The energy sometimes dies…

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[3.33]

Tobi Tella: A terrifying glimpse into a future where we still have to listen to Black Eyed Peas songs on a regular basis.
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Ryo Miyauchi: Had this been the will.i.am who steered Black Eyed Peas into EDM superstardom during the very beginning of this decade, he would’ve sounded a thousand times more enthusiastic on a record with J Balvin. His globe-spanning mission to spread joy via dance music back then sounded silly yet still magnetic in the way an ambition of stupidly massive scale can feel, and he would’ve shamelessly capitalized upon an opportunity to work with a reggaeton star on the rise. The cheap Spanglish hook of “Ritmo (Bad Boys for Life)” would’ve come off more fun through him at that point of time; his Ultra Miami-meets-Caribbean pop fusion would’ve sounded more colorful. Here, it sounds like what an algorithm would spit out if you listened to enough ’90s house revival, DJ Mustard singles and post-Jack Ü radio pop.
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Alfred Soto: To create a gesture as goofy-fun as this, you need youth, not cynicism. 
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Thomas Inskeep: A lazy reggaeton beat, an almost impressively dull use of a sample from a ’90s Eurodance classic, will.i.am using words like “fuego” and “dinero” in his lyrics, J Balvin phoning it in — and all of it in service of a Will Smith/Martin Lawrence remake that no one wants.
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Oliver Maier: A pretty redundant flip of both “Rhythm of the Night” and “You Know You Like It”, though using the “oh yeah”s from the former as adlibs is an inventive choice. Unfortunately they’re reserved for apl.de.ap, delivering by far the limpest rap feature I’ve heard this year, while will.i.am… is will.i.am. J Balvin telling us that Rosalía thinks he looks cool amounts to an overall highlight.
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Kayla Beardslee: What. Are. These. Lyrics. I’m. What. First of all, leave Rosalía out of this. Second, these are the most basic-ass Spanish rhymes you could possibly think of. Fuego/dinero/extremo, wow how long did it take to come up with that? Third, good to see J Balvin will still feature on anything. Maybe I’ll call him in to do a guest verse on a poetry presentation I’ve got coming up. Fourth, this was apparently made for a movie about grown men called Bad Boys For Life. That’s an unspeakably lame title, but it decently reflects the swing-and-a-miss “Ritmo” makes in trying to sound cool; its uninspired beat, rhymes, and performances placing it squarely in “uninteresting” instead.
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