Customer Reviews

Ozomatli

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought the Ozomatli complete output of 2 CD's backwards, first "Embrace the Chaos" and next their self-titled debut. Of the two, it's hard to say which is better...it's a toss-up. It's pretty much a non-stop party with a world tour throughout the album sometimes making disparate stops all within the same song...but it works wonderfully.

There is hip-hop, ska, reggae, jazz, flamenco, funk, salsa, mariachi, eastern tinge, western energy, you name it, its here. The prevailing flavors though are a variety of Latino styles across the board and street hip-hop. The production and sound is actually better on this CD vice their second release "Embrace the Chaos". But the hip hop for me is more alive on "Embrace the Chaos."

Standout tracks are "Como Ves", "Super bowl Sundae", and "Cut Chemist Suite." It's difficult to remain in your seat when these are playing. Ozomatli just has a good feel to the music. Go buy this and wear it well...all around the world.

I decided to buy this CD based on all the positive reviews that it recieved and all the "Top 10 Albums of 1998" lists it appeared on. I was expecting to hear some great music and when I finally bought the CD, I wasn't disappointed! I have a new favorite band! Ozomatli is truly awesome and their mix of several different musical and cultural styles is outstanding! I LOVE IT! Too bad the small, microscopic fraction of people who don't like the album can't appreciate real music. From what I hear, the band is even better live. I've never seen them live yet (I'm a newcomer to the Ozomatli bandwagon), but I would jump at the chance to see them. This album is simply the best one I've heard in years. This ain't no tired pop music stuff, this is the music of the 21st Century! Ozomatli definitely has potential. If they can remain consistent in making great music from the heart and staying real, then they will enjoy a long and successful career. I hope to see Ozomatli still rocking the house 25 years from now!

As a fan of J-5, the release of this album made sense, in that Jurassic 5 make a point of putting their music first and image last. Ten piece band 'Ozomatli' seem to work perfectly in tandem with Chali 2na an Cut Chemist, blending all of their styles so well that it sounds as if this is how hiphop should be- a fusion of a wide variety of styles. When this album came out, i would listen to it over and over again, and because of the albums' diversity, it never felt tiresome. It is very difficult to put into words how successful this collaboration is, buy it and you will understand. For those who dont want to buy it, download track such as:
cut chemist suite, o le le and cumbia de los muertos

When I saw Ozo on Conan O'Brien, I was so impressed with a huge (13 piece?) band playing hip hop that I bought the CD the next day. At first I really only got into the rap tracks with Chali 2na. The reason at the time was that I didn't understand Spanish. But after learning spanish over the course of a couple of years in Sudamerica, I gave it another listen and saw the true musicianship that went into this album. Buy it for the message, and if you don't always understand the words, buy it for la pura musica.

This is one of the best Latino cd's I am proud to play in my rotation 6 years after the album was released. I first heard Ozomatli when they opened for Santana in Montreal and I was like woah! I was on my feet dancing throughout their opener. They were so pumped and hyped that no matter what mood you are in they just get you in this partying and dancing mood that you cannot resist. If you are the kind of person who loves those smooth Latino beats blended with a bit of everything for an ultimate summer driving cd be sure to pick this up!!!

Yo, this band is dope! Imagine a group of ten musicians, with guitars and a horn section, that is deeply rooted in Latin music, but also jams on funk, ska, and hip-hop.Now add a rapper and a dj to this group, making it extra funky. This, my friends, is Ozomatli. Man, these cats can GROOVE! Another spice to these tunes are the lyrics- which are both in English and Spanish- and convey themes of human rights, rebellion, community, and revolution. It's kinda like a combination of Santana, the Roots, and Rage against the Machine. Ah, who am I kidding? Ozo is in a class by itself. These guys have got talent, energy, and creativity. When you hear the music, you automatically move to the beat. My personal fav's on this album are tracks 2, 6, 8, and 11. So check this band out, yo, and I guarantee that your soul will be lifted. Viva la Revolution!

As lucky L.A. residents have known several years now, Ozomatli's performances are chaotic, spirited, spontaneous--absolutely alive, and though it must have been quite a challenge to capture that here, this CD does so brilliantly. Completely bilingual, Ozomatli moves freely back and forth from Spanish to English without batting an eye (except perhaps to wink once in a while), and a list of musical elements these guys mix could go on and on: salsa, rap, dub, reggae, cumbia, banda, samba, funk, hip hop, Indian, African, world, etc. Take for example "Cumbia de los muertos," which starts off with a fairly normal cumbia groove laid out complete with high stacatto horns, then segues effortlessly into a thick reggae/dub section with rapping and spacey ambient turntable samples, then somehow works its way back to the cumbia--and it all makes sense. The African sound of "Como Vez" is infectuously danceable, as are the salsa/Afro-Cuban grooves of "Donde se fueron," "Eva," and "O le le." Chali 2na's rapping voice is resonant, warm, his style replete with intelligent, complex rhythmic structures-his is that all-too-rare commodity in the rapping world: a voice actually used as a real instrument in itself, complimenting perfectly the Latin-flavored funk of songs like "Superbowl Sundae," "Chota," and the 70s-flashback/homage, "Coming War." Other songs are simply great raucous fun, perfect party songs--"La misma cancion," "Chango," and the opening of "Como Ves," are perfect examples. Throughout all their material, though, there is a deep, profound humanity and compassion, a seriousness about their work, a love for life, that makes this band one of the greats. Proof positive that the future--and present--state of US culture and music depends more on its place in the larger Latin American continent, and in the world community beyond that, than many seem to realize or admit.

Ozomatli was very impressive when I saw them open for Carlos Santana in Cleveland in June 1999. They called me up on stage and I played a guitar solo in front of 16,000 people. Mainly I was gonna go on Amazon.com later that night to go buy their CD, but they gave it to me, along with a T-shirt. The tracks on this CD combine latin music and hip-hop. "Cut Chemist Suite," "Oh Le Le," "Super Bowl Sundae," and "Cumbia" are prime examples of this superb mixture of urban hip-hop and pure, smooth latin music. OZO rules! Wazzup to Chali 2na, Raul, Wil-Dog, "El nino," Cesar, and the rest of the guys from OZO! Thanks for letting me play with you! This CD deserves to be at the top of the Billboard charts, these guys appeal to everyone! Rock, Rap, Soul, Reggae, Latin, Blues Jazz, R&B, New Age, and even Pop! Ozomatli is a great band and is here to stay!

I got into Ozo after seeing the video of "Cut Chemist Suite" once or twice. I bought the album expecting more of the same - well, I think my expectations were more than met by this incredible piece of work.

It seems to almost be the only way to become famous these days as a new act is to mix various styles together, usually with bad results. Ozo do this as well (mixing rap and salsa with various other genres) but the difference is that they actually bring it off. Chali 2na and Cut Chemist (as I found out by accident after hymning their praises for a long time) have done similar work to what they do here with Jurassic 5 and their album "Quality Control" would certainly be something to check out if you enjoy the hip-hop elements of this album here.

The only ways I can think of to describe their sound wouldn't do Ozomatli credit but I'll try anyway. The hip-hop cuts ("Super Bowl Sundae", "Coming War" and "Cut Chemist Suite" in particular) come out sounding like a latin-ized version of The Roots with virtuoso rapping over live instruments. The other tracks (broadly classed as "salsa") have enough beat and rhythm to make you want to dance while being sufficiently different from most other dancefloor tracks that you'll sit back for a bit and think "wow" before dancing.

I've had a look at most of the lyrics (not speaking Spanish myself, I've had to rely on translations of those ones) and not only do they have marvellous rhymes and cadence (either J5 or Latin, depending on the track) they also have meanings behind them. This proves that, where they could have simply pumped together some dancefloor beats and meaningless lyrics, they actually went to the trouble to write lyrics that mean things in both Spanish and English.

To my mind, the hip-hop cuts mentioned above are standouts although to the mind of a non hip-hop fan - yes, they would like the album as well - the Latin tracks would be the better ones.

As I said above, buy this album regardless of what sorts of music you like, there's at least something for everyone here.

I kept seeing this video on M2 for a song called 'Cut Chemist Suite'... I had no idea what was up with this music, but I damn sure knew that I liked it. The fusion of Ozomatli is what it's all about. I've never had the pleasure of seeing them live, but I don't doubt that they put on a great show. I'm on here getting a new copy of the CD because my ex-boyfriend made off with my old copy... I don't miss him, but I sure do miss the CD!! WARNING: there are songs on this CD that are in spanish. It doesn't matter if you can't understand the words, though... the music speaks for itself, and we ALL know how to dance when we hear something like this. You will not be dissappointed with this CD, and I agree with the other reviewer who said that this band should definately be more popular than they are. This is great music- enough said.