King Chango – The Return of El Santo – Album Review – CMJ

The Return of El Santo reaches superhero proportions with its fiercely bilingual, body-slamming drum 'n' bass en el barrio sound. Following up its dazzling self-titled debut, the New York-based King Changó returns with Mexico's most revered masked man as its theme. El Santo is the timeless hero who uses lucha libre technique to battle evil. Fittingly, King Changó (named after the god of war) has been fighting its own battle to break down language barriers in music. King Changó's first album blurred genre lines with aptly titled songs like "Melting Pot." Led by Venezuelan mastermind and tireless jest Blanquito Man (a.k.a. Andrew Blanco), the band pairs down the orchestra to a five-member multi-culti tag team on El Santo, inviting DJ/producer Ramon Nova to add a dose of la electronica to the already-hyper-fused sound (from mariachi to mambo, ska to samba, dancehall to cumbia). The Latin groove d'n'b "Tuversa D-Trip" and horny funk-rap "Best Dressed Pimp" (featuring the brass from Ozomatli) stretch King Changó's elastic sound even further. Blanquito Man uses that force for change as a coil, around which he wraps his themes of unity and protest. Too much stale music got you on the ropes? King Changó is here to save the day.

- Enrique Lavin - Oct 23, 2000

Read More about King Chango:

Sonic Net Review
Washington Times Review
King Chango Interview - loquesea.com