This week’s Grammy nominations summoned all the usual grousing and grumbling about who was nominated and which artists were overlooked by the Recording Academy. The Los Angeles Times‘ Pop & Hiss blog is particularly pissed.
I, on the other hand, am super-excited for Adele’s six nominations (well deserved), and am beyond thrilled that Paul Epworth nabbed a nod in the Producer Of The Year category for his work with both Adele and Foster The People (just as predicted, though Florence + The Machine isn’t eligible until next year). Robyn also scored a pair of nominations (Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronica Album), and really, does it get much better than that?
Well, for Rosabel — the long-running partnership of DJ/producers Ralphi Rosario and Abel Aguilera — it does. Their re-rub of Rihanna’s “Only Girl (In The World)” is nominated for Best Remixed Recording, Non Classical. (Last year, Rihanna snagged a Best Dance Recording Grammy for the original track.)
I’ve respected what Rosario and Aguilera have done together and separately for quite some time now. Ralphi is a Chicago boy, born and raised, and helped usher in the birth of house music as part of the Hot Mix 5 on local radio station, WBMX. He also produced the genre classic, “You Used To Hold Me.” Abel came up in Miami’s club scene, and became a sought-after superstar DJ in cities across the country. Indeed, he was behind the decks for one of the best evenings out I’ve ever had, spinning at Gay Days Orlando 2001.
Besides turning out remixes for others, Rosabel produce their own tracks too, a discography that includes five #1 Billboard Dance hits. Former Funky Green Dogs vocalist Tamara Wallace has become a regular collaborator, and now, almost a year since the trio’s last team up, “C’mon Get Funky,” comes a new track, “Let Me Be Myself.”
The self-empowerment anthem may not break new musical ground, but at this point, the Rosabel formula is a successful one and needs no tinkering. And while Tamara Wallace isn’t a belter like many of her dance diva sisters, her voice has a smooth soulfulness that Rosabel knows just how to support.
Danny Verde and DJ Chus have also remixed “Let Me Be Myself,” but you can’t go wrong with Rosabel:
Purchase Rosabel feat. Tamara Wallace – “Let Me Be Myself” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.