In recent years, I've developed a musical obsession with new and old Latin soul. Nothing beats going for a long run in the evening, then getting home, pouring a glass of wine and cranking up a smooth, soothing song by Colombia's Kali Uchis, or a powerful vintage ballad by La Lupe.
I'm really lucky in that whenever I get a musical craving, I have an amazingly knowledgeable co-host, Felix Contreras, who feeds it. Few are as educated about Latin music as Gato Felix, or as enthusiastic about passing along his knowledge. That's how Alt.Latino started in the first place: I'd go up to Felix and talk to him about some exciting new artist, and he'd fill me in on the fascinating history of the genre. At some point, we figured we were having so much fun, and learning so much from each other, that we should let others in on our musical nerding-out sessions.
This week, we're visited by Jason King, who hosts NPR Music's wonderful R&B channel, I'll Take You There. So I brought Jason and Felix some of my favorite new Latin soul singers, from Miami's Kat Dahlia to Cuba's Danay Suarez, and they in turn took me on a tour of Latin soul's roots. It was so much fun, we didn't have room for all of Jason's picks on the show, but we've included them in the playlist below.
As always, we want you to add your two cents. Which vintage Latin soul singers should we be enjoying? What new musicians are exciting you? Share the knowledge in the comments.
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