Afrodisíaco

“Right now, that's our responsibility—to make Latin music go big and international,” Rauw Alejandro tells Apple Music. As a leading figure in the popular R&B wave sweeping reggaetón, as well as the concurrent Latin trap and dancehall sounds, the Puerto Rican singer is undeniably doing his part. For his debut album Afrodisíaco, he brings his signature ladies’ man swagger to a variety of high-quality tracks, including some with proven hitmakers like Dímelo Flow and Sky Rompiendo. “When I collab with producers, I like to jump into their own world,” he explains. “I adjust real quick.” That adaptability reflects both his innate talents as an artist and his desire to push himself beyond what’s expected. And while Afrodisíaco represents a significant and serious milestone in his burgeoning career, Rauw insists he’s having fun all the while. “I don't feel like I'm working. That's a good thing about music: You can create and it's infinite, there's no limit.” Check out what Rauw had to say about some of his favorite tracks on Afrodisíaco, including some key collaborations with Anuel AA, J Balvin, Myke Towers, and ROSALÍA.

Dile a El
“I love all my songs, but one real special song is the first track of the album. It’s inspired by the old reggaetón. Motivando a la Yal, the Zion and Lennox album; Pa’l Mundo, the Wisin and Yandel album; Luny Tunes’ Más Flow—these reggaetón albums from back in the day. I put my R&B melodies in. Then I got to work with ROSALÍA on this track. We created an amazing outro I'm really really happy and excited for people to listen to that combination. It's an amazing song— It takes you through a big experience.”

Química
“Química” is on a whole other level, one of my favorite songs on the album. Shout-out to Mr. Naisgai, the main producer of the track. When I was doing the song, it was full dancehall. It didn't have the switch-up to house music. But when they put the filter in the middle of the song, just to feel the melody more, it came to my mind. I was thinking about house music. We called Caleb Calloway and he called the Martinez Brothers. I like to work with the best. I want to be the best. If the best thing for the song is to work with this producer, let’s do it.”

De Cora
“I used to be this heartbroken kid in high school. Sad songs are important in everyone's life; it makes you connect with your emotions and helps you go through it. Since I started my career, J Balvin was following me and we kept in touch, built up our relationship. We always wanted to collab together. I never rushed things. I always say, like, everything in the right moment. And I remember it was at the beginning of quarantine. Caleb Calloway, my producer, came up with this idea and we worked with another writer called D'Alexis from Puerto Rico. And I just saw Balvin on it. I dreamed Balvin was the perfect artist to be on that song. It was crazy. I sent it to him and right away, he fell in love with that track. He didn't take like three days to send me the vocals. I’ve got this sixth sense that tells me, 'You need to do this.' So I always follow my sense.”

Un Sueño
“I was working with Yampi in Puerto Rico. He had the idea of the beat already and he showed it to me. We flew to California because Yampi was working on his album Trap Cartel and he was doing a session with Trippie Redd. I was vibing with them. I got to know Trippie, we were talking, sharing music. Yampi showed him his song and he liked it so much he recorded vocals. Everything was so organic, so natural. I love when stuff happens like that, when you don't force things to happen.”

Reloj
“I was an R&B singer before I got into the world of reggaetón and dancehall. I sing for the ladies. I always try to find a balance—not too hardcore but not too cheesy. I’ve known Anuel since we were kids. We’re from the same city in Puerto Rico, Carolina. Then we grew up and we found ourselves again in the music. He's one of the biggest superstars in Latin trap and reggaetón. People wanted that collab of Anuel and Rauw Alejandro. People are going crazy for the record. They can't wait until the clubs are open again.”

Algo Mágico
“I don't want to be stuck in one type or genre of music. I like to explore and to expand. I know that I have that potential. 'Algo Mágico' is more like an ’80s vibe kind of pop thing. I did it in Colombia. I was looking for that diversity. It’s obviously about a girl. I'm talking about like personal stuff, things you need to live to tell. When you can connect with people, when you know what they feeling, that’s the magic of music.“

Ponte Pa’ Mi
“I’ve known Myke Towers since 2014. We came from the same wave of artists, the same generation from Puerto Rico. We were doing a lot of collabs, a lot of remixes together. Our first song, ‘Si Mi Permites,’ it was dancehall. We’ve always had a good relationship and good chemistry in the studio. When I was in the studio with Sky Rompiendo, he started doing the beat from scratch, looking for that melody. We kept building the beat; he’d put like small details, then the drums and percussion. It was a reggaetón beat first, and then we switched it up with dancehall. We felt the connection. It was ready in almost an hour. I called Myke and said to him to jump in real quick.”

Tattoo (Remix)
“‘Tattoo’ is my baby, that’s my treasure. After ‘Fantasías’ with Farruko, it was a huge shift for me, for my career. I was looking for another hit, and I think ‘Tattoo’ was that hit. It was so big that my managers wanted to do a remix, but I was in denial. You know, it was so special for me. I found out about Camilo, he's more like a pop artist. He’s so talented. He’s got an amazing voice. I thought about him and I said, 'Yo, if Camilo is not doing the remix, I'm not going to do a remix.' It was like that.”