Chingo Bling, Manu Chao, Wiley and Soda Stereo.

the music press

wed 9/5/2007

A collage of Chingo Bling, Manu Chao, Wiley and Soda Stereo.

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Houston's Chingo Bling releases his sophomore album, They Can't Deport Us All. Trill South Blog is in love with CB's latest: “If you like Houston rap and enjoy a little bit of flavor and comedy to your sh** at times, then you’re going to be a fan of this album.” The Washington City Paper digs the music but questions Bling's schtick: "[B]ecause of his clownish cholo appearance, he can’t be a serious champion of his ethnic group like rapper Pitbull, who literally wraps himself in a Cuban flag.”
Man of the people Manu Chao returns with La Radiolina, his long-awaited follow up to Proxima Estación: Esperanza. The New Yorker calls the album "[his] most direct yet, presenting him as a sincere man motivated equally by affection and quiet fury." The Guardian UK gives La Radiolina five stars and declares Manu Chao “the tribal leader of those who belong to no tribe, the voice for the millions who turn their backs on propaganda and celebrity.”
British Grime rapper Wiley releases Playtime Is Over – rumored to be his last album. The BBC is disappointed: “While sonically excellent, lyrically, too many tracks fall short of the grade.” Stylus Magazine magazine laments that “[t]hose of us [in America] need to accept that grime simply won’t ever catch on here," giving Playtime a "B".
Reunited Argentine rock veterans Soda Stereo release their best-of compilation, Me Verás Volver. The remastered tracks give the songs “a more modern feel,” according to fanblog Soda Stereo 2007, while Rock.com.ar laments that Me Veras Volver offers “nothing new of artistic transcendence."