“For the better part of a decade, fans have been asking me to make moombahton again,” Dillon Francis tells Apple Music. "I wanted to give back.” The Los Angeles DJ/producer, known for his animated social media presence and silly sense of humor, hasn’t always made FM dance-pop with guests like G-Eazy and Kygo. Prior to his 2014 album, Money Sucks, Friends Rule, Francis was one of moombahton’s early ambassadors, working alongside Dave Nada and Diplo to bring the D.C.-area subgenre—a hybrid of dancehall and Dutch house that hovers at around 108 BPM—to the wider world. (Francis says the rhythms resonated with him after growing up around LA’s Latin community.) They more than succeeded; as superstars like Justin Bieber, DJ Snake, and Drake all tried Afro-Caribbean-inspired dance-music grooves on for size, the sound became a defining element of contemporary pop.
Great news, then, that Francis has looped back around to where he started. Drawing inspiration from his early hit “Que Que,” a 2011 collaboration with Diplo and Maluca, Wut Wut crosses between English and Spanish (“White Boi” featuring Lao Ra), and plays with vocals as instruments (“Bababa” featuring Young Ash). Those who’ve ridden with Francis from the beginning will lose their minds over "Ven," a rowdy dancehall-trap torpedo with an irresistible lean. “At first I worried too much Spanish might alienate fans who don’t speak the language,” he says, “but at the end of the day, you just need to feel it."