Albums : Wisin & Yandel : Líderes
Albums : Wisin & Yandel : Líderes
Who Is Wisin & Yandel?
About 15 years ago, Wisin and Yandel were two young guys who lived in the same neighborhood, went to the same school, and shared a mutual interest in music. Yandel worked with his friend Fido making urban music and Wisin worked with Alexis. But it just so happened that an important youth music competition was nearing and Fido had gone to the Army. Yandel sought out Wisin to accompany him on that occasion, and the pair won the competition and decided to stay together. (Interestingly, their respective companions also joined forces and formed another successful duo: Alexis and Fido).
From their humble beginnings, Wisin (Juan Luis Morera) and Yandel (Llandel Veguilla Malave) only reserve their passion for their music and its simplicity. Today, in addition to being entrepreneurs who manage their own record label and clothing line (Los Lideres, sold at Macy's), they are called the superpower of social media because their videos are seen by millions of people (I feel you and I am falling in love have more than 60 million views on YouTube). But in truth they continue to be just good friends who share many interests.
When you began to sing together, did you dream that you’d become famous?
Yandel: We are boys from the ‘hood that never thought we’d be where we are; reggaeton was strong in our neighborhood and we dreamed that our friends would listen to us. Later the dream became bigger and we wanted to be well-known in all of Puerto Rico. I remember that we used to charge $500 for appearing at a nightclub. That was divided into three equal parts: the DJ, Wisin and I. At one of our first shows, on our way to the nightclub our car broke down. That was only the first of many obstacles, but the three of us were fighters.
Wisin: Actually we started with a passing dream that we wouldn’t embrace because what we were doing was considered a juvenile genre and back then, frowned upon. But we did it because we wanted to impress the girls from school.
What has surprised you most about the fame?
Yandel: Seeing 50,000 people in a stadium is incredible. Even now that I've seen it so many times, it doesn’t cease to amaze me. Or to have rows of people waiting outside because they weren’t able to get a ticket.
Wisin: I am surprised by how fragile it all is. Actually, as an artist you have to take care of your music and also of your image, because fame is fleeting. We know that the public deserves respect and that we need to stay in contact with them and treat them well, because when they cease to respect us, we will no longer be where we are now.
Some time ago you both separated. Why?
Yandel: We had made five albums and we wanted to do something different: a solo disc to fulfill the dream we had to be individual artists. But it was a very funny "separation" because we shared everything, even the profits!
Wisin: We are artists who need to experiment, and that freedom is necessary to continue to grow. We had an artistic whim and we talked about it a lot. That was why we had a "separation" with a lot of communication.
When you think of your partner, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Yandel: Wisin is a friend, a brother. We have been together in the good and the bad. Together we have achieved what we have fought for—and Wisin is quite a fighter! He is a great father who would do anything for his children.
Wisin: Yandel is a warrior waging the war of daily life. He’s humble and sincere. Together we have fought in a genre that people took time to appreciate, and have overcome all of the obstacles together. Having seen his calm and optimism through it all has made me proud of working with him.
What does each of you bring to the duo?
Yandel: Perhaps people think that one writes the music and the other the lyrics, but that is not true. We both write everything, and if the ideas don’t come to one of us one day, the other helps. Where we most divide the work is on the stage: I sing a medley, and he will do the aggressive lyrics. But there or in the studio, everything flows evenly.
Wisin: In every partnership, it’s better if each person is different. In this case he is always concerned with business, and I focus on the music. This is necessary for us to have a good working relationship.
What is the biggest misconception the public has made about your partner?
Yandel: That he is aggressive! Since Wisin performs the group’s strongest chants, people think that he is aggressive or always angry. But Wisin is a man with a big heart. He’s always taking care of his wife and their children as well as others. He leaves the aggression on stage, because in real life he is really kind.
Wisin: People believe that Yandel is quiet, but he isn’t. It is true that he’s more reserved than I am, but he talks so much! Perhaps with strangers he won’t speak much, but those who know him are aware that he loves to talk and tell jokes. But above all, when the time comes to make decisions, we both have a voice, because here we don’t do anything without consulting each other. If one does not agree, it isn’t done. We have a very clear understanding: that what we earn (a dollar or a thousand) is divided in half. We know that we are in this together. (Read More)
Lideres Review
La Roja and I started listening to the Puerto Rican duo, Wisin y Yandel around 2006, and like so many of the artistas we obsess over…I mean, listen to…we had high expectations for their July 3rd release, Lideres. Luckily (and not surprisingly) these guys haven’t disappointed, but have given fans an album that suggests quite simply they don’t have anything to prove.
The stand out feature of Lideres is how different it is from their earlier work. While the overall vibe is undoubtedly Wisin y Yandel, it is much more laid back than what we’re used to hearing. They have integrated slower beats and more pop elements that make the fifteen tracks more of a fusion of sounds than only the hard edge of reggaeton. Granted, I love the hard-edged reggaeton…but I’m loving this laid back fusion tambien.
“Un Beso” might be the perfect example of what I’m talking about…the song is almost surprisingly pop-ish, but then they break into it with their signature rapid-fire rap bringing in that WyY sabor we all know and love. This creates a kind of musical hybrid that is unique to what we are hearing from others on the scene right now (there is even a distinctly island-ish flute element…adding another layer). You can really hear these pop influences in the other songs too like “Tu Nombre“, “No Te Detengas“, “Una Bendicion“, “Noche de Carnaval” y “Algo Me Gusta de Ti” (There are two versions of this one, and I prefer the non-Chris Brown/T-Pain edition).
Then there is their collaboration with Jennifer Lopez, on their sexy single “Follow the Leader“. Sure, JLo has a long history of working with rappers, but she is still situated squarely in the mainstream pop/dance music elite. (Side note: La Roja and I were thrilled about this track. I mean c’mon on…JLO + WyY? Pure genius…if only they were still touring together…). So, it definitely marks a new path for these guys. It’s true they’ve collaborated with other pop stars, like Enrique Iglesias and Nelly Furtado, but they’ve never done it to promote their own album this heavily before. They are clearly reaching for a wider demographic, and they are doing a really good job at it.
Listening to the album as a whole, its easy to see that single and the other pop infused hybrids fit in perfectly together with the other tracks for one complete product, and this is because WyY, like many other reggaetoneros (Daddy Yankee y Don Omar, I’m looking at you.) are choosing to evolve. It seems often in the music business, we see artists who are less invested in their work and are only trying to offer what will sell records or maybe too scared to push boundaries, but this is not WyY. They are toeing this line really well by giving listeners what they want but by also staying true to who they are. And in this, WyY really do live up to the title the album claims…the duo have positioned themselves as musical lideres.
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