Nicky Jam is far from a newcomer. The Latin hip-hop singer-songwriter born Nick Caminero in Boston to parents of Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage was mentored by reggaeton powerhouse Daddy Yankee and had his rise in the mid-2000s. His fame was short-lived, however; his addition to drugs and alcohol kept him away from the public spotlight for more than a decade.
Fast forward to 2015 and Nicky Jam's triumphant return in platinum-selling "El Perdón," a duet featuring Enrique Iglesias that peaked at No. 1 on multiple charts. Since then, Nicky Jam has continued delivering hit after hit, and he finally brought them Tampa on Friday night when his "Fenix Tour" landed at Amalie Arena. This was Nicky Jam's first headlining tour in the U.S. and we were definitely in for an interesting ride.
The show opened up with Canadian-Guatemalan newbie Alx Veliz. He didn't inspire anyone to shoot out of their seats or burst with energy, but he definitely set a nice tone for the evening. The two songs he performed, "Tú + Yo" and "Dancing Kizomba," had a tropical beat that got everyone in the right mood.
Following Veliz was New Yorker, De La Ghetto. His performance was the exact opposite of Veliz, his spit-fire lyrics, explosive performance and energetic personality bringing the crowd to its feet in songs like "Sensacion Del Bloque," "La Ocasion," "Exitandonos." A Spanish version of Drake’s "Started from the Bottom" got everyone dancing and occasionally singing along. There were even flames shooting from the stage at points. Unfortunately, his generous use of expletives (there were lots of "fucks" in there) felt inappropriate for the mix of children, teens and adults.
The concert wasn’t all perfection, starting almost 30 minutes later than it was supposed to due to issues with the pyrotechnics and stage set up. The intermissions between performers felts too long, especially with the two jumbo screens repeating commercials and despite the occasional appearance of a song-spinning DJ.
Issues aside, each performer managed to leave us more excited than the last. Puerto Rican duo Zion y Lennox lit up the stage, literally, with gouts of smoke and fire shooting as they performed and four female backup dancers got the crowd roaring and shaking. They delivered plenty hits and threw in some more well-known features that touched on "Encantadora" and "Ginza." They definitely knew how to engage and interact with the crowd far better than all the acts that preceded their set.
After a very quick performance by Puerto Rican singer Valentino, at 11:50 p.m., the moment finally came when the countdown to his appearance started, and the crowd started chanting his name and screamed louder than they had all night as Nicky Jam stepped onto the stage and launched into "Travesuras." The place went absolutely insane, and remixes of Omi’s hit "Cheerleader" and Sia’s "Cheap Thrills" followed before he slowed things down with his rendition of Puerto Rican singer Farruko’s song, "Sunset." At this point, he stopped for a moment to thank everyone for coming and hyped up the crowd even more.
Nicky Jam showed his hard-hitting side in "No Soy Tu Marido," his tender inclinations in the balladry of "Como Lo Hacia Yo" and his sexy mood chops with "Fanatica Sensual." His humor came out in his warning to men to treat their women right or he would, and when he pitted the ladies against guys to see which could chant back the loudest – being the ladies’ man he is, he went for the opposite sex. His respect for women really sets him apart, and it showed in introductions to songs that found him urging the men in the crowd to treat women with respect and love. He didn’t seem to be pushing any agendas, nor did he ever come off as preachy.
All of Nicky Jam’s songs became their own individual productions, but "El Perdón" transcended into something magical when he stripped it back, and accompanied by a single player on ukulele, repeated the song's most popular lines. It felt like everyone in the audience became one as we all started chanting along in perfect harmony. This song, and the entire concert, summed up how we Hispanics feel about music; we don’t just listen to it, we live and breathe it, and sometimes it becomes part of us and unites us all for one moment.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2016.
