La Doña - “Quién Me La Paga”

SXSW 2020 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 3

Pairs Well With…Lido Pimienta, Reyna Tropical, Girl Ultra

A fusion artist striking her own lane and still sounding fun and authentic, San Francisco’s La Doña merges rich Mexican and Caribbean traditions with  creative, upbeat hip hop modes. Specifically, La Doña draws from sounds born from her hometown hyphy energy with psychedelic-tinged rap tones finding ways into her music, but at its heart, La Doña performs rumba and corridos reflections with deep, studied roots. Horns and strings are interspersed with deep bass beats, pretty, soaring, beautiful melodies turning into raw, cooled hip hop. La Doña is a trumpeter as well as a vocalist and songwriter, bringing instrumental taste and precision to her sound beyond pure pop focus. While there’s clearly a lot going on in La Doña’s music, she sounds consistently smooth and comfortable as well, making this type of fusion seem weirdly natural across five introductory singles. The latest is “Quién Me La Paga”, among the most traditional of her tracks but one that still is delivered with unique, creative personality. (Kevin McStravick)