Column: Spanish album a good idea for Uchis

“Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)” is the second studio album and first Spanish (well, Spanglish) album by Colombian-American singer Kali Uchis.

“Sin Miedo” being the singer/songwriter’s first Spanish album, I was excited to see what Uchis would do with this project, having only heard a handful of Spanish singles from her prior to this.

I first discovered Kali Uchis during her “Por Vida” days way back in 2016 when I randomly came across her music video for “Only Girl” (thank you to YouTube’s recommendations for that one).

I, like many other fans, fell in love with Uchis’s genre-defying music, with influences from doo-wop, reggae and early 2000s R&B.

In the early stages of her career, all of her songs were in English, gaining her a mainly American and English-speaking audience.

When Uchis started releasing Spanish singles like “Nuestro Planeta” and “Solita” later in her career, I was so excited to see her exploring the Spanish language in her songs.

I didn’t find out until much later that not everyone felt the same as I did.

A lot of people weren’t happy with Uchis’s decision to make Spanish music, and it may have even lost her some fans who weren’t willing to give her new music a chance due to the language barrier.

Though Uchis crossing over to Spanish was definitely a risk, I would say it was worth it in the end.

Uchis was definitely ambitious with this album, having to make various different genres work well together in not just one but two languages, allowing her to showcase her various talents.

“Sin Miedo” is all about Uchis’ upbringing, so it was largely inspired by the music she heard growing up.

In the album, she explores genres like boleros and reggaeton, recovering those genres for the new age, while also using more mainstream genres like bedroom pop and dream R&B.

The album shows her various influences, allowing her to pay homage to many artists: the Queen of Latin Soul La Lupe, reggaetonera Ivy Queen, Princess of R&B Aaliyah, English trip hop band Portishead and more.

There’s something very nostalgic about her album. It reminds me of the songs that would boom in the speakers during family parties.

Simultaneously there’s something very new and fresh about it. It explores the use of multiple genres and languages in a way I haven’t seen before.

I’m glad she took the risk. Uchis could have pleased her English-speaking fans and released another fully-English album, but she refused, and in doing so she has helped bring Latinx music to a whole new generation of people.

 

Kyara Morales-Rodriguez is a junior English major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].