Empresarios

Sabor Tropical is a stunning mash-up of Latin funk and Reggaeton with dub, jazz and soul influences. Laidback breakbeats, with a Latin-shuffle twist and chilled-out, almost ambient moments keep the record's highly charged tracks from spinning into overdrive. It's a Cumbia cocktail on the rocks, and you'll be pouring yourself one drink after another. The record features the production skills of four Washington, DC area veteran DJs ― Sonny Cheebah, Sammy K., John Bowen and Paul Chaconas ― wrapped around the creative wits of boss Empresario Javier Miranda. They're the first to be invited to release an LP of original material under the Fort Knox Recordings label (created by Fort Knox Five and acclaimed for its remix records). The collective were spotlighted on the label's 2009 hit compilation, New Gold Standard 2, and its follow-up EP, which features remixes of "Sabor Tropical" and "Cumbia" by the likes of Nickodemus, among other DJs. In their original forms, both songs were thrown into Sabor Tropical for good measure, but the 13 other tracks are spiked with enough cold fire to merit refills until last call.