Visions of them dividends…
[Video][Website][3.88]
Andy Hutchins: I strongly believe that no one without a financial interest in the Peas asked for Translation, and three months of the droning “Ritmo” on the radio has made me pine for the bizarro Jaden Smith verse from the remix to break up the tedium. Say this for “Mamacita”: Will’s verse is mostly unobjectionable, Taboo and apl are placed where their forgettability is a good thing, and Ozuna is more engaged than J. Balvin was. Toss in a passable Fergie impression from the band member who replaced Fergie but is getting her own credit here for some reason, and this is a step up.[4]
Wayne Weizhen Zhang: Ozuna puts in a decent effort. If you overlook some gratuitous lyrical choices, J. Rey Soul provides a strong enough hook. Unfortunately though, there are no words in English or Spanish that can adequately describe the aural torture that is will.i.am. Taboo and apl.de.ap continue to exist. [1]
Olivia Rafferty: The title hook just gives me this great image of will.i.am in the studio holding a mic to his face and drilling out the “MAMACITA, MAMACITA, QUÉ BONITA” lyric in one take and then sitting down with a self-accomplished “nice.” Classic Black Eyed Peas were always adept at infuriating hooks which feel stupidly simple (gotta get thatboom boom booooom) but stick like burst bubblegum to the face. New member J. Rey Soul has a timbre that serves eerie moments of “is that Fergie?” but before that thought fully forms, she sweeps in and stamps her own sound on the track. Combine it all with a healthy feature for Ozuna, and you’ve got a solid blend. [6]
Michael Hong: A track built to appeal to the Latin audience, where every option was chosen for convenience: the occasional substitution of one lyric for a Spanish word, the Madonna sample in lieu of their own generic Latin-trap beat, and the use of one of the most distinct Latino voices to offset the loss of the only member with personality.[3]
Leah Isobel: Black Eyed Peas’ trend-hopping is as shameless as ever, and there is a part of me that will always find their gleefully decadent capitalist anthems endearing. Still, this is pretty nothingy, and the “La Isla Bonita” melody and “One Dance” piano make it feel like a copy of other artists’ copies of non-American musical styles.[4]
Alex Clifton: It’s catchy and like… fine? I didn’t really want a Black Eyed Peas comeback in 2020, but it is thankfully better than “Dirty Bit” (a low bar, but one worth mentioning). It’s so nondescript though, something that plays in the club in the background but you don’t pay any attention to it because you’re too busy trying to talk to other people over the beat. (This is, of course, assuming a world post-quarantine where clubbing still happens.) [4]
Scott Mildenhall: It’s an enduring curiosity that will.i.am displays weird instincts more often than they actually congeal into something impressive. Even here you get the unspoken comedy of him awkwardly repeating the title, but as is most often the case, his primary instinct is to pander, with transparent desperation. “Mamacita” is functionally fine, but no more than that. It’s aiming to be an international big mega radio smasher, when if only it were aiming for INTERNATIONAL BIG MEGA RADIO SMASHER.[5]
Katherine St Asaph: From that future boom boom boom to yesterday, quite far away. [4]read more
Black Eyed Peas ft. Ozuna and J. Rey Soul – Mamacita
