Jowell and Randy Declare August 7th the ‘International Day of Perreo’ With New LP

Straight outta Carolina: Reggaeton shock jocks Jowell and Randy are back, and they’re nastier than ever. Just a week after releasing their fifth studio LP, Lost In Time, the pair chased it with a riotous sixth studio album, Viva el Perreo, on Thursday night via Rimas Entertainment. It was shortly after their LP release that the gents declared Friday, August 7th, the International Day of Perreo.

Long before they threw down on Bad Bunny’s retro-fitted 2020 reggaeton classic “Safaera,” Jowell and Randy served as the linchpins of Puerto Rico’s reggaeton scene throughout the 2000s under the banner of legendary label White Lion Records. The two assert their staying power in Viva el Perreo, or Long Live Perreo: 14 tracks as sticky as a nightclub floor on a Sunday morning. Heavyweight champions like Don Omar and De La Ghetto make for some memorable cameos — plus newcomers Miky Woods and Barbie Rican. J Balvin pushes his romantic pop agenda in the atmospheric glow of “Anaranjado,” perhaps a lost B-side from Colores. Dominican MC Kiko El Crazy features prominently on “Se Acabó la Cuarentena” — “Quarantine Is Over” — an ephemeral dembow made for an unhinged street party, in a post-pandemic future. “Que llego del Netflix/Yo me voy pa’ la calle, dale tírame un selfie!” spits Randy.

Bad Bunny switches lanes and serves as the executive producer of the album under the moniker “San Benito.” Still, he can’t help but enter the foreground as a vivacious radio jockey in closing track “La Parabi,” a Spanish-language comedy sketch in the style of Cheech and Chong’s bawdiest works. DJ Benito signs off with a parting PSA, lest his listeners at home forget: “Just because you dance all night with someone doesn’t mean you’ll end up in bed with them!” So mote it be.