Knowing Ana Tijou’s background as the child of Chilean exiles in France helps to get a grasp on what informs her socially conscious music, but you don’t have to know that, or a word of Spanish, to enjoy Tijou’s moody rapping and soulful singing on La Bala (in English, “the bullet”). The energy of songs like “Desclasificado” translates clearly as a statement of independence and identity from an artist whose globetrotting music borrows from a rich pool of genres, from jazz to reggaeton, and countries of origin to produce something wholly original and entirely exciting. For anyone looking for a crossover Latin pop star with more depth than the average Shakira soundalike, La Bala is a blessing.


Free download of "La Bala" by Ana Tijoux.