Artiste: Doja Cat
Album: Vie
Rating: ****
Hip-hop has always thrived on conflict, welcoming light-hearted insults of battle rapping. It can become a sounding board for rivalries and disputes. Doja Cat knows this well and uses the strategy in full swing on her new album Vie, which is French for “life” — and there’s certainly plenty of it here.
Pop music’s rabble-rouser returns to form since her 2019 LP Hot Pink and 2021’s Planet Her. She gets along well with her producer, Jack Antonoff, to strike a middle path between gloss and starting a fire, packing in synths, drum machines, occasional horns and saxophones.
The nod to the 1980s is welcome, seen from the get-go on Cards. Making the music shine is her incendiary lyrics: A little more back and forth/ A little more catch and throw, baby/ The more we can clear this smoke/ A little further I’ll go.
The follow-up track, Jealous Type, takes the conversation further with a tighter, percussion-forward arrangement. It’s a track that could have found a place on her previous album Hot Pink: When my eyes are green, I’m ugly/ You’re vain and hip to rushing.
A sweeter side to the musician comes through again and again, like on Silly! Fun! she tells the listener: If we went to a party? Wouldn’t it be fun/ To fall deep for somebody? When she raps “I’m in love” or “let’s have kids”, the final word of each phrase receives special treatment — as if she’s half-flirting, half-laughing.
Doja is trying to shift gears, trying to make herself appear a fun pop star. She succeeds… well, almost. The album closing track, Come Back, may appear a bit too lovesick but the rapper is largely on the right path — confetti cannon in one hand, microphone in the other.
Singer: Rauw Alejandro
Album: Cosa Nuestra: Capítulo 0
Rating: *****
Rauw Alejandro continues to surprise with his nonconformist streak. One of the biggest stars of Spanish-language music also enjoys the status of a heartthrob.
His concerts have a certain degree of theatrics and his albums have a good degree of imagination, with songs offering tinges of R&B, dancehall, and reggaeton.
On his previous album, Cosa Nuestra, he explored different genres linked to the Caribbean, fusing jazz, bomba, hip-hop, reggae, and more. This time, he tries to capture a deeper hue of the Caribbean’s music and cultural offerings. Of course, there will be comparisons to Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, but look beyond it.
His voice is raw and sexy as Capítulo 0 taps into Puerto Rican folk sounds. The opening number, Carita Linda, is beautiful, rife with shakers and a call-and-response invocation. In FALSEDAD, the love for congas and salsa horns comes through clearly, while Mirando Al Cielo is an ode to Puerto Rico: Mary is taking care of me/ Yemayá is opening the seas.
The Dominican Republic forms the heart of SILENCIO, while Jey One makes an appearance on Cuc0.0, offering a different kind of energy level. This is truly an album of cultural force.
Artiste: Mariah Carey
Album: Here for it All
Rating: ***
Back after seven years, and why not? Mariah Carey is in a position to have a few years between album releases. Weeks before her All I Want for Christmas Is You gets played around the world, here she is showcasing a softer side to her music.
The 11 songs highlight her love for ballads, the standout number being In Your Feelings, which may become a karaoke hit. The record, in fact, ends on a three-song teardrop flow: My Love, Jesus I Do, and the record’s introspective title track.
Needless to say, Carey remains pitch-perfect, and her lyrics hit the sweet spot. The singer is returning to the spotlight after a few difficult years: the death of her mother and sister just hours apart, followed by a copyright lawsuit over All I Want for Christmas Is You (she won the case). On Nothing Is Impossible, she sings: Gone for a while, but I’m much better/ Covering my eyes was so unpleasant/ Ain’t gonna lie, it wasn’t very nice.
Most of the album makes for easy listening, but the songs will not make a packed stadium roar. This is music for the lounge, and you can imagine Carey singing the bluesy In Your Feelings. The Clark Sisters join her for Jesus I Do, which might as well have been a Stephanie Mills cover.
The high point of the album is Here For It All. The six-minute song begins with a piano ballad and then takes flight, moving into a gospel moment: Oh, my Lord, hallelujah/ Holy Spirit, fall down on me/ This is just a rehearsal, test flight/ Praise the most High. Carey shines even though the album doesn’t have a “viral” moment. Her voice is clear, and her gorgeous tone intact.