Street Signs

Sounded great! Not for me.

Interesting sound, but kind of done-to-death. It's essentially modern Latin-pop with a noticeable electronic influence (e.g. DJ sfx/sampling, synthesisers). The opening three tracks were strong patch in a fairly weak track listing, possibly for being the beginning of a listening session before my enjoyment tapered off substantially. This album just doesn't bring anything new to the table. Anything on this list post-2000 has got to be seriously creative or ear-catching to really justify its presence. As is typical for the genre, the horns and percussion are two very strong point. I love the trumpet harmonising and extensive syncopation, and could easily see me in my high school jazz band struggling to play Nadie Te Tira correctly. Brings back some good memories. The percussion is reasonably complex and busy – always a plus. The production isn't particularly interesting, and I would've liked a less mono-sounding mix. There's less piano than I would have expected, but when it appears, it's usually played with gusto. I don't like the singer's vocals at all – it's a bit hoarse and unrefined – but I can understand its appeal in this genre. 2/5 Key tracks: Believe, Street Signs, Doña Isabelle/Nadie Te Tira

I'm sure these would be a blast live back in the day, on record not so much

not pour moi

Het doet me allemaal een beetje teveel aan als een soort huismerk Santana met Enrique Iglesias als zanger. Het is best vrolijk hoor, maar ik heb het idee dat als je een of andere latin zender aanzet, dat je 300000 van dit soort nummers kan horen. Of als je naar een willekeurig buurtfeest in de cariben gaat, de lokale huisband dit ook gewoon staat te spelen. Misschien zit ik wel helemaal fout en is dit terecht de creme de la creme en hebben ome Robert D en zijn muzikale vrinden dit speciaal geselecteerd voor ons. Het is niet voor niks dat dit blijkbaar in het voorprogramma stond van Santana tijdens de Supernatural tour, dus uit de tijd van "Maria Maria". Maar dat is precies waar het op lijkt. Overigens kon ik niet het hele album luisteren, want er is geen goede versie op joetoep en op spotify kan ik maar 2 nummers luisteren tenzij ik ga betalen, wat ik uiteraard weiger. Dus voor de toegankelijkheid gaat er weer een puntje van de vergeetbare 3 af.

Sorry, what? Am I missing something here or is this list saying that completely forgettable copy/paste Latin American albums are vital to listen to before you die?

Album is not available on youtube music, at least not in the Netherlands. Listened to the title songs via a different route, and it sounds okay. Bit too much rap. The Northern African sounds accompanying are nice.

LOt's influences, some of hip hops tracks are good nothing groundbreaking but others are just bad. The latin funky jammy tracks are the winners, there's just not enough of them. 2.5

While I didn't particularly like this, I did appreciate how many different styles of music were blended together fairly well. But it's not for me.

not on spotify

This one started really strong and I was really thinking I would enjoy the rest. Sadly, It was downhill from there for me, to the point where I was getting a bit bored with it all.

Hmm asså det va fett skumt, bara två låtar fanns på Spotify o sen hitta jag nästan hela albumet på youtube, men inte ens där fanns hel albumet, så jag lyssnade på det som fanns, helt okej album Bästa låtar: Believe, Who discovered America?

Took me a while to get round to listening to this on YouTube music, pretty disappointed when I finally did, sounds so much older than 2004 don’t think it’s aged very well, appreciate a mix of different music styles but the hip hop and lyrics feel very dated.

Very good but like kryptonite for me. A lot going on, very funky.

Paso palabra

I can see the appeal of this album, with its blend of Latin rock, hip hop, and funk. However, the rapping felt cliche and sleazy, filled with outdated punchlines and hooks reminiscent of ‘80s hip hop stereotypes. By the time it reached the end, the album had worn out its welcome and began to feel more annoying than enjoyable.

Seems like this album is all over the place and lacks some direction. Would have ranked the first few songs a 3, but midway through the record I was ready to say goodbye. (Not the teary eyed kind)

Cover Impressions: the band name and unfamiliar sign has me thinking Australia, but could be anything. Apparently this is American, but is quite the melting pot of sounds. I hear elements of Linkin Park, Santana, Ra, and others. Not a huge fan of mixed languages, but I assume it's cool for bilingual people. My brain can't handle going back and forth. I don't think this particular situation came up, but a common example I have for this is "eso si que es?". Are they spelling out Socks or saying what something is? Interesting album, but not really my style. Favorite track "Love and Hope" 2/5

It was okay, but nothing grabbed me.

Not on Spot. Not really on YT either. Heard bits. Cuban rap funk thing. Sounds messy. Why this?

Has a few good moments but most of it is background music for a hipster mexican restaurant

It's ok but not my scene and I wonder whether it's here to fit the genre 'World Music' bands?

Hard to find. Not my genre. Some songs were ok

Very mediocre and corny. 2/5

not my cup of tea

I'd like to start by saying I had to buy a CD of this album as it's not available on any streaming services within the United Kingdom. This album sounds like they are having a lot of fun, however, some of the songs are hip hop which I am not too fond of, but others sound exciting. Standout tracks: Love and Hope, (Who Discovered) America?

Latin pop/rock that is on this list for reasons I can't figure out. Even critics didn't have much to say about it and only two tracks are on Spotify. Probably not essential then? Only Tracks: Believe; Love and Hope

Don’t do it for me. Didn’t really love any element of the fusion that was being attempted. Seemed more all over the place as opposed to a unified vision.

at least it's not another bland rock pantheon thing we're in the Rage Against the Machine category where the group's political convictions are worth taking more seriously than their music music: respectfully hated. (⌐■_■)

Political angle ✅ Music that doesn’t just wash over me ❌

Wide variety of genres, from funk/hip-hop to traditional. Not surprisingly, I much preferred the traditional.

# Playlist track - Believe # Notes - For some reason only the first couple of tracks are available on Spotify, I've pierced the album from Youtube Playlists. - Never heard of them before, album starts with a very cool mix of western vibes and my hopes are UP. - Unfortunately, the album doesn't really take off at all. - There are some interesting moments, cool riffs and vocals and you can kind of forget that you are listening to a boring album. After a few minutes, that cool little piece of music will be reused 10 times and you'll be back to thinking that this is a boring album. - Filled with interesting ideas, but none of them really pan out. 2 stars.

There are so many great funk records. There are so many great Latin records. There are so many great Latin alternative records. This one is just not it. Feels like a token modern Latin album chosen by someone who isn't really into contemporary Latin music. That being said, there are a few real bops (mostly hip hop ones) and I cannot in good conscious give this a 1/5 when I know there's a Kid Rock album on the list.

Definitely not my cup of tea in full honesty. Great music just not for me.

Quite enjoyable and diverse Latino / Middle Eastern (?) funk and groove. Verges on Miami Sound Machine at times which isn’t a good thing, Shakira, Shakira at others. Minus a star for being a bit of a faff to listen to on YouTube. Come on guys - sell out like everyone else please.

Only managed to find one song and quite enjoyed it, made me want to go on holiday. There latest song moose on the loose could become a family favorite but still only 2 stars due to lack of availability.

A varied collection in style and quality.

‘Street Sounds’ is enjoyable enough as background music, well performed and produced, but doesn’t really do anything interesting enough overall to make it essential listening for me. ‘Nadie Te Tira’ however is the one exception, and the best track on the album.

Interesting, a couple songs I liked but mostly felt a bit less memorable to me as a record. Based on the description I was hoping for something a bit more like Cafe Tacuba, but it's a much more divergent mix of influences on it.

The year is 2024. The hopes of recovering a copy of this historical musical masterpiece are minimal. I search far and wide, but to no avail. I give up all hope. A friend is successful. He has found a copy of this hidden gem in an ancient format. Compact Disc they call it. Only the rarest of devices are able to play such a relic format, so I pack up my PlayStation 2 in a bag from the local pizza shop (as was the style at the time), add a bunch of cables and adapters to be able to hook it up to a modern television, and spend the next 90 minutes in public transportation. Finally I am able to witness the ancient treasure with my own eyes. The disc goes in, the console beeps and boops, and we gently use the joystick to start the first of 13 mysterious tracks hidden behind a gradient of colored cubes. The reward is minimal.

Album no longer available in full on Spotify. Listened to main single. It was ok.

A few enjoyable moments here or there but mostly not street signs I care to pay attention to. Unlike stop signs. It's very important that you come to a full stop at stop signs, and if you will be turning then please be sure to use your signal indicator to inform other drivers of your intent to turn. To be a safe driver is to be a predictable driver, so please, I implore you, be predictable.

Pénible à écouter. Un mélange mal habile de genres. Certaines pièces ont l'air d'être des parodies.

Nix! Inte apdåligt dock.

I'm unsure if I listened to the right album, but it's okay. I'm happy to see some Latin (or Chicano) rock on the 1001 list, but I'm sad that it is far from the best Latin rock available. Being a 2004 album, there are plenty of options that can easily replace this one with much more success. Let's see if the book contains more options in the future.

pretty odd

Ikke så spændende, ville nok være federe uden sangen på hahah Føler ikke noget specielt for det her. 2/5 til 3/5, ikke godt, ikke dårligt

not bad but i don’t suspect i’ll listen to this album or even think about it again

I live in LA and I don't know how this represents LA

sadly only had one song available in south africa on spotify and that one song did not impress me enough to try and find a different way to pirate it. the good old men in suits deciding who can listen to what win again.

Not my style

Best song is who discovered america

Latin funk rock that incorporates hip hop, alt rock, and early 2000s teen pop. Very much a product of its time. It's pretty repetitive and derivative with clear inspirational sources, and most of it is forgettable or exhausting as the Latin novelty wears off. But it's coherent, produced and mixed well, and offers several creative ideas with a few outstanding bangers. Favorites: Love and Hope, Who Discovered America, Saturday Night, Cuando Canto

I've heard the name before, and probably listened to a song or two. But never sat through a whole album. Not bad, nice latin beats, but not sure I'm coming back to listen to more.

"World-wide party people get ready." LOL, no.

Unexpected, rhythmical fun, but not something I’ll listen to again soon

didn’t like this, the songs aren't great are kinda bland. overall not for me.

If "Smooth" by Santana got turned into a band, this is what it would sound like.

Nice mix of Latin and hip hop elements.

A lot going on, slightly jarring sonic mishmash

Sounds like a soundtrack to a early 2000s telenovela

Wasn’t available on Spotify but didn’t like their artist page a lot Wish it was just foreign singing

Wish.com Santana I felt. I only had 9 of the songs from the album as I couldnt find any others due it being unavailable in the UK, assembled from random covers and amv's. Wasn't too impressed with the sound, first song was kinda good though. Weird Arab/Latin america/ska/reggae vibes. Might as well listen to Santana where it's done better.

Bleh

Dip, dive, socialize. Are You Ready for the Saturday night? Just one example of how fucking lame this pile of crap was. Yea, they sound musically talented enough, it’s like a high school band got together and started a group but none of them had any cool lyrics to write. Maybe the Spanish lyrics were cool, but based on what I heard of the English lyrics, I’m gonna assume they were equally lame. Album artwork is bad, they rap was bad, the band name is bad, band name is bad. Glad it’s over 2 stars

ne

only one song on spotify and i can’t be bothered right now to find it over the internet so it’ll have to wait: i don’t like what i can hear right now anyways. oh ok, i’m surprised, some rapping came on and it wasn’t so bad, but still i will have to youtube it or something so it’ll have to wait.

Hiphop latin rock. Çest vraiment pas mon style et c'est pas si fou pour être honnête, mais bon ça va 2.85

over produced, but there is music worth listening to here. Saturday Night is the beginning of it settling in and it gets a little better through to the end.

Hmmm. I appreciate this entry for variety's sake, and though it's not one I'd feel comfortable kicking from the list, there wasn't much on here that appealed to me. A really cool mix of styles and genres, but often the lyrics and end-product missed the mark for me. It was a fine listen but unfortunately not much I'd return to here. Favorite tracks: Ya Viene el Sol, Cuando Canto. Album art: Pretty striking, this one looks familiar to me. A street sign (surprise, surprise), and it kind of looks like the man crossing the street with the woman is being struck by lightning? Not certain that's what they're going for. I like the storage/garage door background too. 2.5/5

did not listen

I recognized one song that I kinda like, the rest of the album left me wondering "why..."

Lots of energy. Seem like they'd be fun to see live if you were in the mood for it.

Chali 2na saved this from being a total disaster.

Unable to find the album on a streaming service

Hahaha Jared, “Ricky Martin-esque” is the adjective I was searching for. This album immediately sounded like 2004 and I’m just not sure that’s a good thing.

Big oof after getting Amy and the Avalanches this week. I guess I prefer the hip hop sections over the Ricky Martin-esque parts but I really didn’t like any of it

There is the skeleton of something cool in this album, an intestine mix of styles with eastern and western rhythms. However, the majority of this album is wrapped up in such a glossy and poppy package that there was very little for me to really enjoy outside of a few tracks. If there were a few more songs like Déjame en Paz or Ya Viene el Sol, for example, then I think I would have rather liked this album.

It was okay but once again not something i would gag about

Bien aimé les rythmes et arrangements à saveur sud-américaine au début, mais à la longue, je me suis lassée. J'ai fini par trouver ça irritant.

What a ride. Sydäntä on pelissä, mutta kokonaisuus on... ei nyt tylsä, muttei sykähdyttävä, ja vähän sekava. Plussaa vilpittömyydestä, taitavuudesta ja kantaaottavuudesta.

Harvinaisuus: melkein tahattoman kuuloista naivismia. Lisäksi nämä ovat kappaleita, jotka on tehty viihdyttämään, ja lopputulos on ihan ok.

Boy, this one was all over the place.

Favorite Tracks: Believe, Street Signs, Dejame En Paz, Santiago, Nadie Te Tira

Move along, nothing to hear here.

There’s some fun rhythms and tunes on here but in the end it really wasn’t worth the effort taken to find and listen to it (I still haven’t managed to hear the whole album, just a handful of studio songs interspersed with live versions)

Couldn’t find it. Listened to one of their other ones and it was shite

Meh. Despite the fact that this is so genre-bending, it ultimately feels like something unremarkable and not unique. I like some of the rapping, though.

Straight ass

This is one of those projects that, despite of looking fun, tends to tire me out. Each song sounds quite similar, event to my Latino ears…

Not for me

So Bland its unreal. Also very hard to find. The 1001 guys put this in, just in case it became big. Unfortunately, anything remotely contemporary is a risk.

Hard to find, and even then didn’t geta purport chance. Loved dejáme en paz

interesting mix of styles, doesn't really work though 2

This was corny as hell, but there was some groovy instrumentals in here

I found this to be completely irritating. Mostly because it's so melodramatic, without ever really backing itself up with anything truly potent. Trying way too hard to do way too much (and appeal to a mainstream audience). It felt like a double album despite only being 52 minutes. The moment that made my eyes roll back in my head was when they had that live announcer person hyping up the band, and then they incorporated it into the songs via sample. A revolution? Hardly. The only thing saving this from a 1 is if this has come out in the 90s, it might have been slightly more impressive.

Sounds interesting but not for me 2/5

Couldn’t really listen to this as it wasn’t on Spotify and only some tracks were available on YouTube. It sounded like a Latin hip hop album with a couple of the J5 lads popping up here and there. It seemed pleasant enough but not something I’d come back to.

Funky and fun. I love seeing my Jurassic 5 connection. Was it life changing? Nah. Fun though.

Música del mundo, salseo, bah, varios estilos. Rollo patatero.

Quite a similar sound to the previous album.A couple of tracks sounded good but I’m going to be harsh and give it a 2*

Managed to find more than half of the album between Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. Normally I’d try to listen to the whole album, but it has been removed from the book, so I’ll make an exception.

Eh, not a huge fan of this project.

Could only listen to the first two tracks. Found it fine, but didn't fancy hunting for the rest.

Not for me.

I couldn't find 2 of the songs: not available in my country. The first song sounds promising. Most of the rest of the record is not very exciting. It's Latin pop, but there's more to it. They try to incorporate a lot of styles in their music, but they're not particularly good or bad at any of them. This would not be on the list if I was in charge. Favorite song by far: Who's to blame

Like kje latinamerikanske rytma, men ut over da va da heilt ok. Kanskje litt for P4-aktig

I think this album was quirky and funky in the i literacy aspect of it but it just wasn’t the best. Nothing bad, just not really it.

eh. On paper it sounds creative - some rock songs, some rap, attempts at international flavour.... Ends up being a collection of songs with dull and predictable chord progressions and too often sounds like a low-effort and highly (over) produced Santana record ("Who Discovered America?") or a chaotic party with uninvited horns. Notable exception: "Dona Isabelle" with its odd piano intro was the best intro and best part of any of the songs - would have loved more of that. Overall just not that interesting. 3/10 2 stars.

nay

Meh. It got annoying around the second half of the album. It's bland. It's hard to define exactly the genre but maybe latin rap rock? Not my cup of tea.

It reminds me of advertisements for nice summer holidays. Which is a negative because those always remind me about how much I don't wanna work tomorrow.

Okay but not my thing

Can't really point out exactly what I didn't like about this but the whole thing just felt a little off.

I'm sure it's fine but I couldn't get the whole album and just listened to a few tracks.

“My homies kill it like asbestos” “(Who Discovered) America?” is their version of Smooth by Santana ft. Rob Thomas I want to take a moment to highlight these lyrics from “Saturday Night”: To the future, bro 2020 and some number of years ago People rose up Governments froze up World-wide block party Everybody shows up I mean, 50/50 on the truth? I’ll give it a 2 because the music was fun at points. Honestly, I think I would’ve enjoyed this more if some of the songs were just instrumental.

Another strange choice for one of the 1001 albums you *must* listen to before you die. I mean it's not bad music at all, don't get me wrong. I can vibe to some salsa, some pipin' hot trumpets slamming my face, some guitar. Sure. But for some reason this to me just sounds like 51 minutes of "Smooth" that Santana track with Rob Thomas. Santana better be on this list. Here's what I'll say. Cool concept to blend Latin with Hip Hop. Some good flow on here. Some good vibes on here. But "some" good flow and "some" good vibes doesn't really = an album that stands the test of time. It's fine. But in the realm of the gods here it's hard to give this anything above a 2, unfortunately.

Having never heard of this album or group, I skipped ahead to preview their most played song, ”Saturday Night,” and immediately thought to myself, “I don’t need this. I’d be just fine if I died without hearing this record.” And if this track was the highlight, I was not looking forward to the rest. But turns out, “Saturday Night” is the lowest of low points on this record. Probably because it is the hip-hoppiest, and features the most rap which I don’t care for anywhere on this album, except for Chali 2na’s verse. And actually the main verse on “Street Signs” ain’t bad either. But still, I much prefer the latin-funk-rock fusion of tracks like “Love and Hope,” “Dejame En Paz” and, really, all the songs with Spanish titles, to the hip-hop stuff. Overall, it’s all a little disorienting, like they’re trying to be every genre at once. Hard to grasp what this band is. Did I really *need* to hear this album before I died? Probably not. Is this even their best album? I’m not sure. Most plays on Spotify goes to their 1998 self-titled effort, and having just listened to a few songs off that (one of which is even featured in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3!), I think that album is loads better than this. In closing, I’m kinda glad I know this group exists, especially as an Angeleno, but I could do without the album. I won’t be listening again and will probably forget it in a few years time. I hope we get some Los Lobos on this list. 2/5 - not bad, but more mid-to-low moments than highs.

Não tem o álbum no deezer, e nem no tocador verde oliva. Escutei algumas faixas ao vivo e o melhor mesmo é uma participação no disco do Santana, Shaman.

I liked one song from a different album.

Really interesting fusion of a bunch of different genres, but personally just didn't stick the landing for me. Some songs are pretty solid (liked the intro track a lot) while most others just feel all over the place. Appreciate what this project is going for but I think it could have flowed together a lot smoother.

Dated for that time period and extremely dated now.

not avaiable on spotify, what i found on youtube was okayish

Slechts 2 nummers kunnen vinden op Spotify maar het inspireerde niet om op onderzoek uit te gaan.

Fun at times, but overall not for me. Standouts: Love And Hope, Saturday Night

Good catchy music, but spanish not being my first language makes it hard for me to get into it. The hip-hop mashups are ehhhhhhhh. Seems like a very 2000s album where rap is just featured to be featured even though it doesn't really fit the vibe.

Wasn’t terrible. It just felt like the fusion was the point. That seems to have been enough for people not to mind how shallow and safe it was in a lot of places. For me, a bunch of B to C level parts didn’t magically add up to an A. It’s funny that David Hidalgo (of Los Lobos) guested on this because I was thinking as I listened to it how much more depth Los Lobos has if you want to hear music that blends mainstream US (folk/blues/rock) and Latino traditions. And then I was thinking how many better versions of conscious old-school hip hop there are out there from this era (for instance Dilated Peoples or Jurassic 5), and up pops Chali 2na. Not that those groups are anything earth-shaking. But they do a much better job of scratching that particular itch. On a final note, I was playing this out loud and the last track “Cuando Canto” came on. My son, who is a pretty fluent Spanish speaker, came by and without prompting said, “Wow those lyrics are not very good are they.” And now he keeps singing “Cuando Canto” at random moments to annoy me. So for those of us who don’t speak Spanish, we don’t have to feel bad that we’re not giving it a fair shot—seems it’s equally bland in both languages.

Drôle d’album. On navigue entre le complètement pop quétaine, le cubain, l’oriental, le hip hop, ... Ce que j’aime, c’est que c’est très hop la vie. Autrement, ...

I didn’t like much other than the last song. Reminded me a bit of nu-metal except instead of metal it was Latin music. 4/10

je demande pardon à mes ancêtres

Catchy put not really my thing

Fanns bara två låtar på Spotify..

Premier album que je ne peux pas écouter en entier, même sur YouTube il n'est pas dispo dans son intégralité. Prefs: Believe, Street Signs, Dejame en Paz Moins pref: Who's To Blame? Pas écoutées: Love & Hope, Te Estoy Buscando, Dona Isabelle, Nadie Te Tira

There were definitely some highlights... really like Love and Hope, America? and Te Estoy Buscando. Unfortunately it wasn't enough as much of the rest isn't as interesting or occasionally puts me off.

Street Signs is highly particular, making it a peculiar listen. I'm tempted to lump it in with the other slightly off-kilter Latin choices in the book, more American and rockin' than the rest. It doesn't work, but isn't bad either. Good background music.

some interesting songs but others are bleh 2.5

Seems this band has been around a while but never heard of them. Bit different and not bad.

Singer/ Songwriter

New discovery for me, although I liked some of the sounds it overall didn't really grab me. A bit too poppy in places and I feel like the latin element got drowned out by more formulaic rock in places.

Pompous *and* nondescript. Quite the achievement

This is a tough one because I can't find a complete version of the album anywhere and it made for a very disjointed experience. The songs were okay but a little all over the place for me. My rating would possibly be different if I could listen to the entire album in a single place.

Not sure what this was at all. Didn’t fit into any genre.

Blocked in NZ on Spotify

Todella erikoinen kokonaisuus. Levis sinne ja tänne, välillä tosi jees, välillä taas ei. Kokonaisena ei löytyny edes YTstä. Muutama 4/5 biisi, mut fiilis sanoo kokonaisuudesta 2

Where do you go with your music in 2003?

I hated this, I thought this was fucking revolting. But.... I kind of respect what these gentleman are going for so it's a 2 from me, not a 1.

Tvö lög aðgengileg á Spotify. Erfitt að meta út frá þeim tveimur. Fyrsta lagið mjög næs. Annað mediocre.

1. believe - 0 2. hope - 1 3. zignz - 1 4. america - 1 5. blame - 0 6. buzcando - 1 7. night - 1 8. paz - 0 9. zantiago - 1 10. zol - 0 11. dona - 1 12. nadie - 1 13. canto - 1

This album is absolute cheeks. Buns, start to finish. Sounds like Latin Hamilton but they listened to it and it wasn't terrible enough so they went back in the studio and made it even worse. Hamfisted. I don't remember Saturday Night being in Madden 05, probably because even as an 11 year old I blocked that garbage from memory retention and Hit Sticked motherfuckers instead.

It might be lovely. Sure wish I had a way to listen to it.

I had never even heard of Street Signs by Ozomatli before this challenge, and it turned out to be surprisingly difficult to track down as it wasn't available on Spotify or Apple Music. The description of it as Latin funk rock sounded interesting enough though, so I went into it with an open mind. Unfortunately, this album just didn't do anything for me. There’s plenty going on stylistically, with influences from Latin music, funk, rock and hip-hop, but none of it really grabbed my attention. I kept waiting for a song or moment that would pull me in, but it never quite happened. It's not a bad album by any means, and I can appreciate the energy and musicianship behind it, but I found the overall sound fairly uninspiring and struggled to connect with it. By the end, very little had stuck with me and it's not an album I can see myself revisiting. Favourite tracks: I genuinely couldn't pick one that stood out Least favourite tracks: Nothing specific, but I found the overall sound quite dull and unmemorable Album artwork: Cool album cover – I really like the artwork and design style

No me gustó.

couldn’t find the full album but……. that didn’t bother me at all

Pas sur spotify

Nah

One of the more obscure and odd projects included in the 1001 albums to hear before you die list has to be Ozomatli's Street Signs. This latin project was apparently a powerhouse for a lot of Spanish speakers back in the 2000s as it won multiple grammys for best Alternative album and was even popular enough to feature in the following year's Madden game soundtrack. Even with all of those accolades, this project seems to have slipped quite far under the radar for most as it doesn't seem to have the lasting impact a lot of people had hoped it to have had. It tries to appear super flashy and interesting just based on sounds alone, but thanks to over 20 years of aging, that same flashiness now comes off a bit duller than ever. The one track I did manage to get down with was the very simplistic and straightforward Santiago as it didn't try to be something refreshing but instead went back to the basics and succeeded in just that. Street Signs is a project if you asked me 20 years ago I probably would have been impressed by, but in the year of 2026 it feels like a lost relic stuck in a bygone era that just doesn't feel fitting for the current landscape of Latin music. Nuff said.

.

had to listen to this on spotify with ads so. ew. was a bit all over the place, didn’t finish this one honestly… was not a vibe for me

First of all, finding how to listen to it is not an easy task. Once you find it, you wish you wouldn't. I love "latin" music (that's not really a single genre, but a collection of a bunch), and this albums uses a cliche of those sounds in a shameful way. The songs are bad, the arrangement are embarrassingly unoriginal, vocals are cringe and overly enthusiastic, the entire vibe is bad. I'm sorry. This album doesn't need to be here. A 1.

I’m a white person and this is the Whitest Music Ever for people who thought Putumayo compilations were too exotic.

This one was super weird... not really in a good way

only listened 2 songs because culdnt find others, and they were terrible

ei imusicissa. ei jatkoon

𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 mixes funk, hip hop, and rock with a strong dose of Latin influences. The band clearly plays with energy and skill, but the overall style doesn’t really work for me. The Latin-fusion approach dominates the sound to such an extent that it becomes difficult for me to connect with the album. Since only a couple of tracks were available to me, I can’t fully judge the entire record, but even from those songs it was clear that this musical direction simply isn’t my taste.

This is the most 2004 shit I've ever heard in my life. The acoustic ethic melting pot from that peak "omg everyone were ending racism :))))" era millennials believed in. Rap verse on the first track threw me for a loop - kinda went crazy on that beat. The layered chorus on "Who's to Blame" is specifically funny to me. "Saturday Night" 1st rapper wants to be Malice on a Neptune beat soooooo bad "Ya Viene El Sol" record scratching is awful on top of a boring ass song I did get down with "Nadie Te Tira" but it wasn't enough to save this album

Cool Latin and rap vibe but not really for me

It’s terrible

Didn’t finish but I heard enough

This sucks pretty sure I heard this in a stinky toilet.

Heard one song. It wasn't great. Very early noughties

I didnt get past the first song, it was that ridiculous.

Odd

The issue with fusion/hybrid music, which Ozomatli epitomizes, is that it so rarely digs deep into the genres it claims to explore: the Latin accents do not have much going for them, the rapping is corny and weak, the lyrics are platitudinal, dully uplifting, and superficially political, the production is one-note and one-dimensional. This is like the music you'd hear at a party at the playa that no amount of alcohol will have you feeling - the next drink may in fact make things worse. The best track is 'Who's To Blame,' which features an impressive but unmemorable verse from Chali 2na. Look, if you want pop-rap-rock from LA, Black Eyed Peas are your flawed go-to. This is about as offensively bland as you can get, the pacification of genres I love.

Very mediocre music with a Latin twist. I hate this genre mashup nonsense that Americans do; Latin music could and should stand on its own, it isn't made interesting just because you put rap over it. Couldn't bring myself to finish.

Not for me

Fun and interesting record, sad to not have found anywhere solid to listen to it. While appreciative that latin sounds are being represented by this record, I think it is not the landmark album that the list claims it to be. 6/10 [DROP]

I couldn’t find anywhere to listen to the full album

Review - a difficult album to find on streaming services. Not a good listen. A Mish mash of pop rock, various Latin styles, and hip hop, but not particularly good version of any of those styles. A jack of all trades album. Music for no one. Rating - 2.5/10 Need to listen? NO

Only 2 songs on Spotify, and they were more than enough

Took me a while to find such is its popularity!?? When I did I discovered my worst musical nightmare - a fusion of funk and hip hop. Shit of the highest degree. Only redeeming feature is that it seems no streaming platform carries it. 1/5 28/1/26

Not on Spotify. The few tracks I could locate were terrible

Jeg har Apple music og dette albumet finnes ikke på plattformen. Likte hverken videoene eller reklamene på Youtube. Forbanna liberalt pølsevev! 2/10

Skjønner ikke helt hva de prøver på her

Hørt 13/01/26. kun to låter tilgjengelig på Spotify. Googlet bandet, sjokkert over at de er amerikanske og ikke tyrkisk eller whatever?! Veldig eurovision-musikk basert på de to låtene iaf.

Let’s take the corniest elements of Wyclef Jean, Santana, Lin Manuel-Miranda and the Black Eyed Peas and blend them into one whack ass group that’s just asking to be nominated for a Grammy circa 2006.

Did not listen

Sorry not sorry

Temu Enrique Iglesias.

I am mostly disappointed that these guys are from LA ... when the album started, I was thinking maybe we were dealing with some world music. But quickly this album becomes pretty annoying. This album plays out like an office secret Santa gift exchange, someone just threw a bunch of crap in the pot, and you are trying your best to find one good thing about the whole mess.

Very jolly but not very good

Bad

This is very of the time. The rap (in my opinion) adds nothing to the tracks. I found that I was waiting for the songs to be over instead of enjoying them while they lasted.

Meh

Not for me but you gotta listen to em all. 2.3/10

Couldn’t understand half of it Close to being as bad as the beastie boys

NPC music - Latin edition. Boring, an on paper decent album of mixed influence that moreso sounds like taking garage band preset tracks and smashing them together.

Weird mix of styles and not on Spotify

Here's a street sign for you: STOP. In other words, stop making music; you're not good at it.

Frankly a mess. Is this Latin, hip hop, rap - it’s all and none. The lyrics are corny. Simply not my thing. 1/5

App link only has one song

Ass

Not for me. 1/5

nossa senhora mano eu devo ser mto amargurado mesmo 100% serj tankian fazendo world music estranha

This wasn’t good. It’s kind of a blessing it’s so hard to find.

How does this fall into 1001 albums, surely there was better?

Echt heel corny

This was so so so bad. Seems like a band that would be a great opener for Santana.

1.5 I thought there was too much fusion in the musical stylings for this to be coherent in any way. The lyrics that I listened to were just about partying and girls, which although Iike a lot, can be a bit adolescent.

Not for me

It was a torture

No

Hateeee

Being labelled world/funk/hip hop, this album should be much more interesting than it actually is. It's got no bite. It's not memorable. If anything, it's pretty cheesy. I always dug J5 (to a degree) and Cut Chemist (a whole lot!) but them together in this outfit does absolutely nothing to me. This is boring global coffee shop-assed music for people without passports.

wtf was this album? LMAO, seriously. firstly, it only let me play TWO songs, which were a completely shit. it felt like a joke jesus christ. at least i had fun but bc of how shit it was. the only “plus” is that one was in spanish so i could understand it better, however that was bad at the same time bc what the hell with the lyrics HAHAHA. anyway, i did not like neither of the two songs but i laughed!

Wtf.

Not my thing.

Full album not on Spotify

Really unremarkable. 1/5

I finally got to listen to the complete album. Really not very good at all.

It sounds too much like it's trying to be something else and not quite succeeding. High Point: Who's to Blame? Low Point: Believe (was this a Linkin Park cover?)

One so g

Can’t listen as only one track from the album is available.

this was a snooze fest to me

not for me at all

Thankfully only two songs available on Spotify and I won't bother looking up the rest because they were truly horrible.

I only had to listen to 2 songs to know its not for me

je ne chierais même pas dans yeule de ce disque, ça serait trop vulgaire pour ma marde

Dégueulasse. Ça m'a donné la diarrhée.

Just awful. Jumps from genre to genre and, incredibly, never really sticks the landing. Every song feels like a fucked up caricature of Latin music and is offensive is in multiple, indescribable ways. Awesome.

Checked to see where i was at in the album and was devastated to learn i am only halfway through. did nottttttt like this.

I do not like this. It's really a victim of its own ambition. It tries to do so much and doesn't excel at really any of it. Some of the instrumentation is super good, but a lot of the time it goes nowhere and the song becomes really boring and repetitive. No standouts. I do not like any of the rapping.

I played the Madden this was featured on, it was shite too.

"Not available for streaming at your location". From the little bits that I did find, ie. cumbia and latin flavoured dance hiphop, it feels like street style Ricky Martin music. This is not for me

Demo tape for an ok band.

It wasn't very good. The best description of this album is that is sounds like an Indian parody of Latin music.

1.4/5 did not enjoy

Not on Apple Music

Gear: Meze 109 PRO Artwork: 🚧🛑🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Production: 😐🤔🤷 Music: 🌍🎤🤢 Rating: 🚧(🚧)/5

Lame ass attempts to fuse Latin music with whatever flavor of pop/hip-hop was trending at the time. While there are some fun grooves, this is one you most certainly do NOT need to listen to you before you die.

Strange music.

Unavailable anywhere.

I don't know what the hell was going on here but my ears didn't like it

I thought I was going to like this. I really did not. Very generic and uninspired.

¡Ay, caramba!

The album is not complete in Spotify

Not for me

The album isn't on Spotify but I'm listening to all the tracks I can find. Update - One song in and I'm very confused Update 2 - They sampled Barack Obama? Blending Latin music with hip hop just isn't it rly. Interesting record. Wouldn't relisten

Not for me

Sounds like music from some bad B movie.

Could not find a way of listening to this full album on any service. So only heard the first song. I don't feel I was missing out.

This was all over the place. Some of these songs don't even sound like their from the same band. I didn't connect to it at all.

Sorry, I just plain don't like this. Sounds prepackaged. Pop. Yeh 1 star

Not for me.

One song popped up here. It was enough to know it was shite.

Not available to stream. Remove please

neibb

honestly wish i left this at did not listen. could i write poetry to this? n

No me gusta

Unavailable

Hmm no

What?!?!?!

certain albums come up and you think “great this is going to wreck my spotify algorithm” music for people who have no other term than “world music” for music composed beyond their shores

what the hell how does this work

Didn't really take much from this album. Very generic and not worth a second listen.

Only 2 tracks available

I mess around with all the elements they are trying to use here, but despite the diversity they still sound like trash.

It sounds like Ricky Martin, Juanes and Maná recorded an album together.

Not on Spotify.

Note: Spotify has pulled all but two songs from this album ('Believe' and 'Love and Hope'), so this review is based on the two songs I had access to. The two songs I listened to are a jumble of genres including (wince) "rap rock". Not my thing. Overall: 2/10

No thanks

Lyrics are shallow and dumb. Music is derivative and uninteresting. Total waste of time.

Three songs in and these are all too repetitive and not to my taste. I'll keep listening but this just doesn't do anything for me.

Most of the songs are unavailable on Spotify (at least in my region). I don't mind it, but I wouldn't go through the trouble of accessing it elsewhere.

Spotify only has one song available too me so I can't really give much of a review so uhh soz 😂

This is a very disappointing album. It is nowhere to be found on music streaming services. After a lot of effort to get it anyway, the album is mediocre with uninteresting rock songs with a bit of latin flavor. It sounds commercial, but it's too bad to have a change to impress any audience.

Ass. I don't like the fusion here

Couldn’t listen as wasn’t on Spotify

What the hell is this??

This album seems to be straight out a cheap dance movie from 2004 where there are two enemy dance troupes who end up doing a big dance together at the end of the film.

I really didn't get anything out of this. Thought it was overall pretty boring.

This really wasn't to my liking at all. The single biggest issue for me was that it didn't feel cohesive at all. It was a mixture of latino rap, some rap that didn't feel latino, 'Who Discovered America' which felt like a worse kind of radio smash hit version of Santana's 'Smooth'. Then there was 'Dejame en Paz', which was something completely different? I think if some of the tracks were hand picked and put in another constellation, it might not have been as bad, but this just didn't fly at all. But to be fair, the tracks didn't really leave any impression on me regardless so maybe not.

not a fan. feels too naive 1 -S agree -A

I think they used every corny latin music trope in existence, as well as some underwhelming rap. A couple songs were kind of catchy, but it was mostly annoying

This must be the 1001 numbered album on the list. Overall very disappointing and bland.

Mish mash... Hear tabla and record scratches with Spanish music.. rap also sometimes.. it's too much

I'm sure I'd love this a lot more if I didn't actively hate it.

A rare occasion where I couldn't track down the album anywhere. Listened to some of their KEXP set from 10ish years ago and wasn't impressed. I guess one star cause I couldn't find it?

*Loud snorting noise* Wee wee wee *Loud snorting noise* Wee wee wee *Loud snorting noise* Wee wee wee *Loud snorting noise* Wee wee wee Get it? Because it makes me go to bed. Grab your blankets and your teddy bears for this one, folks.

Onko kyseessä uskomaton albumi.. ei löydy spotify apple music.. hidden gem incredible.. Eka biisi uskomaton.. sen jälkeen kuullosti vähän siltä kun et pyyhi kunnolla ja kikkareita jää perskarvoihin. Sitten myöhemmin, sinun on pakko repiä ne rämmäleet irti ja silmät kostuu.

Majority of the album is not available on spotify or on youtube and i did not feel like trying to find more after 3 songs. The music seemed bland

Not my cup of tea. This is what i say when i think something is shit. The English inner city indian rapper during the first song is enough for me to stop listening. If you want to hear something similar to this only better and done by a better musician then give Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan a listen to.

Totally not my thing

Es juanes con instrumentación hindú. Rarísimo y no me gustó. 2/10

Not for me. I did try

Isssh, dans mes écoutes les plus difficiles. Cet exercice doit être fait avec une grande ouverture d'esprit. Alors bravo pour l'inclusion de ce groupe différent. Bravo pour le désir de moderniser des courants latins. Bravo pour la diversité de couleurs sonores. Par contre, malgré ces points qui auraient dû rendre le tout rafraîchissant, les mélodies sont inintéressantes et la fusion des genres ne fonctionne pas. Il y a seulement Saturday Night, la pièce la plus écoutée de cet album, qui réussit à être écoutable. Dommage.

This is absolute trash. Should not be on the list. Again, the absence of Rammstein is glaring at moments like this.

Only four tracks available in Brazil between Spotify and Youtube. On the basis of four tracks - an uninspired latin hip-hop. I am fine with latin music, but hip-hop is intolerable for me. So 1 star on a limited sample size

Hopefully I'll never hear this again

Must be nice to see live

Link to album has only one song