Willie Colón - Voso #williecolon

One of the key Fania Records albums that sums up the ’70s salsa movement in all its trendsetting glory. Released in 1973, just as the New York salsa movement reached a creative and commercial apex, the LP marked the end of a chapter for both Colón and Lavoe. It was the final entry in a spectacular series of collaborative albums that began with 1967’s El Malo and found the duo constantly recording and touring together. Following the release of Lo Mato, Lavoe would launch his epic solo career – with Colón as producer – while the ever-prolific Willie would branch out into collaborations with Celia Cruz, Mon Rivera, Rubén Blades, and his own solo output. When they signed with the Fania label in the late ’60s, Colón and Lavoe represented to the old guard of tropical music the impending threat of a younger generation, ready to renew the salsa genre with an edgier sound. Colón consciously cultivated the persona of a dangerous bad boy through fictitious posters that portrayed him as wanted by the FBI.