Blondie x Los Rakas - "I Screwed Up"
Blondie is back and lead singer Debbie Harry has done it again by mixing her signature style with LargeUp's favorite hip-hop/reggaeton duo Los Rakas. In 1980, Blondie's rendition of "The Tide Is High" (originally recorded in 1967 by a Jamaican group called The Paragons) belonged to a wave of reggae-influenced pop and punk music. The groups latest album Blondie 4(0)-Ever was released this week and features many genre pairings that Debbie Harry finds completely natural saying that ”Being from New York, Blondie albums have always been a montage or collage of things that we’re into.” The melting pot of sounds on Blondie 4(0)-Ever is joined by some re-imagined classics like "Heart Of Glass" and "Call Me."
"If people want us to make the same records we made 30 years ago, then that's not going to happen... In the past four years, I've been really into modern Latino music like reggaeton and cumbia. I find it really fresh, and I like the slow beats." - Chris Stein, Blondie guitarist and co-founder
Los Rakas were able to add some of their Panabaynian (Oakland by way of Panama) vibes to Harry's hilariously unabashed yet apologetic vocals. The duo raps in Spanish on the bridge and takes ad-libs during the outro - it's pretty interesting. Blondie definitely dug up some inspiration from those 80s synths and totally switched it up with straight fun Latin feel. Stream "I Screwed Up" below and be the judge - Is Blondie's new wave the one to ride this summer? Tell us in the comments + listen to the full album at Rolling Stone and and check out Los Rakas’ most recent album, El Negrito Dun Dun & Ricardo.
