Don't call Da' Zoo the Puerto Rican Black Eyed Peas.
Yes, Da Zoo is also three guys and a cute girl, they have a remix of Boom Boom Pow on their MySpace and plenty of sticky sweet pop hooks. But Da' Zoo say that's where the similarities end: "[P]eople compare us with them just because of the formation of the band: three boys, one girl. They are great artists, but they aren’t one of our influences."
Formed in 2006, Da' Zoo released its self-titled debut earlier this year. Unlike the Peas, the quartet comprised of Charly "Charly Zoo" Rodríguez, Freddy "Yo Fred" Lugo, Raúl "Raggi" Quezada and Elizabeth "Eli Joe" Fuentes prefer their pop served with rock and funk instead of hip hop and R&B. Excuse Me, a flirty track about "un atrevido," is packed with blips, synths and a vicious hook:
Excuse me baby soy un atrevido
solo quiero nadar en tu ombligo
But like the Black Eyed Peas, these Boricuas have a gift for making dirty talk sound sweet. The video for lead single Chitu, which features "jeringoza" (a mix of Puerto Rican slang and children's music), is both cute and pervy at the same time:
Esto esta caliente ya se puso pa' otra cosa
yo lo tengo claro que la cosa esta sabrosa
cuando tu te pegas yo siento la mariposa
y me pongo bruto como la pantera rosa
An infectious hipster remix of "Excuse Me" by Nacotheque's Marcelo Cunning is currently streaming on the Da Zoo's MySpace.
