We missed Don Omar at MSG's Megaton ("The World's Largest Reggaeton Concert!") this past Thursday, but we were posted up at the Garden to watch him headline Megaton '04, where he stole the show with hits like "Dile", "Pobre Diabla", and "Dale Don Dale" off The Last Don. Because of that, it's sort of weird to see all those same songs pop up a full year later on the tracklisting for DO's new album, which hit our desk today and hits stores near you on December 9th.
Yet as far as recycling old material goes, Da Hit Man does a damn fine job of selecting only the choicest moments, like Don Omar's collab with Fat Joe, NORE and LDA (originally on the Reggaeton Latino compilation), his Tego joint off Los Bandoleros, and the Mr Vegas-assisted version of "Pobre Diabla". But what really blew our brain pans out was the Swizz Beats/Fabolous remix of "Dale Don Dale". F-A-B-O's Spanglish flirtations are forgettable, but the Swizz instrumental is a weirdly awesome slice of crossover perfection - the drums keep switching back and forth between reggaeton patterns and Swizz's signature boom-clap syncopation, and it's all backed by dude's most epic keyboard fanfare since "Banned From TV". A banger among bangers.
Don Omar photo by FADER contributor and bro bro Joshua Wildman. Check for more of his reggaeton shots in F27.