BY: JAEQWON SUAREZ / MANAGING EDITOR
Latin artist Rauw Alejandro dropped his album Cosa Nuestra on Nov. 15, 2024, and fans love the 20s mafia vibes Rauw gives throughout the album.
Releasing three singles throughout the year, Cosa Nuestra has become one of my favorite albums thus far as we begin to end 2024. His experimental mixture of R&B, Salsa, and Rock has him honoring legends of the past while also giving a new spin on their ideas.
With 18 tracks and about an hour and ten minutes of listening, Cosa Nuestra is all about the acceptance of your past and understanding who you are when it’s all said and done, whether that be a loverboy or someone who still needs time to settle down.
The first track is the Album Title, “Cosa Nuestra”. The medium-tempo salsa song opens the audience to the world Rauw is setting, which is reminiscent of this Thug who is lost.
The song/album translates to “Our Things”, and the opening is just an overview of what we can expect with the rest of the album. He talks of trying to find a girl and how he feels insane that he can’t have her, asking God to help him.
He finds himself in this situation throughout the album, and it's beautifully expressed in the opener. I love the use of the radio station, as it almost feels like he was having this dream of never finding the woman he likes.
His second, “Dejamé Entrar” switches to more of an R&B slow song. The hints of salsa with the instruments could be a nod to “Cosa Nuestra”, as he still dreams and wishes that this girl would let him in and give him a chance.
This song shows a different side of this Thug character that he portrayed in the first song, as he presents as more of a gentleman waiting on her to accept him, showing just how deep in love he’s in.
He acknowledges this in the first half of the chorus:
“No puedo descifrar lo que dice su mente (Su mente, eh)
Pero su cuerpo pide algo diferente”
The third track is Reaggeton's “Que Pasaría,” featuring Bad Bunny. This is their second collaboration following Bad Bunny’s album Un Verano Sin Ti.
It always feels like when these two artists collaborate, they make the best party-girl music.
The next song, “Tú Con Él”, is a cover of the original song made by Franke Ruiz in 1985.
Rauw’s rendition of the song fantastically honors Frankie, as this was a song that many children and parents grew up listening to in the 80s. There is also a nod to the original towards the end of Rauw’s version before it transitions to a song produced by none other than Pharell Williams, “Committed”.
“Committed” is an R&B Latin song and the most popular from the album that both English and Spanish speakers can enjoy. I love how slow and vibey the song is, especially when all the horns come in at the end.
During these few songs, we see the Gentleman in Rauw turn bad, as he slowly fantasizes about having this woman so much it almost becomes an addiction, such as with “Expresso Martini” featuring Marconi Impara, Yan Block.
Like the drink itself, “Expresso Martini” has a touch of sweetness in the chorus for the listener’s ears before we get these incredible rap verses from these three artists.
His next song, “Baja Pa’ Aca” featuring Alexis y Fido is a trap reggaeton song speaking of the girl that he knows is watching him and vice versa.
It reminds me of early Trap Raeggeton, almost as if we have now transitioned into the 90s when it was becoming more common with artists like Daddy Yankee and Wisin y Yandel.
It’s a decent song and the feature adds a personality there that otherwise would’ve made this song forgettable.
“Ni Me Conozco” is placed top 5 for me and really shows the human behind this Mafia Thug facade that Rauw has been trying to put on up until now.
It’s about acceptance as the song roughly translates to “I don’t even know Myself”. He’s been so obsessed with this girl that he feels confused about who he’s supposed to be, often seen throughout the song how he sleeps with other women and goes to different bars trying to forget her.
This could be the after-effects of drinking or doing drugs, as you have this “downer” moment or realization that you’re not fine. The sample towards the end of the song reinforces this concept as it references a well-known song, “Gasolina” translated in French from another song by the artist Lartiste.
Serving as the midway point into the album, “IL Capo” has Rauw putting the facade back on as if he’s now trying to get back to being the Mafia Boss like at the beginning of the album.
It’s a great song and again encaptures this era of early trap which I’ve come to love from Rauw, especially with references to current situations about places or people. The use of Italian here reminds me of the 20s Mob Bosses aesthetic.
One of my favorites from the album features Columbian artist Feid in “Revolú”. Coming back to reggaeton, “Revolú” embodies the Mafia mindset as he goes back to obsessing over a woman, and he doesn’t care who sees her.
The next track is also one of my favorites placing two in my top five, “Mil Mujeres”. Rauw is never afraid to experiment with different types of music, and “Mil Mujeres” captures that from the start.
The electronic and pop meshes well with urban Latin, creating a sound that has you up on your feet. There’s even a breakdown at the end where it speeds up and goes all out before crashing down into the song “Khé?”
This Bachata song featuring the legend Romeo Santos beautifully explores the sometimes complicated situationships that fizzle out.
It’s clear from the beginning that Rauw doesn’t know what he wants, whether that is for her to stay or for her to leave. He states how time flies and how he writes about his feelings only then to delete for the fear that nothing will come of it, which then turns into a “What are we doing?” moment.
This all builds up to the second cover of the album, “Se Fue” originally sung by Laura Pausini. This version feels edgier with the instruments used compared to the original and still somehow encaptures that feeling of grief and sadness.
Continuing from “Khe?”, “Se Fue” is the result of Rauw not being able to decide after seeming to chase her with every previous track on the album. She has finally left him, and there’s nothing left for him except the memories and love he still feels for her, highlighting the complex emotions that come with loving someone so much that you’d think they would be better off without you and not even trying to risk being together, whether it ended up good or bad.
Almost as if trying to run away from his feelings, “Pasaporte” featuring Mr. Naisgai is next and has him talking about going to different places and cities, feeling as if he is finally returning to being himself again.
It’s electronic and house vibe gives the feeling of just walking down the street and suddenly breaking out into dance choreography.
I also felt this with his first single that’s next, “Touching the Sky”. The funky upbeat tempo makes you want to dance and forget about your worries, as if you’re touching the sky.
It’s such an addicting feeling, and in terms of its place in the album, it makes sense, as he met someone else who gives him that feeling that he can love again.
The next song is Rauw being vulnerable and learning to love through someone else, “Amar De Nuevo”. This has been my absolute favorite song, coming in at number one. It takes influences from Bolero and infuses that with R&B, so audiences end up with this unique love song that feels like you’re in a ballroom.
It’s beautifully constructed, with stack vocals in the background, and the chorus is amazing:
“No sé qué vaya a pasar con esto que tenemos
De mí quieres más, lo sé, pero no me atrevo
Me quiero lanzar en tu fuego
Enséñamе a amar de nuevo”
It ends off with another verse in which there’s been a ton of reverb added, almost as if we’re in his mind as he talks about how he once believed in love and how an angel (a new woman) saved him from his past.
We then go back into a rock song featuring an up-and-coming group in the music industry, Latin Mafia. Their song, “2:12 AM” talks about a party and how they wish to escape to spend more time in secret together.
“2:12 AM” has definitely made its way to my favorites, and the use of the electric guitar in verse 2 is by far my favorite part. It’s the perfect song to dance to and have fun, something that Rauw has mastered throughout Cosa Nuestra.
The last song off Rauw’s album is “SEXXXMACHINE”. Following the rock aesthetic til the end, the song samples the 1970 song by James Brown, “Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine”.
In the end, it seems as though Rauw has returned to himself, the Mafia Boss who sleeps with many women, putting love to the side.
What makes the song special is that he shouts out his father, who actually plays the guitar on “SEXXXMACHINE”.
The whole end has him thanking all the producers and people who helped make the album, including his band from Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Overall, the album felt complete and there weren’t any skips off the entire 18-tracklist. Cosa Nuestra has now surpassed over 300 million streams on Spotify, and he just announced the presale of his World tour, which begins next year in early 2025.
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