- DJ Lycox's second full-length paints batida with a lick of pop sheen.
- Two of DJ Lycox's favourite producers are DJ Danifox and DJ ADAMM. Unlike the rambunctious tracks on DJ Marfox and DJ Firmeza's early Príncipe records, these second-wave producers smooth out the edges of batida, even occasionally singing over their music. Where Marfox and Firmeza's batida felt like instrumentals to kuduro (batida's MC-led Angolan predecessor), Lycox is part of a younger generation trading kudurista rawness for a polished, more accessible take on the style.
Lycox has been experimenting with batida's melting pot of sounds for over four years. The spacious elegance of his 2020 EP, Kizas do Ly, took a leaf out of kizomba pioneer Eduardo Paim's book, while the tumbling drums and short vocal samples on 2021's LYCOXERA brought it back to contemporary batida's roots in kuduro. Lycox's first full-length in seven years, Guetto Star, feels like the most exciting amalgamation of those two projects. It moulds kuduro's MC-focused sound into mutated R&B shapes, replacing the rough and ready samples of OG Marfox and Firmeza batida with hooks to sing along to.
After 20-plus years, batida is still yet to really break out. "Maybe this music can never be quite as massive as other Afro styles," laments the press release for Guetto Star. The album gives batida's jostling rhythms a sleek, almost poppy sheen; a blueprint for how the genre could reach a wider audience. The clue is in the name: on Guetto Star, Lycox intentionally moves batida towards a mainstream sound.
Lycox sings about a friend who only speaks Lingala on "Edson no Ugíe" ("Ey meu amigo, que se chama Edson, só fala lingala") over giddy harpsichord and zany guitar chords. Were this to have a couple more verses, it would make a hell of a karaoke crowd pleaser. Even the opening piano chords on "Guetto Love" might remind you of those that open Drake and Rihanna's cover of "Take Care." Here, Lycox pulls the same tricks that make love songs and R&B tunes get thousands of radio plays: long, downward chords, a heartfelt voice and even a twangy guitar solo tearing through the middle of it. If batida has the power to make neighbourhood stars out of the likes of DJ Marfox, then Lycox seems to lightly suggest that he's making a play for global recognition.
While Lisbon's '00s-era beatmakers rocked the city through the sheer energy and creativity of their tracks, Lycox and his peers bring a more Gen Z attitude to batida, using samples that practically spell out their emotions. "Mortal Kombat"'s bleating clarinet and jittery keys, for example, foment nervy scenes. Each instrument creates so much space that it sounds like Lycox is conducting a free jazz ensemble at London's Cafe OTO rather than hunched over his MASCHINE. With these bits of kit, young batida producers are even more deliberate about what their sounds communicate. "Continua a Mexe" roughly translates to "keep moving," but the word "mexe" also means "mix," and this is exactly what Lycox does with the shakers, metal drums and hand drums on the track, gradually churning them up into an African Head Charge-like frenzy.
For those wanting something more physical, Guetto Star has that, too. The toms on "Pedale Ku El" splatter like paint and the kicks on "Energia" could shift sandbags. On these tracks, Lycox dims the romance and chuffs up drums how earlier Príncipe producers would. The nods to OG batida are an important counterbalance, ensuring the genre doesn't move a million miles away from its origins on the Lisbon dance floors of the early '00s. Of the younger generation bringing in more emotional touches to batida's bolshy palette, Lycox remains acutely aware of the genre's rich history. On Guetto Star, Lycox takes batida by the hand and leads it consciously and carefully towards the limelight.
トラックリスト01. YAAAHH
02. To Bem Loko
03. Edson no Uíge
04. Pedale Ku El
05. Guetto Love
07. Contemporaneo
08. Mortal Kombat
09. Staring at the Moon
10. Continua a Mexe
11. Energia