Guest
Oliver Wang
Culture writer, sociology professor, disk junkie. Author of Legions of Boom and co-host of Heat Rocks.
This week, Mark embarks on a journey of musical discovery, with Oliver Wang, co-host of the Heat Rocks podcast. If you’re not familiar with latin boogaloo, it’s time to get acquainted.
Oliver loves this fusion of more traditional latin melodies — with complex chords and meandering melodies — and the growing soul music movement, prevalent in 1960s New York, not just because of its inherently physical nature — this stuff just makes you wanna move — but because of what it teaches us about the culture at the time.
Just as a previous generation of immigrants embarked on a cultural exchange with the US and established themselves as the kings and queens of mambo and cha-cha-cha, so a new wave of second-generation American-raised Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Dominicans (to name a few) brought their musical heritage and mashed it up with the popular doo-wop and early R&B styles of the day.
Latin boogaloo wasn’t a lauded genre by purists, who saw it as a bit of a debasement of the complex and intricate style they were used to. It’s a story as old as time.
Get the Spotify playlist
To follow our Spotify playlist, full of all the songs we mention, sign up to Extra Envy, our free newsletter. It’s the perfect antidote to the encroaching autumn (the playlist, not the newsletter).
Honourable mentions
- Subway Joe — Joe Bataan
- In Line — George Guzman
- El Malo — Willie Colón
- Orchestra Harlow Presenta a Ismael Miranda
- Soul Sauce — Cal Tjader
- Dig My Feeling — Willie Bobo (single)
Oliver’s picks
In order of discussion:
Joe Bataan grew up in Spanish Harlem and was at one time a Puerto Rican gang leader, but he avoided trouble by forming a band with some boys from the neighbourhood, which he took to Fania Records. Oliver appreciates Bataan’s vocals as well as the latin music chops of the band, which is what makes it his #1 pick.
I Like it Like That — Pete Rodríguez
Fans of Cardi B will recognise the chorus of this album’s hit single, as it opens I Like It , and is heavily sampled throughout.
Wanted Dead or Alive — Joe Cuba
Bang! Bang! , this album’s first track, was the first giant latin boogaloo hit. Mark believes it both slaps and bangs. Like Pete Rodriguez, Joe Cuba got his start a little earlier, so was ready to capitalise on the genre’s, albeit short-lived, boom.
Released on Fania, this is a good representation of how an older musician adapted to the latin soul music movement, and is what Oliver considers one of the best exemplars of the genre.