Dicen Que Soy | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 20, 1994 | |||
Recorded | 1994 | |||
Genre | Salsa, tropical | |||
Length | 44:52 | |||
Language | Spanish | |||
Label | RMM | |||
Producer | Sergio George | |||
La India chronology | ||||
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Singles from Dicen Que Soy | ||||
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Lyrics to I Just Want to Hang Around You by India from the Dicen Que Soy album - including song video, artist biography, translations and more! Watch the video for Dicen Que Soy from India's Dicen Que Soy for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. Dicen que soy La maldicion de tu vida Obsesion que te domina Destructora de tu honor Dicen que soy Gata negra y mala suerte Que he secuestrado tu.
Dicen Que Soy (They Say That I Am) is the third studio album by Puerto Rican-American recording artist La India released on September 20, 1994 by RMM Records. The album was produced by American musician Sergio George, who chose the songs for India to record with an emphasis on feminism to suit with her voice. The production mixes salsa music with other rhythms such as funk and timba. Five singles were released from the record with 'Nunca Voy a Olvidarte' and 'Ese Hombre' topping the Billboard Tropical Songs chart.
Dicen Que Soy was well received by music critics for the arrangement and selection of songs for the album. The success of the record led to India receiving a Billboard Latin Music Award and a Lo Nuestro nomination. In the United States, it peaked at number four and one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and Tropical Albums charts respectively, and has sold over 140,000 copies as of 2000.
- 6Chart performance
Background[edit]
Following the release of her debut studio album, Breaking Night (1989), La India went on to produce When the Night is Over (1991), a collaboration between her then-husband Little Louie Vega and Marc Anthony. Both albums were recorded at the time when freestyle music's popularity was beginning to wane, and neither was a commercial success.[1] India and Vega left Atlantic Records, as India wanted to pursue her singing career performing in Spanish.[2] Three years later, American musician Eddie Palmieri, who had heard her singing on the radio, wrote and produced India's first Spanish-language record titled Llegó la India, via Eddie Palmieri (1992).[3] Although it was a commercial success,[4] her high-pitched vocals were criticized.[5]
Subsequently, India was signed to Ralph Mercado's record label RMM. Her first recording under the label was a cover of Basilio's song 'Vivir lo Nuestro', a duet with Anthony for the RMM compilation album Combinacion Perfecta (1993).[6] It was released as a single where it peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.[1][7] The record was produced by American musician Sergio George who picked the song for the duo as he felt it was the right track for them to perform, despite the pair not being close friends at the time. George said he took the recording as a 'personal challenge' because he believed India's voice was 'extraordinary'.[5]
Recording and musical characteristics[edit]
Since house music at the time was her forte, I had her sing house style vocal riffs over the salsa tracks, even over where horn lines would normally go. Instead of hearing a horn 'mambo' as usual, I gave you India doing her thing, which gave her an identity and sound that no one else had.
Sergio George, Descarga.com.[5]
For Dicen Que Soy, George picked songs that had been previously recorded by female Latin singers such as Rocío Jurado and Lupita D'Alessio, with a focus on feminist lyrics. George, India, and Shirley Marte also wrote love songs ('Dejate Amar' and 'No Me Conviene') for the album and added India's cover of George Benson's song 'I Just Want to Hang Around You' as a counterbalance, in case the feminist songs did not prove popular.[5] When describing the production, India said that 'This is me, my flavor in a tropical way, and showing what I can do with my voice.'[8] The theme of the title track's lyrics revolves the singer being criticized by gossips without caring about their opinions.[9] Puerto Rican singer Tito Nieves is featured on the song 'No Me Conviene' and 'Vivir lo Nuestro' was included as a bonus track for the album.[10] Musically, the production mixes romantic and hard salsa music along with funk and timba.[3] The record took four months to complete.[5]
Singles[edit]
A 28 second sample of the track, 'Ese Hombre', one of the songs that La India covers in the album. | |
Problems playing this file? See media help. |
'Nunca Voy a Olvidarte' was the first single to be released from the album. It peaked at number 11 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and number one on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart.[11][12] The second single, 'Ese Hombre', reached number 12 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and became her second number-one song on the Tropical Songs chart.[11][12] 'Que Ganas de No Verte Más' peaked at number 24 on the Hot Latin Songs and number two on the Tropical Songs charts.[11][12] 'Dicen Que Soy' and 'O Ella o Yo' reached number five and seven respectively on the Tropical Songs chart.[12]
Reception[edit]
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic[13] | |
Latina[14] | favorable |
Even without a formal review, an editor for the website Allmusic gave Dicen Que Soy four stars out of five.[13] An editor for Latina magazine wrote a positive review for the album calling her cover of 'Nunca Voy a Olvidarte' 'sensational' and 'Vivir lo Nuestro' an 'explosive live recording'.[14] India's recordings of 'Ese Hombre' and 'Dicen Que Soy' have been noted to be 'anthems for female salsa lovers'.[15]
At the 6th Lo Nuestro Awards ceremony in 1995, Dicen Que Soy received a nomination for 'Tropical Album of the Year',[16] but lost to Siente el Amor... by Olga Tañón.[17] In the same year, the album won the award for 'Tropical/Salsa Album of the Year by a Female Artist' at the second annual Billboard Latin Music Awards.[18]In the United States, it peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and number one on the Tropical Albums chart.[19][20] According to Nielsen SoundScan, Dicen Que Soy has sold over 144,000 copies as of 2000.A
Track listing[edit]
All music is composed by Sergio George.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | 'Nunca Voy a Olvidarte' | Roberto Belester | 4:57 |
2. | 'Que Ganas de No Verte Mas' | Alejandro Venazzi | 4:49 |
3. | 'Ese Hombre' | 4:40 | |
4. | 'Dicen Que Soy' |
| 4:41 |
5. | 'O Ella O Yo' | Juan Carlos Calderón | 5:04 |
6. | 'Dejate Amar' | 5:04 | |
7. | 'I Just Want to Hang Around You' | 5:01 | |
8. | 'No Me Conviene' (featuring Tito Nieves) | 4:47 | |
9. | 'Vivir Lo Nuestro [Bonus track]' (with Marc Anthony) | Rudy Pérez | 6:06 |
Chart performance[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
Personnel[edit]
The following credits are from Allmusic and the Dicen Que Soy CD liner notes.[10][22]
- Bobby Allende – bongos
- Richie Bastar – congas
- Luis Bonilla – trombone ('Nunca Voy a Olvidarte')
- Miguel Bonilla – arranger ('I Just Want to Hang Around You')
- William Cepeda – arranger ('Ese Hombre'), trombone
- Ronald Davidson – graphic design
- Eustace 'Huey' Dunbar – background vocals
- Sammy García – congas
- Sergio George – arranger, music director, drum programming, engineer, keyboards, piano, producer, background vocals
- La India – lead vocals
- Ite Jerez – trumpet
- Ángel 'Angie' Machado – trumpet ('Nunca Voy a Olvidarte')
- Damaris Mercado – art direction
- Ralph Mercado – executive producer
- Wes Naprstek – mixing assistant
- Tito Nieves – guest vocals ('No Me Conviene')
- Papo Pepin – congas
- Marc Quiñones – percussion, timbales
- Humberto Ramírez – arranger ('Que Ganas de No Verte Más')
- Johnny Rivera – background vocals
- Piro Rodriguez – trumpet
- Rubén Rodríguez – bass guitar
- Kurt Upper – mixing
- Albert Watson – photography
See also[edit]
Note[edit]
A.^ According to the Recording Industry Association of America, sales for many salsa albums went unreported because venues selling the discs did not report to monitoring services.[23]
References[edit]
- ^ abBirchmeier, Jason. 'India — Biography'. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^'Nuyorican Soul Sista'. Vibe. Spin Media. 8 (2): 141. March 2000. ISSN1070-4701.
- ^ abCandelaria, Cordelia; Garcia, Peter; Adalma, Arturo (October 30, 2004). Encyclopedia of Latino popular culture. 2. Westport, United States: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 413. ISBN9780313322150. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
- ^Steward, Sue (October 1, 1999). Musica!: The Rhythm of Latin America – Salsa, Rumba, Merengue, and More. Chronicle Books. p. 71. ISBN9780811825665. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^ abcdeChild, John (September 18, 2007). 'Interview: Sergio George'. Descarga.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^Lechner, Ernesto (October 17, 1994). 'POP MUSIC REVIEW : 'Combinacion': Salsa's Dream Team : Some of the Best of the Genre Show Up for Live Presentation of Album'. Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
- ^'Marc Anthony — Awards'. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
- ^Oumano, Elena (August 14, 1994). 'She's S-s-s-smokin'! : India burned up the Latin charts, with her '93 debut, 'Llego La India.' Her new 'Dicen Que Soy . . . ' goes beyond the hot dance-club sound and dips deeper into her Caribbean salsa roots'. Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. p. 2. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^Delgado, Celeste Fraser; Muñoz, José Esteban (June 18, 1997). Everynight Life: Culture and Dance in Latin/o America. Duke University Press. p. 234. ISBN9780822319191. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^ abDicen Que Soy (album). La India. DLG Studios in New Jersey: RMM Records & Video. 1994. CDZ-81373.CS1 maint: others (link)
- ^ abc'India — Chart history: Hot Latin Songs'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^ abcd'India — Awards'. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^ ab'Dicen Que Soy — India: Overview'. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^ ab'Dicen Que Soy (1994)'. Latina. Latina Media Ventures. 11: 128. 2007.
- ^Manuel, Peter; Bilby, Kenneth; Largey, Michael (August 10, 1995). Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae. Temple University Press. p. 110. ISBN9781592134649. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^'Vives, Lo Nuestro'. El Tiempo (in Spanish). Casa Editorial El Tiempo S.A. April 21, 1995. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ^'Lo Nuestro – Historia'. Univision (in Spanish). Univision Communications. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
- ^Lannert, John (June 10, 1995). 'Award-Winners Show Diversity of Latin Music'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 107 (23): 54. ISSN0006-2510. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^ ab'India Chart History (Top Latin Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
- ^ ab'La India Album & Songs Chart History'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
- ^ ab'1995: The Year in Music'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media: YE-68. 1995-12-23.
- ^'Dicen Que Soy — India: Credits'. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
- ^Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa (April 9, 2000). 'Commanding Respect'. Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. p. 2. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dicen_Que_Soy&oldid=916333961'
In the mid-1990s, two young Nuyoricans, Marc Anthony and Linda Caballero —known as La India— became synonymous with a genre called Salsa Romántica. Together they spearheaded a Salsa revival in the United States and across Latin America.
Blessed with powerful, expressive voices, Marc and La India got their big break with producer Sergio George, whose aim was to remake Salsa, languishing since its heyday in the 1970s. Spurred by the success of Gloria Estefan, George had his eye on a new generation raised on rock and roll, R&B, and Hip Hop. “There was no longer a hard-core salsero out there in a big way,” he says, “not like before. So I [did] have to try to get people who aren’t Salsa fans by toning it down a little bit lyrically, musically where they can understand it.”
It was a time of musical diversity and fusions, and Marc and La India shared in the excitement.
Born in 1968, Marco Antonio Muñiz, known professionally as Marc Anthony, grew up in East Harlem and had sung backup vocals for the boy band Menudo. He had also recorded an album, Rebel, in the electronic dance music style known as freestyle before switching to Salsa. Sergio George produced his 1993 Salsa debut album, Otra Nota (On a Different Note) which included a cover of “Hasta Que Te Conocí” (Until I Met You), a hit song by Mexican singer Juan Gabriel. As the story goes, Marc had been reluctant to record in Spanish until he heard Juan Gabriel’s version of the song during a taxi ride.
Linda Caballero grew up in the South Bronx, where her grandmother nicknamed her La India, for her long black hair and dark features. She sang freestyle as a teenager, and experimented with house music, Jazz and R&B. Her record label wanted to promote her as the Latin version of Madonna, but she gave up a promising career as a pop singer and decided to switch to Salsa. “I felt like I really needed the other side,” she said. “I really needed to cross-over to my people.”
In 1992, she recorded a well-received album produced by famed Salsa and Latin Jazz pianist Eddie Palmieri, Llegó la India via Eddie Palmieri (La India has Arrived via Eddie Palmieri). But it was Sergio George who paired her with Marc Anthony for Vivir lo Nuestro (To Live Our Love) in 1993. “The vocal interpretation that they bought to the table, nobody had really had heard up to that point—those kinds of riffs, that kind of energy and power going to a track,” George said.
“It is really amazing how much a song could do for you,” India recalls. “Vivir Lo Nuestro just completely took us to a different level. And from there on we never had to look back.” The two young artists helped bring Latinos and non-Latinos back to dance floors across America as Salsa swept the country once again.
Sergio George then produced India’s 1994 album, Dicen que Soy (They Say I Am), with feminist themes in many of the tracks. It was “India doing her thing,” George said. She became a legend to Latinos, but has never crossed to the mainstream market. Some critics put it down to her “controversial” persona. Sony producer Tommy Mottola has praised India’s voice, calling it “one of the most fascinating voices I have ever heard,” but he felt that “[her] rhythms are more narrow than the pop rhythms of Latin music, and that they didn’t work in English.”
Still, her career as a musician flourished. In 1996, she worked with Tito Puente on Jazzin, an English-language album of swing classics with a Latin twist on RMM Records. She also released India: Mega Mix that same year. She sang a duet titled “La Voz de la Experiencia” (The Voice of Experience) with Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa. It was then that Cruz crowned La India The Princess of Salsa.
In 2003, she released Latin Songbird:Mi Alma y Corazón (My Heart and Soul). The album's lead single “Sedúceme” (Seduce Me) became a hit on the Latin charts and topped the U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Tracks for several weeks. This romantic Salsa hit single was India's first number-one song and brought her a new fan base with many awards and nominations, including two Latin Grammy nominations for Best Salsa Album and Best Tropical Song in 2003, and her third Grammy Award nomination for Best Salsa Album in 2004.
La India continues to perform to a devoted fan base in venues across the world including the prestigious Miami club Hoy Como Ayer.
In 1999, soon after the success of Ricky Martin’s first English-language album, Marc Anthony recorded an English album for Tommy Mottola that featured the hit song “I Need to Know.” An HBO Special from Madison Square Garden cemented his appeal in the mainstream, but he made his true mark singing Salsa in Spanish.
Todo a su Tiempo (All in Due Time), produced by Sergio George and released in 1995, won wide critical praise, a Grammy nomination and a Billboard award for Hot Tropical Artist of the Year. All eight singles released from the album hit the top of the Billboard Tropical Songs chart. Anthony's next Spanish language album, 1997’s Contra La Corriente (Against the Current), featured “Y Hubo Alguien” (And There Was Somebody) and became Anthony's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks and the first by a Salsa musician. The album became the first Salsa album to enter the English language Billboard 200 chart.
Together, the three albums, Otra Nota, Todo a Su Tiempo, and Contra La Corriente, established Marc Anthony as one of the top-selling singer in the history of Salsa, able to sell out Madison Square Garden and prestigious venues internationally. The two-time Grammy Award and five-time Latin Grammy Award winner has sold over 12 million albums worldwide.