Six years after his big breakthrough album,
Aquel Que Había Muerto, and a whopping 13 after his debut album,
Vico C was an anomaly in the reggaeton and Latin rap world: a veteran. In an industry where even the biggest names and heavy charters have a scant three or four records to their credit, any artist like
Vico C with 15 is one of two things, a relic or a legend. One listen to his 2004 release
Desahogo with quickly prove one thing, he's no relic. The production, though stylistically current, is head and shoulders above any contemporaries for sophistication and invention. One of the great downfalls of the reggaeton genre is its tendency toward repetition, probably due to its youth.
Vico C has variety and depth to spare. Super-clean, sharp reggaeton programming meets the East Coast dirt-sample on several tracks. This is much to the delight of Latino hip-hop fans who have grown tired of the kiddie-pool-deep production that currently rules the market. With hooks that show ingenuity and arrangements to match,
Desahogo earned its 2004 Latin Grammy nomination. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez