{"id":1253286,"date":"2020-12-15T16:25:39","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T13:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1253286"},"modified":"2020-12-15T16:25:39","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T13:25:39","slug":"the-22-best-songs-by-latinx-artists-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1253286","title":{"rendered":"The 22 Best Songs by Latinx Artists in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Lists & Guides<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The 22 Best Songs by Latinx Artists in 2020<\/h1>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
From Lido Pimienta\u2019s ethereal affirmations to Ela Minus\u2019 synth-pop anthems to Bad Bunny\u2019s perreo throwbacks<\/div>\n
\n
\n
By <\/span>Pitchfork<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

El Alfa, Arca (photo by Alex Raduan), Bad Bunny, ChocQuibTown, and Lido Pimienta. Graphic by Drew Litowitz, photos via Getty Images.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Latin American and U.S. Latinx music is constantly evolving through migration, displacement, and globalization, and in 2020, it was clear that a catch-all term for genre and identity could never capture that multiplicity. The year gifted us Natanael Cano\u2019s experiments in trap corrido, Dominican dembow courtesy of El Alfa and Haraca Kiko, electronic music from Arca and Lucrecia Dalt, and beyond\u2014sounds that reflect the intricacy and creativity emerging from our complicated communities. Here, we\u2019ve put together a collection of these songs in alphabetical order, drawing from our main songs list and also including a pool of additional favorites. These are the 22 best songs of 2020 by Latinx artists.<\/p>\n

Listen to selections from this list on our Spotify playlist and Apple Music playlist.<\/p>\n

Check out all of Pitchfork\u2019s 2020 wrap-up coverage here.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

G.O.O.D. Music \/ Def Jam<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

070 Shake: \u201cGuilty Conscience\u201d<\/h2>\n

070 Shake\u2019s hypnotic voice makes hard things go down easier. In 2018, it was her verse on Kanye West\u2019s \u201cGhost Town\u201d that saved ye<\/em> from complete, disaffected gloom. Now, on her debut LP, the GOOD Music\/Def Jam recruit pours a spacey sheen over her own battles with substance abuse, heartbreak, and suicidal ideation to self-soothe, rather than self-destruct. And she does it best on \u201cGuilty Conscience,\u201d a big, ambient pop record that tells of a lover\u2019s remorse after catching their partner cheating, only to reveal that they cheated first. With the sound of her vocals soaring over gauzy \u201980s synths, even guilt gets its moment of grace. \u2013Jenzia Burgos<\/p>\n

Further Reading: 070 Shake Moves Beyond the Buzz<\/div>\n

Listen:<\/strong> 070 Shake, \u201cGuilty Conscience\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Self-released<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Ambar Lucid: \u201cFantasmas\u201d<\/h2>\n

We all live with ghosts. There\u2019s a strange kind of accompaniment that comes with them, even when they haunt us with disquieting endurance. On \u201cFantasmas,\u201d Ambar Lucid considers the tricky feelings that come with these lingering spirits. We don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s a past relationship or family trauma that haunts her, but a simple, doo wop-style chord progression sets the stage for Ambar to unburden herself. The tender melancholia of the teenager\u2019s lyrics bloom with aching beauty under the command of her sweeping voice, turning what seems like a plea for relief into a recognition of the wounds she must learn to heal from. \u2013Isabelia Herrera<\/p>\n

Further Reading: Ambar Lucid\u2019s Arena-Sized Soul Will Help You Overcome<\/div>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Ambar Lucid, \u201cFantasmas\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

XL<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Arca: \u201cMequetrefe\u201d<\/h2>\n

Arca\u2019s music has always challenged listeners to free themselves from the constructs of pop, embrace bedlam, and find melodies in the noise. While her earlier releases were sometimes marked by nearly impenetrable abstractions, KiCK i<\/em> feels just accessible enough to draw listeners into its maelstrom of chaos. Few tracks exemplify this duality as well as \u201cMequetrefe,\u201d an ode to self-expression sans shame. Losing none of the aggression and confrontation that make her records so arresting, \u201cMequetrefe\u201d is buoyed by a sweet and tender string melody that\u2019s at odds with its twitchy surroundings but at peace with itself. \u2013Matthew Ismael Ruiz<\/p>\n

Further Reading: Live From Quarantine, It\u2019s the Arca Show<\/div>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Arca, \u201cMequetrefe\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Rimas<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Bad Bunny \/ Jowell & Randy \/ \u00d1engo Flow: \u201cSafaera\u201d<\/h2>\n

There isn\u2019t a single wasted moment on \u201cSafaera,\u201d Bad Bunny\u2019s epic homage to old-school perreo culture. The five-minute song is an all-consuming aesthetic maelstrom that is continually transforming; each beat change connects another link in a chain of references, establishing a masterful reggaet\u00f3n timeline. With the energy of an intuitive DJ mix, producers Tainy and DJ Orma pieced together a whirlwind of a track as evocative for longtime fans of the genre as it is educational for newcomers. Standing confidently at the center of the saga is Bad Bunny himself. Amid the near-constant chaos of the song\u2019s sonic shifts, he is resolute, moored firmly by his commitment to the music that he loves and the history held within it. \u2013Sheldon Pearce<\/p>\n

Further Reading: A Day in the Life of Bad Bunny, Introverted\u00a0Superstar<\/div>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Bad Bunny, \u201cSafaera\u201d [ft. Jowell & Randy and \u00d1engo Flow]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Rimas<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Bad Bunny: \u201cYo Perreo Sola\u201d<\/h2>\n

Perreo, as a genre, dance, and movement, has always been about power. And with \u201cYo Perreo Sola,\u201d Bad Bunny offers a consent-driven treatise centering a woman\u2019s independence on the dancefloor. The video even features the superstar donning the chains, latex, and thigh-high boots of the song\u2019s narrator, as he exhibits a genuine desire to play with gender expression in a genre often catered to the male gaze. But \u201cYo Perreo Sola\u201d also repeated reggaet\u00f3n\u2019s long-standing pattern of relegating female vocalists to anonymity; Puerto Rican rapper Nesi, who delivers its chorus with a passionate drawl, was uncredited upon the song\u2019s release. The oversight was later rectified with a remix featuring her (this time with a credit) alongside pioneer Ivy Queen\u2014whose legendary \u201cQuiero Bailar\u201d set the terms for this track\u2014providing vindication for the caballotas who just want to dance in peace. \u2013Stefanie Fern\u00e1ndez<\/p>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Bad Bunny, \u201cYo Perreo Sola\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Room40<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Beatriz Ferreyra: \u201cEchos\u201d<\/h2>\n

Argentine composer Beatriz Ferreyra is renowned for the disorienting spatiality and shape-shifting abstraction of her electronic and tape-based work, but it\u2019s the human scale and raw intimacy of \u201cEchos\u201d that startle. Recorded in 1978 but released for the first time this year, the piece is woven entirely from the voice of Ferreyra\u2019s niece Mercedes Cornu, who died in a car accident prior to its composition. In places, the young woman\u2019s voice flickers and trembles with playful delight, sounding impossibly alive. At other points, the melted murmurs and shimmered syllables feel soothing and psalm-like, as though the girl\u2019s ghost is mourning herself. Listening to \u201cEchos\u201d is as poignant as stumbling upon a roadside shrine of flowers, candles, and photos, but Ferreyra goes beyond creating a memorial to Mercedes: She defies death itself and resurrects her niece as an aural apparition. Heard at any time in the four decades since its making, \u201cEchos\u201d would be touching. But in a year like this one, it breaks your heart. \u2013Simon Reynolds<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Listen:<\/strong> Beatriz Ferreyra, \u201cEchos\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Ribbon Music<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Buscabulla: \u201cClub T\u00fa y Yo\u201d<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a particular kind of tropical depression that accompanies being a Caribbean diaspora kid, one that is hard to articulate in everyday vocabularies of longing. The magnetism of Puerto Rican duo Buscabulla\u2019s debut album Regresa<\/em>, a meditation on returning to your homeland, lies in its ability to harness ineffable feelings of desire and unbelonging. \u201cClub T\u00fa y Yo\u201d distills plaintive seduction into a story of eternal romance. The orchestral arrangement from Helado Negro collages bongos, muted saxophones, and cowbells, recalling the timelessness of a beloved bolero. \u201cClub T\u00fa y Yo\u201d captures Buscabulla\u2019s singular ability to refract their roots into a kind of melancholy retrofuturism. \u2013Isabelia Herrera<\/p>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Buscabulla, \u201cClub T\u00fa y Yo\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Atlantic<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Cardi B: \u201cWAP\u201d [ft. Megan Thee Stallion]<\/h2>\n

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion rapped such a rich tapestry of filth on \u201cWAP\u201d that it earned a face-breaking 93 million streams in its first week and immediately went No. 1. This wasn\u2019t a mere lyrical double-team, but two women in their career prime overpowering pop with a raw anthem attuned to the very specific frequency of certain pandemic urges; the rare instant hit that exists as a trend and future monument. Of the many words that could describe their duet\u2014dirty, vulgar, nasty, explicit\u2014none come anywhere close to capturing the attitude of the acronym itself. Over the tremors of a Baltimore club classic, \u201cWhores in This House,\u201d Cardi and Megan forgo euphemisms entirely (\u201cI wanna gag,\u201d etc.) to present an airtight case in favor of women expressing full-bodied lust. Megan presumably stands before an appellate court to do so, admitting, \u201cYour Honor, I\u2019m a freak bitch,\u201d while a Cardi verse somehow tributes the unsung uvula amid an imposing tour de force of lecherous metaphors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

\u201cWAP\u201d is so decisively absent of shame that it\u2019s now positioned alongside similar anthems by the likes of Khia, Lil\u2019 Kim, and Trina. It\u2019s as resonant as it is unreachable: consider that, in a year of fairly learnable TikTok challenges, the dance for \u201cWAP\u201d asks that you transition from a floor-hump to a windmill split. It\u2019s a feat that the song exists at all, encapsulating a year in which women have been leading both the statistics and conscience of rap, and even forced conservative talking heads to contend with the extraordinary power of the word \u201cpussy.\u201d \u2013Clover Hope<\/p>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Cardi B, \u201cWAP\u201d [ft. Megan Thee Stallion]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Sony<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

ChocQuibTown \/ Sech: \u201cQu\u00e9 L\u00e1stima\u201d<\/h2>\n

Colombian trio ChocQuibTown has spent almost 15 years crafting protest songs about racism and injustice in Latin America and their home of Choc\u00f3. In 2020, they continued this tradition by tapping newly crowned Panamanian pop darling Sech, one of the few Black stars in Spanish-language pop music, for a collaboration. Over a sunny dancehall riddim, ChocQuibTown members trade verses with Sech about escaping a toxic romance. The luxe video, filmed in a colonial mansion, features an entirely Black cast of dancers and models. ChocQuibTown singer Goyo said the video was intended to highlight the exclusion of Black Latinx from Spanish-language music\u2019s visual world. With conversations about the whitewashing of reggaeton surging in 2020, \u201cQu\u00e9 L\u00e1stima\u201d went down as a much-needed tonic for an overwhelmingly white industry. \u2013Isabelia Herrera<\/p>\n

Listen:<\/strong> ChocQuibTown \/ Sech, \u201cQu\u00e9 L\u00e1stima\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Sie7etr3 the Label<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Chucky73 \/ Fetti031: \u201cDili\u201d<\/h2>\n

Chucky73 and Fetti031 know they inspire envy. It\u2019d be hard to argue otherwise: The ringleaders of the crew Sie7etr3 almost single-handedly reinvigorated the Latin trap movement with their singular Bronx flows. \u201cDili,\u201d from their joint EP, encapsulates the untouchable aplomb and effortless irreverence that made them one of 2020\u2019s rap revelations. Over a production of off-kilter piano keys, cocking guns, and speaker-knocking bass, Chucky and Fetti trade bars about flexing and shit-talking with steady, assured flows. Even if you can\u2019t ride through Highbridge or Fordham blasting \u201cDili\u201d at rude volumes, the pair\u2019s elastic Dominican palabreo hits hard enough to be enjoyed anywhere. \u2013Isabelia Herrera<\/p>\n

Further Reading: Meet Chucky73 and Sie7etr3, the Bronx Crew Bringing Latin Trap Home<\/div>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Chucky73 \/ Fetti031, \u201cDili\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

El Jefe Records<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

El Alfa: \u201cHablamos Nunca\u201d [ft. Bethoven Villaman, El Fother, and Kiko El Crazy]<\/h2>\n

El Alfa\u2019s \u201cHablamos Nunca\u201d runs like a graduate seminar in dembow flexing. The genre\u2019s global ambassador is in excellent form here, momentarily halting his quest for international fame via collabs with washed rappers like Tyga to return to the razor-sharp barbs and madcap antics that made him the king in the first place. Over a deliciously repetitive beat, El Alfa brushes off clout-chasing enemies with the ultimate snub\u2014a refusal to even speak<\/em> to them. The song\u2019s features put an international spotlight on OGs Bethoven Villaman and El Fother, along with formerly underground up-and-comer Kiko El Crazy, making \u201cHablamos Nunca\u201d a microcosm of the promise and potential coming out of today\u2019s Dominican dembow landscape. \u2013Isabelia Herrera<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Listen:<\/strong> El Alfa, \u201cHablamos Nunca\u201d [ft. Bethoven Villaman, El Fother, and Kiko El Crazy]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Incienso<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

DJ Python: \u201cADMSDP\u201d [ft. LA Warman]<\/h2>\n

Halfway through the gentle ebb of his album Mas Amable<\/em>, DJ Python turns down a slipstream of inner consciousness. Poet LA Warman\u2019s wary monologue sways over a faint backbeat suffused with the kind of dread usually found in haunted dubplates. Coming from Python, an ostensibly jolly club producer, \u201cADMSDP\u201d might leave you grasping for your bearings. But then, what is a chill-out room if not a sensory deprivation tank with beanbags? The soft power of this 11-minute guided dissociation holds true of any therapeutic method: The more you give in to it, the more necessary it becomes. \u2013Gabriel Szatan<\/p>\n

Further reading:<\/strong> DJ Python Will Make You Feel Good<\/div>\n

Listen:<\/strong> DJ Python, \u201cADMSDP\u201d [ft. LA Warman]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Domino<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Ela Minus: \u201cdominique\u201d<\/h2>\n

After years of playing in emo bands and releasing candy-coated electropop, Ela Minus splits the difference on \u201cdominique.\u201d The standout from her debut LP, acts of rebellion<\/em>, is a depressive ode to sleeping all day and never leaving the house set to bright, buoyant melodies. Even as she teeters on the edge of the abyss, wasting away with coffee and liquor as her only companions, she finds humor in the downward spiral: \u201cI should probably eat something that\u2019s not liquid,\u201d she deadpans. Recorded more than a year before much of humanity was sheltering in place, its themes of isolation and delirium feel prescient, offering a view from indoors that, for many, will look like a reflection. \u2013Matthew Ismael Ruiz<\/p>\n

Further Reading: Ela Minus Makes Techno-Pop for Everyday Rebellion<\/div>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Ela Minus, \u201cdominique\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Futuro Cojunto<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Futuro Conjunto (Simonada): \u201cHeatdeath\u201d<\/h2>\n

Futuro Conjunto<\/em> is a speculative fiction multimedia project imagining the sounds of South Texas\u2019 Rio Grande Valley from an apocalyptic future via a bootleg recording of a concert in an abandoned rocket facility. It\u2019s also an amalgamation of the sounds of the Valley\u2019s present, filtered through the minds of Jonathan Leal and Charlie Vela, two natives invested in documenting the music of their home. Simonada isn\u2019t a real band\u2014it exists solely for the purposes of Futuro Conjunto\u2019s narrative\u2014but it features the very real musicians Ruben Farias, Andy Pe\u00f1a, and Jesika Espiricueta. The lyrics in \u201cHeatdeath\u201d tell of the distorting effects of high temperatures, but the song\u2019s somber melody feels more like an elegy for a universe that\u2019s run its course. May our own ends sound so beautiful. \u2013Matthew Ismael Ruiz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Listen:<\/strong> Futuro Conjunto (Simonada), \u201cHeatdeath\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Self-released<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Haraca Kiko: \u201cLos Bobo Son M\u00edo\u201d<\/h2>\n

Haraca Kiko is sketching a different kind of future for dembow. When \u201cLos Bobo Son M\u00edo\u201d dropped in June, it exploded into a torch song for the underground dembow movement, capturing the scene\u2019s freakier and goofier styles. Haraca Kiko\u2019s high-pitched voice squeaks over the moaning production from Leo RD, his signature pant punctuating the beat with an addictive sense of mischief. In the video, he frolics around the block wearing pigtails (\u00e0 la Loc Dog in Don\u2019t Be a Menace…<\/em>) and neon binky chains, like a candy-flipping \u201990s club kid. Few artists are having as much fun as Haraca Kiko, and the rest of the dembow universe would do well to pay attention. \u2013Isabelia Herrera<\/p>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Haraca Kiko, \u201cLos Bobo Son M\u00edo\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Adult Swim<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Helado Negro: \u201cI Fell in Love\u201d [ft. Xenia Rubinos]<\/h2>\n

While Helado Negro\u2019s Roberto Carlos Lange has been exploring experimental sounds and textures for more than a decade, his more recent work adopts more pleasant frequencies in service of space-age lullabies and healing spells. \u201cI Fell in Love,\u201d a one-off single featuring the eclectic Brooklyn singer-songwriter Xenia Rubinos, is likely the most direct song either artist has ever made. Yet there\u2019s power in this simplicity\u2014it eliminates any obstacles that might stand in the way of the song\u2019s sentiment, becoming an aural manifestation of love itself. Lange\u2019s soothing voice turns hypnotic when drenched in reverb, and Rubinos returns the energy in kind, beaming lights into the dark. \u2013Matthew Ismael Ruiz<\/p>\n

Further Reading: Helado Negro Breaks Down Every Song on His New Album, This Is How You Smile<\/em><\/div>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Helado Negro, \u201cI Fell in Love\u201d [ft. Xenia Rubinos]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Anti<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Lido Pimienta: \u201cEso Que T\u00fa Haces\u201d<\/h2>\n

On first listen, \u201cEso Que T\u00fa Haces\u201d seems like a plea to a partner who refuses to listen, who acts as though their gaslighting is evidence of affection. Lido asserts her worth as the production ascends into a spectral, porro-inspired beat. But when you look under the surface, this is more than a breakup song: It addresses centuries of abuse and erasure of Black and afro descendant people. The Colombian-Canadian artist says she wrote the song about the hypocrisy of the Colombian government embracing Blackness in moments of cultural celebration and international visibility, but still enacting violence through discrimination and social neglect. This is the power of \u201cEso Que T\u00fa Haces,\u201d and Lido Pimienta\u2019s music in general. It is a brash act of refusal\u2014of genre labels, of troubled relationships, but perhaps most importantly, of racial, colonial, and diasporic violence. \u2013Isabelia Herrera<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Listen:<\/strong> Lido Pimienta, \u201cEso Que T\u00fa Haces\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

RVNG Intl.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Lucrecia Dalt: \u201cDisuelta\u201d<\/h2>\n

The Berlin-based Colombian electronic artist Lucrecia Dalt spends much of her latest album No era s\u00f3lida<\/em> communing with specters\u2014specifically, an alter ego named Lia. On its opening track \u201cDisuelta,\u201d which swirls with circuitous synths and twinkling bells, her voice is phantasmic, drenched in reverb, dissolving the fine line between Lucrecia and Lia. Their back-and-forth\u2014spoken in an untranslatable glossolalia\u2014is felt as much as it is heard, imbued with meaning by both its participants and its witnesses. It\u2019s a language honed by years of experimentation with tones and textures, empowering her with the ability to wield electronics as instruments of organic expression. Spiritually, \u201cDisuelta\u201d is not too far removed from the field recordings of a Colombian forest that she also released with experimentalist Aaron Dilloway this year\u2014the placid sounds of noumenal conversation amid the ether. \u2013Matthew Ismael Ruiz<\/p>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Lucrecia Dalt, \u201cDisuelta\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Rancho Humilde<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Natanael Cano: \u201cAmor Tumbado\u201d<\/h2>\n

Mexican corrido revivalist Natanael Cano got a signal boost last year when Bad Bunny jumped on the remix of his hit \u201cSoy el Diablo,\u201d and he followed up that big look with no less than three projects in 2020. But it\u2019s \u201cAmor Tumbado\u201d\u2014technically released in the final days of 2019\u2014that best encapsulates why he\u2019s at the forefront of the corrido tumbado movement, which has artists updating the classic Mexican narrative ballad with flourishes to remind you that we\u2019re actually in the 21st century (\u201cLa canci\u00f3n se acaba y t\u00fa constante El WhatsApp,\u201d he sings). More than anything, Cano understands that so many of us are messy bitches that love drama at heart, and few mediums are as well equipped to deliver this like a corrido. \u2013Matthew Ismael Ruiz<\/p>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Natanael Cano, \u201cAmor Tumbado\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

ATO<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Nick Hakim: \u201cQADIR\u201d<\/h2>\n

Nick Hakim\u2019s tribute to a deceased childhood friend shines in the details. Steady yet anxious congas, a gentle flute, and bright keys meld into an affectingly soulful plea for a kinder world. Like passing through a space inhabited by the spirits of lost loved ones, \u201cQADIR\u201d is both comforting and unsettling. As the track swells to symphonic levels, Hakim\u2019s dusty timbre staggers to a halt and gives way to a haunting 10-person chorus, surrendering to a feeling that can no longer be expressed by words. Much like a life, \u201cQADIR\u201d reverberates long after it ends. \u2013Jessica Kariisa<\/p>\n

Further Reading: Nick Hakim on the Song He Wishes He Wrote<\/div>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Nick Hakim, \u201cQADIR\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

Atlantic\/Sugar Trap<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Rico Nasty: \u201cIPHONE\u201d<\/h2>\n

The first single off of Rico Nasty\u2019s raucous album Nightmare Vacation<\/em> considers the peaks and valleys of romantic love as analogous to our unhealthy relationships with our phones. Peppered with references to early aughts technological obsessions (\u201cHe on my hip like a Tamagotchi\/Leave a heart on my wall so I can know you like me\u201d), the track offers nostalgia wrapped up in the saccharine chimes and futurist hyperpop of 100 gecs mastermind Dylan Brady\u2019s production. In the track\u2019s most tender moments, the maxed-out vocal effects are toned down to center Rico\u2019s melodic pleas for affection, capturing the unique angst of chasing love behind a screen. \u2013Jessica Kariisa<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Listen:<\/strong> Rico Nasty, \u201cIPHONE\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Image<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n

XL<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Standing on the Corner: \u201cAngel\u201d<\/h2>\n

Standing on the Corner have a way of capturing the wooziness of love. In its tenderest moments, the experimental jazz-indebted ensemble slows things down in order to disorient and emotionally disarm\u2014the sonic equivalent of watching the world melt as your darling walks away upside-down and backward on the ceiling. \u201cAngel\u201d is another lovesick moment, resembling the group\u2019s doleful rendition of the jazz standard \u201cBody and Soul.\u201d The melody is sumptuous, somewhere between carnal and spiritual, with bursts of distortion or horns punctuating the wobbling beat. \u201cAngel\u201d is sad but happy, alluring yet absurd, expressing the simple things we struggle to define. \u2013Matthew Strauss<\/p>\n

Listen:<\/strong> Standing on the Corner, \u201cAngel\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Honorable Mentions:<\/strong> Aalok Bala: \u201cSue\u00f1o\u201d; Alice Bag: \u201cS\u00fabele\u201d; Carolina Camacho: \u201cEnredao\u201d; Empress Of: \u201cBit of Rain\u201d; Mula: \u201cEn el Aire\u201d; Nick Le\u00f3n: \u201cPelican Dub (extended)\u201d [ft. Lila Tirando a Violeta]; Omar Apollo: \u201cWant U Around\u201d [ft. Ruel]; Rita Indiana: \u201cComo un Drag\u00f3n\u201d; Sexores: \u201cVolant\u00eda\u201d; Yendry: \u201cNena\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

Source URL: https:\/\/pitchfork.com\/features\/lists-and-guides\/best-latinx-songs-2020\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lists & Guides The 22 Best Songs by Latinx Artists in 2020 From Lido Pimienta\u2019s ethereal affirmations to Ela Minus\u2019 synth-pop anthems to Bad Bunny\u2019s perreo throwbacks By Pitchfork December 15, 2020 El Alfa, Arca (photo by Alex Raduan), Bad Bunny, ChocQuibTown, and Lido Pimienta. Graphic by Drew Litowitz, photos via Getty Images. Latin American […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-1253286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-pitchfork-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1253286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1253286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1253286\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1253286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1253286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1253286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}