but not for me. It does sound a little dated at points.
Only 2 songs available
I mean this is fine. It’s fun. It’s fully itself. Unobjectionable. But I want to meet the guy who puts Ozomatli when he needs to jack himself up. Who puts this on instead of, say, Seven Nation Army or Squabble Up. Who fucking Lays. It. Down perfectly alongside Who’s to Blame.
Decent album, fun style and great background music for running errands today. 3.25/5
This was a fun latin/funk/hiphop record. Pretty enjoyable.
i don't know too much about Latin music so i'm not sure if i can give it a truly accurate review but i thought it was alright. i was a bit bored by the songs on the first half of the album ngl but really enjoyed the collaboration with Chali 2na on "Who's to Blame" and i also liked the more acoustic songs like "Santiago" and "Cuando Canto" as well as the more dance-y tracks like "Ya Viene el Sol". definitely an interesting foray into a genre i don't really listen to on my own
Reminds me of one of my favourite bands, The Cat Empire. Shame there were only 2 tracks on Spotify. Tentative rating based on some other tracks found on there - 4/5, but I don't know what was on this one so 3/5
Pretty good
I enjoyed elements of this (particularly the Charli 2na bars), but ultimately it didn't make a huge impact on me. Interesting mix of genres though, and was definitely a break from the norm in this list.
I dont recall ever hearing this kind of music like a slash between salsa rap and jazz
Imagine listening to Smooth by Rob Thomas and Carlos Santana for 50 minutes.
The band is very competent, and there is no lack of energy or creativity going into the songs, but they just don’t leave much of an impression on me.
It’s interesting moving from one Latin infused variation of a genre to another. Except this time it’s hip-hop instead of jazz, and it’s a much more modern take. The 2000s were simultaneously the best and worst time for hip-hop. Even in 2004, the year this released, you had Madvillainy and The College Dropout within the first three months of the year. Plus MF DOOM’s other major release, MM..FOOD coming out towards the end. It doesn’t get much better than that. Aside from people in much smaller circles of hip-hop, I highly doubt anyone who was around during that time remembers Ozomatli, or their album Street Signs. The only connection I have to any of this is through Cut Chemist, a member of this group who was also apart of Jurassic 5. I actually really enjoyed their album Power in Numbers from two years prior. But this doesn’t really have any of the good stuff from that. I’ll start with the few positives. The drums on most, if not every song, sound great. Production in that regard is solid. And Saturday Night is a decent song. Makes sense why it’s basically the only song anyone would know from this. But beyond that, this is an overly long and rather boring listening experience. I think the Latin fusions had the potential to be really interesting. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard another album which combines them to this extent. But something about it falls flat. The addition of these Latin sounds into a traditional hip-hop format feels forced somehow. And often the sampling, production, and lyrics are very repetitive. Many songs just devolve into repeating the same verse or chorus over and over again. I wanted to like this more, but once I got to the halfway point, I sort of gave up on that. Rating: 5/10
it’s either shit or it’s okay i’m undecided
smooth
not really into but 'saturday night''s not bad
This was different. I really enjoyed it and will listen again.
An interesting fusion of Latin and hip-hop beats that at times gets your toes tapping and gives you the urge to rumba around the room. Interesting and somewhat listenable, makes this a warm welcome in the middle of a winter cold spell. I recognize, Saturday Night, but the rest will be forgettable after I finish listening to it all. An okay listen, but hardly something I'll listen to often, if ever again.
https://musicmp3.ru/artist_ozomatli__album_street-signs.html
Parts of this album are very stereotypical latin music, like exactly what I would imagine would play if a latin charachter was on a TV show. The raps are also very 2000s. It's a style that is very familiar to me, but it's slower paced and less lyrically interesting than raps from other eras. The back end of the album was significantly better than the first half for me. Déjame en Paz was my favorite. It's very high energy and the call and response in it is really fun.
This was fine; nothing to love, but nothing to hate either
сложно когда альбома нет на сервисах( сатурдей найт сразу узнала, ура! остальные вроде хорошие, но без 100 прослушиваний сложно подтвердить
It's alright, heard better in the genre
***An ok album, if you prefer Latin
Favourite tracks: who discovered America; who's to blame; Saturday night
Still have the CD for this. My brother in law really loved them a few years ago. cannot see the fuss now.
Weird but cool hybrid, Latin, island, Indian, ska, hip hop
im not sure this album is real
Cool but not my cup of tea. Album cover: (B) Very 2004.
Fun, good, definitely an excellent video music choice.
Honestly, enjoyed this album more than I expected. Latin hip-hop is not a genre I would consider my thing, but this is a fun album with really varied songs, catchy beats, and a vibe that transports you right back to the mid-2000s (something about those “middle eastern” horns). I swear this whole album could be the background tracks to establishing shots in Fast and Furious. I could definitely see this being representative of the sound of LA. I really liked “Love and Hope” and “Santiago” but was genuinely impressed with the variety of songs here. Still probably not my thing, but fun to explore this kind of music!
Listened Before? N Killer stuff! I've heard Saturday Night before but that's it. This album is awesome. Sure, it's half Spanish, but it doesn't matter. The rapping is top-notch and the other Spanish stuff is solid. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Saturday Night
Heb nog wat nummers op yt geluisterd, het is niet verkeerd, maar om het op deze lijst te zetten yeah nah
Street Sings by Ozomatli is a genuine, ceaselessly inspired blend of Latin rock and hip-hop that dazzle the ear of the listeners coming across this for the first time and find an assortment of materials to enjoy. Favorites: Believe, Love and Hope, Street Signs, (Who Discovered) America, Te Estoy Buscando, Saturday Night, Santiago, Ya Viene El Sol.
Well... at least it's something interesting! This is definitely one of the more obscure albums on the list, but it's not another 90s electronica album, so I can at least appreciate that this album fills a very specific niche that hasn't really been filled by any albums I've gotten so far. Of course, that's not the only thing that I can appreciate Ozomatli's 2004 album Street Signs for. I think this album is good! The sound is lively and interesting. There's a strong genre and influence blend here, so that's nice. The songs are pretty varied. I guess if I had to compare this to any other album on the list, it would be that Jurassic 5 album I got a while back, which is fitting since that group's own Chali 2na was a guest on one of this album's songs. That's cool and all, but this album still isn't my favorite thing that he was a guest on. That honor, of course, goes to the Epic Rap Battles of History video he was in, where he played famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. This album's a close second though. It's pretty good, but it doesn't really need to be here. Still, the inclusions is certainly not the most egregious inclusion on here. Solid 3/5. Definitely closer to a 4 than it is a 2.
This wasn't my favorite start to finish, but there's still a lot to appreciate about it, like the blend of musical influence throughout, and the feel-good upbeat nature of the songs. However, I wish there was something more distinct in the production or themes or other qualities of the album tying it all together more. To me, it felt kind of like a compilation album. I love Latin piano, so my favorite song was Nadie Te Tira with pianist Eddie Palmieri, whose music I'd now like to explore.
I really hear Los Lonely Boys and Los Lobos on this record, but the occasional rapping brings it down a bit for me. Overall, some cool grooves and fun tunes though.
This band certainly has its own identity but to me the combination of salsa, other Latin fenres, rock and rap feels very dated. It's of that era I guess.
Not really my thing, but I feel like I've danced to Saturday Night and maybe a few others back in the day. The piano intro from Eddie Palmieri on Dona Isabelle was pretty beautiful.
I liked this
There's some really good stuff here. When the song "Saturday Night" started I was like, "I know this song...but from where?" then it hit me. It was on the soundtrack of Madden '05, which I played an insane amount.
Dinner music. Some bangers. Spanish and English lyrics.
Nada del otro mundo. No me agarró ni su música ni sus arreglos.
2/3
6/10. Had some uniqueness to it but didn’t stick out on creativity for me.
Fun, high energy Latin rhythms with lots of hooks and a big sound. It reminded me at times of Santana’s “Supernatural” album. There are also a handful of rap features and songs with Middle Eastern and African influences.
Pretty exciting and fun record. Listened to it in the morning before coffee and some of these songs seemingly gave me just as much caffeine as the coffee would. "Saturday Night" is excellent and I could see myself putting it on on a.. Saturday night before going out with friends and dancing around while getting ready. My one gripe with the record is that it feels connected and also disconnected- these songs all are painted with similar colors but are all distinctly different. This is a good thing, but also a bad thing because if I liked one of the songs (like the drumset-forward pop rock "Love And Hope"), then I didn't have a great chance at finding another one of that style on the album. Some songs are more modern Latin R&B (Street Signs), some are Latin dance focused ("Dejame En Paz"), some are more classic ballads with a focus on typical Latin instrumentation ("Te Estoy Buscando"), some are Latin rap ("Who's To Blame"). But there's really one one of each; so you get it and then it's gone. 3/5.
I appreciated the blend of genre and styles.
Interesting listen Spanish / Arabic feel. Good dance vibes.
Not typically a big fan of Latin pop. But this mixed it up enough that it was somewhat enjoyable.
Not unpleasant. Not incredible. Somewhere in the middle. Nowhere near my rotation.
Some great Latin rhythms and melodies with some other influences creeping in. But most of the tracks don't quite come together in a way that clicks for me. Also really a pain to listen to since it wasn't available on Spotify for me.
This album is very much a time capsule of the 00s so I was #triggered a bit as this was certainly the worst time for music (popular music at any rate). The message is good, despite some trite lyrics, but the package on some songs like “(Who discovered) America?” just reminded me too much of the “Smooth” era of popular music.
An interesting fusion of styles, but some of the rapping and lyrics were pretty cringe. Definitely sounds "of its time". Occasionally felt like the soundtrack to an early 00s Showtime or FX drama. Maybe it was the fact I had to listen to a heavily compressed, unofficial playlist via Youtube, but the mix sounded a little flat and lacking in dynamics. Despite my mild disappointment, 2 seems too harsh.
Ozomatli are great. Sadly, this is one of those albums that doesn't come up properly on my streaming provider and while I feel fairly confident it's probably a 4 star record I'll have to give it a 3 as I'm not getting the full picture.
This was pleasant enough to listen to, but for the most part didn't make a huge impression on me. I liked the contribution from Chali 2na. A lower end three.
It’s not bad but doesn’t seem exceptional.
Seems fun but not my type
Pretty inoffensive, pretty uninteresting.
Very short, even for an EP. Inoffensive.
Pretty fun, some nice and interesting beats. But something about it feels hollow?
Literally cannot listen to more than 2 songs on this album so this rating wont count
Mostly light Latin rock with hip-hop elements. Although as a Jurassic 5 fan, I did have to do a double-take when I suddenly heard Chali 2na in "Who's To Blame". I feel like I've heard "Saturday Night" somewhere else before as well (maybe because it sounds like the Black Eyed Peas, which is apt for this time period), but nothing else really pushed the needle for me. It all sounded pretty safe and by the book.
Expected worse
Not really my thing but didn't mind it. Liked the inclusion of Tuna Fish from Jurassic 5 on one of the tracks.
Had never heard of these guys before. Solid album, loved the music, although did t love all of the vocals. I’m definitely going to delve more into their music.
3.5 - not my favorite of Ozomatli's albums but still solid.
kaunis maailma, majesteetttinen maisema... amerikasoitumisen jälkeen riekaleina... Tiedän vaiheet, jotka ovat erittäin hyödyllisiä ja suojaa sinua virheiltä. Voi, kuka tahansa ei halua tanssia lopussa, En vielä tiedä, että hänen täytyy tanssia. Muodostamme ihanan tanssin, Näytän sinulle suunnan. jultomten tulee Afrikkaan ja Mikki Hiiri seisoo Pariisin edessä.... sad shit. ainakin on chali 2na feature jurassic 5 referenssi incredible artisti... silkkinen ääni huhhuh ja selvästi paras biisi koko balumilla ai että. noooooo koko homma on semmone meediumi kummiski... semmone meediumi... whos to blame
Funky Afro-Latin sound
Diverse, exotic, genre spanning
sounds like a combination of 311, santana and sublime. and TONS of groove. a fun listen.
Not bad until those horns get too jazzy.
Better than expected.
It’s a fun party album - but not seeing why this is special enough to sit with some other more striking records. It’s not bad but not something I’m going to look out for - especially given how hard it was for me to find it to listen to it.
Much of this doesn’t do much for me, but there’s enough stylistic variance, genre fusion, and global influence to keep things interesting.
Super hit or miss. Some tracks suck me right in with an infectious arrangement, but others just feel derivative and boring.
È carino? Sì. È valsa la pena cercare le canzoni singolarmente su YouTube (e non trovarle nemmeno tutte)? Più o meno. Lo andrò mai a riascoltare? No
Middling. Surface level fusion. Unclear how this is 1001.
I reluctantly feel I need to confess that I actually liked this record. I liked the diverse sounds and mix of influences. It was… fun?
This is the second Latin influenced band in one week, and I ain't mad about it. The vocals reminded me of Ricky Martin at times, which was unexpected. Unfortunately, there were some flops here. Maybe they have another album that's better? I guess there's only one way to find out.
Catchy! 3/5
Good, pleasant upbeat tempo, mix.
Fun. It kept my interest more than some non-English speaking artists.
3/5. Latin funk, always an enjoyable genre at least. It also has some rap throughout, which I would say is not the highlight here but still not bad. I do enjoy it but I wouldn't say it stands out as impressive. The pop and rock songs are definitely inspired by Santana but this one is more focused on the band as a whole instead of just the guitar. There is a similar rhythm throughout which creates a concise theme but can be a little much with the maracas and hand drum taking up the background of the songs. It was fun and danceable but not a constant repeat listen. Best Song: (Who Discovered) America?, Believe, Nadie Te Tira
An adequate yet over rated piece of Latin world pop rock and hip hop.
Completely new to me. I enjoyed it. I think it needs a second listen
I remember them getting super popular in the early 2000s but never really listened to them. It's almost like the rock version of reggaeton? Or is it Latin rap rock? This feels a lot like Santana's pop albums only without the famous featured artists. I don't remember exactly what their first album sounded like but this feels very heavily influenced by those Santana albums. I like Charli 2na, but I'm not loving this appearance. The more traditionally "Latin" songs are worse than the more rock/rap ones. The back half of this album sounds like a Richard Rodriguez bar band.
Interesting sounds 2.5/5
I’ve always heard great things about Ozomatli but have never sat down and really listened to them. I love the horns and strings. Really fun blend of Latin grooves, hip hop, funk and rock. Great recording and mix, I can see why it won some Latin Grammys. Chali 2na from J5 on Who’s To Blame?!? Awesome! My only complaint musically is the genres represented here seem a little generic, although the performances captured are really well played. Other than that I really enjoyed my first dip into the Ozomatli world, definitely gonna do some deep dives into their catalog. 3.5
Groovy tunes are nothing new, but Ozomatli pull in brass, a DJ, AND an orchestra and still keep it funky. Nothing jumped out as anything but middle of the road. I don't hear them taking any chances except perhaps a bit on instrumentation. Good, but not great. Am I missing something?
Pretty good Latin fusion. I first heard these guys via my oldest kid on PBS Kids; they'd done a series of songs and videos that got played between the shows. Cool to hear them when they aren't singing about math or the five senses. 3.5
Couldn't find this album so listened to the iTunes SoHo set. Liked it.
Enjoyed this. Would revisit.
It’s got an interesting vibe, but not something I’d come back to.
I enjoyed this album even tho it was hell to track down, not being featured in England or Hungary - I’m still not sure if I listened to it all, and some of the tracks had to be covers. Due to these issues, this album may be rated lower than it otherwise would. I am not sorry for this. It gave me unneeded stress on my holiday. Favourite track: Believe.
I liked the latin funk of this album but it didn't distinguish itself to me otherwise. What's Spanish for 'meh'?
Positive, uplifting, colorful…and a bit dull. Seemed like a great idea in the early 00s: blending genres and believing in brotherhood and taking a stance against conservatism. Some of the experiment results here are positive, but it always feels like the total is less than the sum of its parts.
How many world music styles/sub-genres can be shoved into a single album? Whatever the precise answer to that question, this record has entirely too many.
Only 2 songs of the album on spotify
That was super fun and at first I thought i was listening to Serbian music, the vibe and instruments were the same. I will definitely not be listening to this again, except maybe believe, but I had a great time!
I had never heard of this band before and their music definitely isn’t something I’d typically listen to. But the album was fun and energetic. I’d probably have to listen to it a couple more times to familiarize myself to the style.
I wanna like Ozomatli. They obviously have a great feel for the music of LatAm and mix it well with some funky acidic old rock. But then they go and derail it with some really bad rapping. Really kills the vibe.
Yea, not bad
Similar to gorillaz
Better than I thought.. Latin-Rock/Rap that can be fun, but probably won’t revisit.
Not too bad. Just not really my thing 2ith335
A colorful mix with some interesting influences but ultimately not one of my favorite albums.
I had no sides what I was listening to, but I liked it. The blend Latin, Middle Eastern, EDM, jam rock and reggaeton was weird and cool and a perfect start to summer. Key tracks: Love and Hope and Street Signs. This is definitely a listen again.
This is alright. It sounds like a slightly more eclectic Santana Supernatural. It kicked off pretty great and then just sort of faded into the background for me. I may have vaguely heard of this band before but had never listened to them. I wouldn't turn it off if it was on but I doubt I'll reach for this one again.
This was such a fun album! It certainly defies genre expectations. There is tons of Latin flare in here, mixed with rock and even hip-hop! And really, the "Latin flare" exhibited here is more than that -- it's mastery over MANY Latin styles. The opening track, "Believe" mixes in a handful of other unexpected genres, notably a very South Asian sound! I also really appreciated the mixed-language lyrics as it added a layer of complexity and intrigue to the album. Ozomatli gives us something rather unorthodox. There is just so much going on here, and honestly, all of it is good!
fun. fine.
A challenging listen. In the sense that it was challenging to find somewhere online to actually listen to it; otherwise these latin vibes went down pretty easily. I thought the blend of styles worked well, except maybe the rap and record-scratch bits which sound a bit naff and dated to my ears. It’s hard to form a 100% complete picture of the album as my YouTube listening experience was fleshed out with live versions, drum covers and demos, but I liked most of what I heard. If I could listen to it properly perhaps I’d like it a little more or a little less, but for now I’ll hedge my bets and give it 3.5 stars.
Pretty fun. Good party music.
Un 3 politico perché l’album non esiste su Spotify e sono troppo pigra per cercare le altre canzoni qua e là :)
È carino? Sì. È valsa la pena cercare le canzoni singolarmente su YouTube (e non trovarle nemmeno tutte)? Più o meno. Lo andrò mai a riascoltare? No
Well produced and arranged music but not that interesting.
Thoughts before listening: Latin inspired hip hop funk group. This band used to hit my radar cause their style got them booked on a lot of the jamband festivals I was going to. Pretty surprised to see them on this list though since I never thought of them as being overly well known. Review: So Santana's Supernatural album meets Jurassic 5? This isn't bad, but as has often been the case, it feels like the editors missed when trying to guess which mid-00s albums were going to stand the test of time. This has largely been forgotten over the last 20 years, and quite frankly I don't remember it making much of a splash back then either. Best song here is "Saturday Night" which has a chorus that sounds like what Eminem was doing around the same time mixed with a ska style breakdown in the chorus. I am also enjoying the more Latin inspired songs. Very chill sound...this gets 3-stars.
Fine and fun, spicy and swinging – one might like it better if one were a better dancer.
Only partially on Spotify
It’s got that nice Latino upbeat vibe which is hard to dislike, and the rap/hip-hop mash up was decent, albeit at times it was a bit too Ricky Martin musically speaking.
Couldn't listen to whole album - not available in full on any standard platforns
Didnt have time to delve into deeply. Like but not as good as Santana?
It was kinda fun and upbeat, the lyrics weren't the deepest and It tailed off a bit at the end.
The only other artist I've heard say their own name so many times on their music is Jason Derulo. Parts of this album are Jason Derulo-tier but other parts were quite good actually.
This was fun, more of a 3.5 than a 3, just got a bit repetitive and a few duds
This one was fun to listen to
Somewhat interesting Latin rock/alternative album. No real standout songs and nothing to bring me back for another listen.
Latin inspired funk and shit like that, rather shallow though.
Shoutout Madden 2005! Hit stick!
This was the first album on the list, about 600 in, that I was unable to find anywhere online. Luckily a lovely guy in Germany sold it to me. In the form of a CD … Which I listened to on my friend’s PS2 … A true 00’s album experience. I could have done without some of the more rap oriented songs. The turntables as well. But it’s mainly just Santana lite. And due to the fact that I now somehow own this record I might be more positive towards it than I should be - but I feel like we’ve been a journey together already.
Really interesting fusions of genres going on here. I loved the first four tracks and couldn’t really connect with much of the rest. Favorite songs were Believe, Street Signs, and Cuando Canto
Believe 3 Love and Hope 3 Street Signs 2.8 (Who Discovered) America? 3.2 Who's to Blame 2 Te Estoy Buscando 3 Saturday Night 2.4 Déjame en Paz 2.5 Santiago 2.5 Ya Viene el Ozomatli Sol (The Beatle Bob Remix) 1.9 Doña Isabelle 2.5 Nadie Te Tira 3 Cuando Canto 2.8 Score: 2.661538462
I quite likes this, but the alhum kinda falls off after the first two tracks. If the rest were as good as those two, and if I didn't have to cobble together this album from like 3 different sources, this would've been an easy 4.
Mixed feelings. I was actually pleasantly surprised, I really enjoyed this fun little record. The first two songs are clear highlights, and even after that it's pretty good, high tempo throughout. Thing is though, they often say 'best ability is availability', which this one does not have. Could have easily been a 4, but too annoying to listen to with having to find songs from different sources.
I listened to the Coming Up album from 2003 because this one wasn't on my streaming service. I've always liked the more Latin styles of music. The album I listened to put me in the mood of traveling with purpose through a beautiful yet unforgiving landscape...reminds me of a girl I know.
First time listening to this group and I like them. But then again, I like any Latin inspired music.
I want to like this more than I do, but the longer it went on the more it just reminded me of the salon I used to work at for my summer job where the owner insisted on playing Latin music ONLY. She did this because she believed it put people in more of a "spending" mood. Meanwhile, I can't tell you the number of complaints I got over my summers there from actual regular customers wondering why the music was always the same and always lame. Oh and by the way, her version of "Latin music" was Lou Bega, Aqua, and 3 mail order purchased 90's Samba CDs. The sound system was a 5 CD changer boom box and those were the only CDs ever allowed to be played in it. This album would have been an improvement to all of those CDs - and yet, my past sonic trauma is still triggered by this sound and style. I listened, I was surprised by how peppy it was and I bopped a bit, but I won’t be coming back again.
Un punto menos por lo difícil que es poder oír el puto álbum completo.
Genuinely had no idea what to expect before going into this one. Was pleasantly surprised by the rock/latin/rap fusion going on here. I liked the Spanish lyric sections, but the rapping is where this album gets high praise from me.
It's been a while since I listened to Latin jazz - hip hop fusion. This album is good, but different than other Ozomatli albums I remember. Less hip hop. 3/5
Talented musicians with good beats, but not my cup of tea overall. Still, solid.
Believe - 7/10 Love And Hope - 7/10 Street Signs - 7/10 (Who Discovered) America? - 8/10 Who's To Blame - 8/10 Te Estoy Buscando - 7.5/10 Saturday Night - 8/10 Déjame En Paz - 7.5/10 Santiago - 7.5/10 Ya Viene El Sol (The Beatle Bob Remix) - 7.5/10 Doña Isabelle - 7/10 Nadie Te Tira - 7/10 Cuando Canto - 7/10 TOTAL - 96/130
This album was a little all over the place. It is primarily Latin funk with some hip hop and jazz influence. I enjoyed this album the most when it kept to the funk and jazz aspects. The rap bits almost feel like an afterthought. It was common at this time to have rap verses but they are never the strongest part of a song.
I like this one. I had not heard of this band or heard any of their music, at least not that I recall, and this is a fun album. Catchy, good energy, and very skilled performers.
A little long winded but p good.
Half the experience is trying to hunt down the entire album. I listened to some Youtube playlist that was missing several songs, had some random dude's drum cover with 1k views in place of one of them, and a version recorded during the pandemic over Zoom or something. This is schizophrenic as fuck. I have no idea what I listened to. It was pretty fun, but I'm very confused as to what this even is or why it's noteworthy. Love Chali 2na though. Man's got one of the best voices in hip hop. I wish he was on more songs.
Not bad. Cool mixture of rock and Latin. Unfortunately not available on Apple Music in my country.
This feels distinctly early-2000s to me and I'm not sure exactly what it is about it. It's got this like latin boy band thing going on, with a rap verse or two on some of the songs. It's a mix of English and Spanish lyrics throughout. It's solid but somewhat unremarkable overall. A few songs that are decent, a few that I really didn't like very much. I don't really remember it, but apparently "Saturday Night" was on the Madden 2005 soundtrack, so I'm sure I had heard it before. I generally liked the non-rap songs a bit better, and think they're at their best when they lean into the some of the more latin-sounding instrumentals, otherwise they can come across a bit generic boy-band. There's a few points where it gets a bit funky too which were cool ("Nadie Te Tira" in particular). The random 1-minute piano song near the end was an interesting choice. Overall this is perfectly fine and generally pretty fun sounding (though the lyrics are fairly political at times), but doesn't hit any major highs for me. Favorite song: (Who Discovered) America? Other: Saturday Night, Ya Viene El Sol, Nadie Te Tira, Cuando Canto 2/5/24
I liked a lot of the instrumentation. I didn't like the rap parts, nor the nasally guy's vocals. Best track: (Who Discovered) America? Worst: Who's to Blame.
Ahh well, not on Spotify and only some tracks available on YouTube. Tbh 9 tracks was probably about enough, 13 would be overkill. I liked it and it was a fun listen. Kinda want to give it 3.5
It's fun but not super memorable. A cool mix of genres though..overall a good time!
One of those bands that can get a festival crowd going, but I don't really need to hear records of. Lucky, given they're not on Spotify
Found most of the album on YouTube. It was fine but not worth much effort to seek out. Who's to blame was probably the best song from it. Would recommend that one.
This is fun. Not perfect, but really good.
Interesting LA-Latino fusion. Their song “Saturday Night” was featured in video games and films. A pretty unique sound.
it was good but mostly in spanish 3
Ces gars-là imitent si bien les beatles qu'ils mériteraient presque une émission quotidienne animée par Nikos.
2.9
I liked some parts quite a bit, and not others. Ends up right in the middle.
This must’ve gone hard in 2006 because no way this was added any later. Usung latin music makes your album at least a little good however so I can’t hate too much
Could only listen the first two tracks. I wouldn't mind if the rest of the album was also available
This was all over the place. After the first couple songs, I thought they were an east Indian boy band. Then they threw in a bunch of genres. Not bad though.
Good album!
This band is one of those weird blasts from the past that I sorta forgot about. I remember seeing them live some time in the 00s and really enjoying them. Then I just sorta forgot they existed over the next 15 years. I enjoy the music on this album a lot, that's where it really shines. The vocals on this album have not aged particularly well. There's nothing wrong with them, they just sound outdated now. If this album was entirely instrumental, I would have rated it higher, but the rapping especially weakens the experience for me 3/5
This was a fun latin/ hip hop fusion album and featured a song I had forgotten about from my childhood. Not a genre I would seek out, but I can tell they are among the best at what they do. 6/10
Fun album, with good production. Style and production is incredibly of it's time. Not my kind of genre, but fun with interesting hiphop elements.
Up beat, a lot of fun.
For being a fusion of American and Hispanic rock/rap, it is actually pretty decent, but I think the downfall of the combination is just the perceived lack of authenticity. Any attempt at serious commentary, particularly on a few songs, is just hard to be taken seriously with the latin rap/rock combo. The band certainly knows how to write a hook and finds really catchy melodies to make this a really easy listen. 6/10
Un album qui part en force et qui est très intéressant par son mélange éclectique de styles. Des gros bangers et une ambiance festive. Mais vers la deuxième moitié je trouve que ça commence à s'essoufler et ce qui rendait l'album intéressant le rend fatiguant à la longue. 6/10
Ozomatli's "Street Signs," released in 2004, is a diverse and genre-blending effort that captures the band's eclectic musical spirit. This album is a fusion of Latin, hip-hop, and rock influences, creating a lively and danceable atmosphere. While tracks like "Saturday Night" and "Who's to Blame" showcase the band's musical prowess, the album as a whole lacks a cohesive thread, and the multitude of styles may feel a bit scattered. While it falls short of being a groundbreaking release, "Street Signs" is an enjoyable listen for those appreciating a mix of cultural influences. A middling 3/5 rating reflects its varied but somewhat disjointed nature.
A veritable Jack In the Box of music. Sure, it's a bit confusing to follow-up a burger, with a taco and an egg roll, but it's tasty.
Cool but not my style
Pretty good. Will I ever listen again? Nope.
This was a fun blend, but there was something about the production that just rubbed me the wrong way.
Had to track a copy of this on Discog as it wasn't available on any of the platforms I subscribe to. Blended world music, surfing several genres.
Some of the hip hop seems corny. But the horns, guitar, and funky vibes are cool
Pleasantly surprised. Love the latin rock and in your face salsa vibes. Reminds me of Cat Empire here and there.
I remember seeing Ozomatli at a festival a few years ago and being impressed enough to go find some albums. Sadly the recorded material was underwhelming, not quite able to capture the energy of the live show. Revisiting this today, I still can't quite shake that slightly disappointed feeling.
Yet another ex-1001 album!™ http://1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.wikidot.com/album-artists-a-z-ex Aside from the opening track, the rest of the album was unavailable on Spotify. Listening on YouTube wasn't fun. Turns out my neighbour had a copy, (thank you Sam! 🙏) This album wasn't what I was expecting at all. There's a big old mix of genres and influences going on here, definitely worth exploring. I'd picked up on Chali 2na on the Who's To Blame track, (such a distinct voice, who I mostly know from Linkin Park's remix album). Overall I enjoyed it, but it's a bit all over the place to be a classic album.
At first this seemed easily comparable to Ra, but as the album went on the diversity kept growing. This was really interesting, not really pigeonholed within grunge.
Mezcla de pop con ritmos electrónicos y con toques étnicos. Con solo 2 temas es difícil opinar. No pintaba mal, pero faltan más cortes disponibles
An interesting fusion of salsa, jazz and hip hop. When it works it sounds great, like Los Lobos meets A Tribe Called Quest, but when it doesn’t it’s super annoying, like Ricky Martin meets the Black Eyed Peas. I almost wrote this off completely given my ignorance around Latin/World music, but when I heard the banger that is Nadie Te Tira, it clicked. This is definitely the perfect example of a band that wins a Grammy, mulit-cultural enough to seem like an “edgy” pick, but with enough radio friendly presence to score an animated film. Overall pretty mediocre.
Love and Hope was really good
It gets off to a decent start, with the Blaxploitation funk of "Believe". I like the mix of different genres and the strings, without straying too far off track. Bringing hip-hop into the mix was inevitable but not my favourite and the overall sound is a bit too Grammy-ready for me. Between a 2 and a 3.
I'm honestly not sure if I managed to listen to the real album or not. Found a playlist on youtube but some tracks were missing and some were not original recordings. It was very different from most music on here and I enjoyed most of it. I don't think it would end up on any of my toplists but it felt summery and fresh.
Enjoyable album. I kept wondering where Carlos Santana was. I liked the more rock/funk tracks with horns the most. Solid band.
It was an interesting mix of Latin and hip hop. I can't remember any of the songs. It was alright but I don't think I would listen to it again. It was better than a 2 not really a 3. I will round up
Better than I thought it would be, but dimery has a real knack of picking albums that have lost their relevance. I imagine these guys are terrific live. But on recording? Eh it’s ok. A must listen? Nah. A have a listen and maybe you’ll enjoy. 2.5 rounded up.
My kids were totally into this band. Pretty sure they saw them at The Metro in Sydney in 2007. This sort of Latin dance music wasn’t new but it sure was catchy. The use of rapping was probably what attracted my kids to the band. I see that Track 5, Who’s To Blame, features rapper Chali 2na, from Jurassic 5., who also produced it. It’s one of the cuts that features a strong middle-eastern influence. Check out the lyrics to that - I imagine they were penned by Chali. I saw him perform earlier this year at the Oxford Art Factory, at a gig promoted by my son. The guy is a saint. I also loved the track (Who Discovered) America? - worth it for the fantastic distorted guitar break in the middle. The whole disc was an extremely enjoyable listen.
This album is a gumbo of hip hop, rock and latin funk, with a gumbo of world music influences (ska, middle eastern, a touch of reggae, lots of different latin styles). It's fun, and I'm sure it goes off like a bomb live. I kept thinking "I bet this is the sort of band that played Womadelaide" [annual Australian world music festival], and sure enough, they headlined there in 2005, touring this record. But there are a bunch of bands out there that do this sort of world music stew (cooked on a rock/funk base to make it easy to understand for western audiences). They are all entertaining live, but their records all sound pretty similar, and often don't capture the excitement or energy of their live show. I had some difficulty tracking this album down online (only two songs on spotify, patchy coverage on youtube), which suggest to me that this album does not have along-lasting relevance. It won a Grammy in the year of release, but it is not going on my want list. That said, if someone said they had a free ticket to see them at then Enmore Theatre, I would totally go.
It's a fun album, and the first song is absolute killer. After that amazing opener, the album faults a little bit in songs that are eerily similar, but it's a party in my headphones regardless, and you're all invited.
omöjligt att lyssna på, bra album 10/10
I'm not sure I was able to listen to all of this. I ended up listening to live versions of some of the tracks on YouTube. A shame because I quite enjoyed some of what I heard. I'd feel bad giving this a 2 and I'm sure I didn't experience a 3 so 4 it is.
I enjoyed this, I think, but it was tricky to find.
Fun in small doses. A little trying at full album length. Overall I liked it more than I didn't.
I've never heard of this band before. I really enjoy their sound. Gives me Cat Empire vibes
This album is the hot mess we've grown to love from Ozomatli where Latin vibes and hip hop lyrics blend with DJ music. This album is fun and lively and has the protest movement themes of their other music. That said, it doesn't touch the 1998 break out self-titled album which is a truly groundbreaking one, especially for the time. If you ever get a chance, go see them. They throw a good party.
This is quite the multi-stylistic album. I hear Middle Eastern, Latino, hip hop, and American rock music. I like most of the styles, but they feel jammed together rather than cohesive.
Definitely enjoyed this more than I expected
A fun album, sounds like a party. Maybe that's why it wore me out - it started feeling long only about halfway through.
Meh, it’s fine but just feels like a pop party but that’s not my thing.
Fun mixture of styles. Makes me want to dance.
Yet another puzzling entry on this list. So how is it? It's alright. Some of the genre mashing clicks, some of it comes off as messy and corny. There are some really good hooks in here, but some duds in the tracklist too. It certainly wasn't an arduous listen to get through, so I thank them for that. At the very least, the band seems to be having constant fun, so it's hard no to crack at least a few smiles.
If this album was a street sign. it would be a "dead end" one for me. That sign would lead to a great place, objectively speaking--filled to the brim with ideas drawing from a vast array of genres going from latin funk-rock to rap, with a clear emphasis on so-called "world music" (like the gnawa/qawwali-inspired opener "Believe"). But as great as that place is on the paper, that early-naughts version of Santana still feels like a dead end for me. Because the whole thing is a little too safe and devoid of personality, as skilled the players and composers in that band were. And because this album didn't necessarily age very well, like a lot of stuff from the naughts. So unless I knew someone living in that dead end street, there would be no reason for me to return there after my first visit. Oh, another thing. I fully concur with the author currently topping the reviews section of this app: there's an awful lot of divergence between different versions of the 1001 Albums book, with a lot of more contemporary releases added and then quickly removed depending on the reissues of the original book. And indeed, it's almost like the people who curate this don't know how to evaluate music form the 21st century for its lasting impact. 3/5 for the purposes of this list, which translates to a 8/10 grade for more general purposes (5 + 3). Next, please. Number of albums left to review: 501 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 237 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 114 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 149 (including this one)
Awesome music, would love to listen to at a party!
not my cheese but i don't hate it. looks like i can add the broad spectrum of latino music to my list of genres that don't tickle my pickle.
HOND
Endast två låtar lyssningsbara på spotify, de var dock bra
An interesting combination of styles and activism. I don't know that it wholly worked for me, but it was very fascinating to hear.
Groovy, mood-lifting music.
Very middle of the road album for me, and yet somehow the most 2000s band I have ever heard. I appreciate the mixing of genres, but for the most part, the songs were not memorable.
A little hard to rate. I didn't really dislike it too much, it certainly had moments but it never really drew me in either. I'd give it a 2.5 if I could. It really would be an album that I felt neutral on. A 3 though because a 2 would be too low and this is probably one of the better (the best?) World album that I've come across so far.
One of those albums where I couldn't seem to find the whole thing. Quite enjoyed what I could though...
Indifferent towards this one. Nothing particularly notable to me.
Some of their stuff I like and some I don’t care for at all. And so it is with this album.
Who's To Blame with a Chali 2na verse! The rest of the album is meh but pleasant.
3.5
first listen it's not very good imo
Surprisingly fun! Wildly diverse and good vibes.
I didn't love this album but I did enjoy it a lot more than I was expecting to.
Couldnt get this on Amazon music but listened to about 3/4s on YouTube. It was alright, seemed like quite a modern take on Latin American music with a few middle eastern influences? The brass was good when it appeared and in general pretty fun. Can't say I'd seek it out again but a decent one listen. 2.5.
The difficulty in finding this put me off initially.... However it wasn't bad. Interesting sounds with some hip hop. I did think some of the rapping was basic though The highlight was "who's to blame" as I immediately recognised Charlie 2na from Jurassic 5. He was one of the founding members of this group apparently! That alone is bringing it to a 3
3.4/5 latin funk
not on Spotify, not going looking
Ozomatli takes all of the bad tropes of latin and alternative hip hop and combines them together in this album. The latin redux barely produced must-listen albums worthy of a list, this isn't one of them. 3/5.
not bad
Could not listen to the album as could not find it anywhere on the internet. Heard two tracks which were good so my rating is gonna be given of the tracks i heard.