DON KBRN

DON KBRN

Album ∙ Latin ∙ 2025

Eladio Carrión

Prior to his poppy pivot on last year’s oft personal Sol María, Eladio Carrión thrived as a trapero. A run of mixtape-style projects like 2020’s Sauce Boyz and two feature-free SEN2 KBRN installments advanced the Puerto Rican rapper’s career from underground stardom to a pivotal part of a contemporary vanguard. That peaked in 2023 with the release of 3MEN2 KBRN, a bold and boastful album that paired the bilingual artist with Future, 50 Cent, and Quavo without losing his foothold in Latin hip-hop. That uncompromising spirit and deep love for rap music persists on DON KBRN, less a return-to-form post-Sol María than a full-throated statement of dedication to the proverbial culture.

As a lyricist, Carrión has reached a stage in his rap craft that surpasses both peers and veterans alike. This quickly becomes clear after the brief yet potent intro “Invencible” gives way to the stunning “Ohtani,” the first of several solo moments where his powers rightfully surge under the spotlight. With its Hypnotize Minds flair and references to everything from Samuel L. Jackson’s Snakes on a Plane to star running back Saquon Barkley, “H.I.M.” succinctly sums up his highly stylized braggadocio. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he continues to work with great producers who’ve grown with him, the Foreign Teck tags on cuts like “AMG” and “Piedras en la ventana” feeling like a victory for the whole team.

Carrión’s guest list is nothing short of a flex in and of itself, freely crossing borders via jet-setting collaborations with North American hitmakers like Big Sean and Jessie Reyez as well as respected Latin artists including Neutro Shorty, Quevedo, and Young Miko. A hospitably inclusive host, he brings música mexicana powerhouse Peso Pluma into the trap space on the brassy “Tiffany” and taps breakout Chilean upstart Cris MJ for the perreo thump of “El Reggaeton del Disco.” Still, when he locks in with the like-minded Myke Towers for the explosive “Vetements,” the fan-friendly team-up’s bars will leave more than a few jaws on the floor. And while the focus is almost exclusively centered on the global rap world, he finds room here for his relatively newfound pop appeal, notably on the duet “Me Muero” with Barcelona’s versatile Lia Kali.