[Si] TV

Reggaeton is dead! Not if Angel & Khriz have something to say. With their new album, Showtime, the duo has been steadily climbing the Latin music charts with their infectious dance ritmos. But the question of their genre's alleged demise always rears its ugly head. Here they answer that query, talk about music piracy and put Cuban-American rapper Pitbull in his place.

Si Ent.: What can your fans expect with your new album Showtime?
Angel: It's been four years since we've released an album. Showtime is a varied album; it has cumbia, merengue, vallenato, club and dancehall. Outside of Puerto Rico we get our biggest support from South America and Central America. So it made sense that we were influenced by those countries' music. On this album we decided to do a Mexican cumbia ("Va y Ven") because we hit so hard in Mexico. We did a bachata version of "Carita de Angel." This album is like a pharmacy because there's everything you need. Music is a universal language. We admire a lot of artists from different countries. We did five songs that are outside of your typical reggaeton sound. As far as the creative process we took sounds from different areas. For example we'd hear a guitar lick that we liked then we'd use it as an inspiration to create a new song.

Si Ent.: Were you surprised when "Ven Bailalo" became a mega hit?
Khriz: We were super surprised when "Ven Bailalo" hit. We were famous in Puerto Rico but not beyond there. Then with that song we started getting offers from Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, and Mexico. It's like our dreams coming to reality. Now when you mention reggaeton people think of us and "Ven Bailalo." Now we hope that the same success happens with "La Vecina."

Si Ent.: With the dismal state of the record business how do you fight against piracy?
Angel: It's impossible to fight against piracy. We have to find a way to stop all this piracy. It's not only affecting reggaeton but the entire music industry. Someone who sold 10 million before, now only sells one million. And if you sold one million you're selling 100,000 now.

Si Ent.: I interviewed Pitbull recently and he said the reason reggaeton in the States had a short life was because the artists didn't reciprocate the good will. They didn't pay it forward.
Khriz: What Pitbull did was do a remix of "Gasolina." No one helped reggaton do anything. We started doing this 16 years ago little by little planting the seed. And now we're seeing the fruits of our labor. Hip-hop had it super hard in ‘80s just like we had it in the ‘90s.
Angel: Pitbull collaborated a lot with reggaeton artists and I understand that helped him get into the Latin music industry. In the American music industry he did his thing but no one in the Latin music industry knew who Pitbull was until he sang with reggaeton artists. From what I understand I thought everyone helped out each other. So I don't know why he said that reggaeton artists never returned the favor. If he called us to do a song we'd say ‘yes.' It's just a matter of the industry being so bad right now. I remember Diddy saying on Making the Band that artists who used to sell three million now sell 200,000 units. It's a global thing. Tego [Calderon], Don Omar and Daddy Yankee helped us by way of introducing the genre but American Latinos only know those three faces.

Si Ent.: Reggaeton is known for its seductive dances. What's the craziest dance you've ever seen?
Angel: I remember a crazy incident from one of our performances at a club. A girl in the audience stood on her head; she then started dancing with her ass cheeks in the air! It was extra funny because she was an acquaintance. We didn't even know she danced; she was always quiet. Then all of a sudden reggaeton hit her and she let the wildness out.