Real is the fourth studio album by Puerto Rican reggaetón recording artist Ivy Queen, released on November 21, 2004, by Universal Music Latino. Initially to be Queen's debut full-length English-language studio album, it featured collaborations with hip hop and fellow Latino artists Hector El Father, Fat Joe, Getto & Gastam, La India, Gran Omar and Mickey Perfecto. The album was primarily produced by Rafi Mercenario, and included guest production by American producer Swizz Beatz, Puerto Rican producers Ecko, Noriega, Monserrate and DJ Nelson. The executive producers were Goguito "Willy" Guadalupe, Gran Omar and Ivy Queen.
Real is Queen's only record with a Parental Advisory label. The album departs from her uniquely personal lyrical content and musical style which was, until this album, mainly all about detailing hood life in Puerto Rico, heartbreak, and love. It alternates musically between reggaetón and hip hop, experimenting with electronica, funk, dancehall, pop, R&B, and acoustic ballads. The wide range of styles and musical exploration earned Real mainly positive reviews from critics. Many praised Queen's raspy vocals and production quality, whilst others criticized the lack of instrumentation.
Spawning four singles ("Chika Ideal", "Rociarlos", "Dile", and "Angel Caído"), Real peaked at number twenty-five on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, number four on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart and number six on the Billboard Tropical Albums chart. "Chika Ideal" and "Rociarlos" failed to attain chart success, although the former reached the top ten of Terra Networks' music-video countdown. "Dile" peaked at number eight on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart, earning Ivy Queen three Billboard Latin Music Award nominations (including one for Tropical Airplay Track of the Year, Female). Several other tracks, including "Tócame" and "Baila Así", received airplay on both Anglophone and Hispanophone radio stations in the United States.
Real is regarded as a factor in 2004's reggaetón exposure to mainstream English-speaking markets, along with Ivy Queen's previous album (2003's Diva), as well as albums by Daddy Yankee and Tego Calderón. It became one of the best-selling albums of 2005, along with her fifth studio album, Flashback, with sales of both reportedly going "through the roof". Ivy Queen then embarked on concert tours of Latin America and the United States; she also promoted the album with a network television-news segment, detailing her career (and struggle for respect) in reggaetón, as well as by performing "Chika Ideal" on Don Francisco Presenta. The album was re-released on September 25, 2007, by Machete Music, but failed to impact the charts.
Background After the failure of Ivy Queen's first two studio albums, En Mi Imperio (1997) and The Original Rude Girl (1998), Sony Music Latin released Queen from her musical contract and she took a hiatus from her musical career in 1999. The 1999 hip-hop single "In The Zone", a duet with Haitian singer Wyclef Jean, was moderately successful in the United States. However, the album "fizzled". Over the next few years, Queen appeared on reggaetón compilation albums, spawning hits (including "Quiero Bailar") and collaborations with artists on Tommy Boy and Columbia Records. In 2003, Queen released her third studio recording, Diva, which was highly anticipated and acclaimed. It was a factor in reggaetón's mainstream exposure in 2004 (with Daddy Yankee's Barrio Fino and Tego Calderon's El Enemy de los Guasíbiri), and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In early 2004, after a string of compilation appearances, Queen appeared on the compilation album 12 Discípulos by Eddie Dee with "Los 12 Discípulos", "Quítate Tu Pa' Ponerme" and "Que Es La Que Hay". "Los 12 Discípulos" managed to reach number eight of the Billboard Tropical Songs chart, becoming a top ten hit. It received a nomination for "Tropical Airplay Track of the Year, New Artist" at the 2005 Billboard Latin Music Award. The song featured eleven other reggaeton musicians, who were among the most requested in the genre at the time. These included Dee along with Queen, Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, Julio Voltio, Vico C, Zion, Lennox, Nicky Jam, Johnny Prez, Gallego, and Wiso G. The song brought all twelve artist together as one to show that "unity is needed for the genre reggaetón to evolve and survive".
That year, Queen released a platinum edition of the album which included new songs, such as "Papi Te Quiero" and "Tu No Puedes", and began recording her next album. Queen's fourth studio album was planned to be her debut full-length English-language album after she received record-contract offers from a number of labels, including Sony. She said it was a good opportunity to reach the competitive Anglo hip hop music market after her success in Latin American countries. Queen received an offer to record an English-language album after Sony notified her that her Sony albums from six years earlier were being played in cities such as London because of Divas success. Despite her concerns about her English pronunciation, she continued with the project. Queen recorded songs with some of hip hop's most popular MCs, including American rapper Fat Joe (who appeared on her debut English album). His song later became "Quítate Two", and was included on Real; American hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz produced "Soldados", showcasing her crossover appeal.
Recording and production
After the success of Diva: Platinum Edition, Ivy Queen began recording her fourth studio album in March 2004; it wrapped up in September at Marroneo Studios in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The album was mastered and arranged by Esteban Piñero; Dennis Nieves did the mixing and served as engineer.
Production was divided among several hip-hop and reggaetón producers. Swizz Beatz produced "Soldados"; longtime collaborator DJ Nelson reappeared with "Dile" (the lead single) and "Acércate". Grammy Award-winning Latin music producers Echo and Diesel, Hyde, Gran Omar, Noriega, Monserrate, Dennis Nieves, DJ Blass and DJ David Montañez also aided in production and Rafi Mercenario produced seven of the album's nineteen tracks. Queen and Omar were executive producers.
Collaborations include "Matando", "Rociarlos" (also featuring Hector El Father) and "Baila Así" with Queen's then-husband, Gran Omar; a hip-hop track, "Quítate Two", with Fat Joe; "Acércate" with Mikey Perfecto, "Tócame" with salsa singer La India and "Vas A Morir" with Puerto Rican duo Getto & Gastam. "Soldados" and "Dee Jay" were co-written with Kasseem Dean and Omar Navarro, respectively. "People thought we were going to make a salsa track", Queen said about the collaboration with La India, noting that the song was a dancehall track (not salsa or reggaetón). She added that India was "original" and she worked well with people who are genuine, explaining the other collaborations. According to Navarro and Queen in a 2004 interview on mun2 The Roof, the album was expected to feature a duet with Puerto Rican singer Don Omar.Ivy Queen interview by Xavier Villalobos. mun2 The Roof. NBCUniversal. 2004. Spin saw Queen's collaboration with Fat Joe as a trend in reggaetón to have American rappers "team up with its stars".
Music and lyrics
According to Rolling Stone, the album contains "raspy braggadocio and sexy rhymes" which complement Queen's raspy vocals. It alternates between reggaetón and hip hop as Queen experiments with Caribbean music, R&B, pop, electronica, funk, dancehall and acoustic ballads: "I really think this album is for people to really just sit down and listen to it". She explained that "there are times that the songs will make you want to dance", but their lyrics are more meaningful. Although Queen said the album has its share of "battles against men", she wants it to demonstrate that she is a well–rounded artist. Describing the songs, she said "[they] are always going to be real because they are feelings that people have...The hits that I have now, the girls love them because they are real. If I am feeling hurt and need to curse to express that, then I will. I am going to be real all the way because that's what made Ivy Queen".
The introduction to the album features Queen lyrically blessing and thanking her audience for the support. "Chika Ideal" ("Ideal Girl") assures the protagonist's lover that she wants to be with him and fulfill his dreams. "Soldados" ("Soldiers"), a hip-hop track influenced by electronic music, was produced by Swizz Beatz. "Matando" ("Killing"), a duet with Gran Omar, explores dancing in a club. The song, in a minor key, features the synthetic instrumentation of techno music. "Dale Volumen" ("Add Volume"), in a minor key, is characterized by simple harmonic progressions, synthesizers and stick-drum percussion and influenced by reggae and Afro-Latin music. It features a techno-influenced beat. "Dile" ("Tell Her") features lilting rhythms from Colombia (including cumbia), combining Latin vallenato with reggaetón. Queen noted that she sang the song without rapping to prove she is a complete musician and not just a rapper. "Mi Barrio" ("My Hood") criticizes "the problems present in Añasco, Puerto Rico". Queen compared the song to "Corazones" by Daddy Yankee from his album, Barrio Fino. "Dee Jay" is a reggaetón number which "recognizes the DJs" of reggaetón. In it, Queen mentions DJ Nelson, Noriega, DJ Adam, DJ Negro, DJ Baby, Rafi Mercenario, Luny Tunes, Monserrate & DJ Urba and others. "Quítate Two" ("Remove Yourself"), with Fat Joe, combines hip-hop and funk music. The acoustic guitar ballad "Ángel Caído" ("Fallen Angel") and its acoustic version are the fourteenth and nineteenth tracks on the album, respectively. "Tócame" "("Touch Me"), a dancehall track, features La India. In a minor key, "Rebulera", another minor-key song, has Queen asserting that she is "queen" in the genre of reggaetón. The track features synthesizers and strings, and is influenced by reggae and Afro-Latin music. "Baila Así" ("Dance Like That"), produced by Gran Omar, has a Punjabi–influenced hip-hop beat.
Release and promotion
Real was released on November 16, 2004, after originally being scheduled for release in September and on November 26. The album was also released in a censored version. In March 2005, an LP entitled Real Streets was released. Its track listing included "Dile", "Soldados", Quitate Two", "Matando", "Baila Asi", "Chika Ideal", "Rebulera", and "Mi Barrio". Real was later re-issued on September 25, 2007, by Machete Music, after having been announced in July 2007 as a fourth-quarter release. This was a result of Ivy Queen's success with her seventh studio album, Sentimiento, which sold 9,000 copies in its first week and was certified platinum within two months of release. Ivy Queen appeared on Don Francisco Presenta, where she performed "Chika Ideal" (the first single from Real) to promote the album. "Rociarlos" was released as the second single, and "Dile" was released as the third (and final) single later in 2004 after the album's release. Music videos for both singles were also released, along with music videos for "Dale Volumen" and "Matando". Queen performed on the Reggaeton Tour 2004, also featuring Aldo Ranks and La Factoria, in a number of South American countries (including Ecuador); she sang "Papi Te Quiero" and "Tu No Puedes", promoting Diva and Real.