Earlier this month, Duki unleashed one of Argentina’s most highly anticipated releases of the year: his debut album, Super Sangre Joven.
With the single “Goteo” already in the Top 10 of the Billboard Argentina Hot 100, the album was released under DALE Play Records and Duki’s own SSJ Records.
Now age 23, he sold out Luna Park Stadium in 2018, toured the world in 2019, and on Nov. 30, he will headline the Buenos Aires TRAP Fest 2019.
A track-by-track breakdown of Duki’s debut album, Super Sangre Joven:
1. “Te Traje Flores”
The beginning of Super Sangre Joven tests even the staunchest fan of the artist born in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of La Paternal, who has already landed in Mexico, Spain and the U.S. Beyond his natural talent to make choruses, the creative world of Mauro Lombardo was born in experimentation and in the interpellation to the genre that saw him thrive. “Te Traje Flores” — the opening track produced by Argentines Oniria, Yesan and Ferlflame (from Neuen Studio) — is not a pleasant welcome, but rather the entrance to a world from which there is no exit.
2. “It’s A Vibe” featuring C. Tangana, Khea & Leebrian
The first song contrasts with “It’s A Vibe,” the only song that is delivered in pure reggaetón style. It was conceived on a trip to Miami, and features C. Tangana, Khea and Leebrian. Produced by Sky, Duki puts together a dream team and gives free rein to his naked voice, without autotune.
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3. “Hitboy” featuring Khea
Then comes the first blow. Yes, of course Duki is Latin, but before that, he is Argentinian, and the local trappers have always looked north. It’s time for the already known “Hitboy” featuring Khea, “Trap N’ Export” and “Quavo” (songs from #ModoDiablo). Here, we find the man poaching the sounds of Travis Scott, Migos or Lil Pump.
4. “Señorita”
The brightness returns in “Señorita,” where he displays a register and flow never heard before. His versatility revolves around a beat influenced by Daft Punk and The Weeknd, telling a story of romantic conquest. It invites a second listening for its addictive melody and also because it seems to include its own remix inside, something like a pool inside an ocean.
5. “Me Gusta Lo Simple” featuring Aleman
“Me Gusta Lo Simple” with Mexican rapper Aleman maintains some of the R&B essence that “Señorita” has, but is a different ballpark altogether. Here, he uses autotune, free from prejudices over a boom-bap that invites you to lower the windows of the car and just relax.
6. “Perdón”
If someone misses the old Duki — with songs like “She Don’t Give a F.O.,” the one with raspy vocal cords and with the emotions under his skin — he can be found in “Perdón.” If we stop to think the track began to take shape in 2018, prior to his first tour of Spain, it is only logical. Although it took time to publish it, it reveals that prior to the mainstream explosion of trap in Argentina, the singer and his producers already were experimenting with the fusion with tango.
7. “A Punta De Espada” featuring Ysy A
And from Carlos Gardel he moves toward salsa with “A Punta De Espada,” the last advance of the album before its release. Featuring his cultural brother Ysy A, the song keeps it fresh. “He held his ground on that one. It’s one of the first takes; there are few who can do that,” explains Ferlaflame, who witnessed the occasion.
Oniria, producer of the track, added: “It was impressive. It was a more experimental beat, where a sample of a Colombian salsa was used. It became a futuristic salsa.”
The cheekiness with which it was recorded is reflected even in the backings — as if the rappers were in a cypher.
8. “La Jefatura” featuring MarcianosCrew & Lucho SSJ
This track is perhaps, along with “Te Traje Flores,” one of the most ambitious songs on the album. Not only because it had to be reinvented — Duki leaked it on social networks, and then re-recorded it — but also because Duki brought together three generations of Argentinean rappers in a moombahton: MarcianosCrew (age 38) and Lucho SSJ (age 17).
9. “One Million Dollar” featuring Sfera Ebbasta & Eladio Carrion
This is the most rock song, while at the same time, it works as the return point of the album to the trap that Duki has us more accustomed to. Clocking at 4 minutes and 40 seconds, it is the longest track, and its cadence prepares the field for an epic closure in the form of “Goteo.”
10. “Goteo”
This single, produced by Asan, is the rapper’s last anthem, and today, it remains in the Top 10 of the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 for the fourth non-consecutive week. With a universal sound and a sophisticated and catchy melody, it can be said that it is the track that 2019 demanded of an artist like him. That is to say, a versatile performer who has not betrayed himself.
Now, we just have to wait for the live rendition of these new songs. Less than two years ago, Duki was duelling in the squares with his freestyle, and now, he will take the stage to debut an album that shows him in his purest form: eclectic and versatile, while at the same time, experimental and popular.