a lo cubano — Orishas

By Anthony Mawer

Touted as "A master work of universal hip-hop topping the best albums of Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, the Fugees," one assumes one is about to experience something transcending greatness.

But as the saying goes, when you assume you make an ‘ass’ of ‘u’ and ‘me’. And ‘me’ say ‘u’ could do as well to get your ‘ass’ to the local public library and simply pick up a CD from the world music section rather than purchasing this album.

The only thing that distinguishes a lo cubano from a trip to the library is the apparent gangsta-posing inherent in the visual and some vocal parts of the whole package.

From the wooden-stare of all four members in the Queen-Bohemian-Rhapsody-ripoff-album-cover to their individual frontal mugshots, Orishas lack originality. Although they claim their "lyrics reflect the gritty life in the teeming streets of Urban Havana," and they’re delivered with cadence, Orishas come off sounding like something straight outta the library, trying to sound like they came straight outta Compton.