FRIO was the start of Robi Rosa becoming a force in the music industry though we did not know it at the time. Robi (Robby or Draco Rosa – whichever you prefer) released the album FRIO (Cold) in 1994 and for the most part, was a dude when it came to the music charts. If you blinked, you missed it but it didn’t stop Robi from pressing forward with his music.
Lots of people will start this is Robi’s debut album but before shedding his pop roots and Menudo image, Robi released two albums in Portuguese in Brazil. He later moved to New York, where he performed with the underground funk band, Maggie’s Dream. The one and only album is such a great album. Not sure why the band broke up, but Robi released FRIOÂ under Sony Music and has never looked back.
The new look with tattoos, piercings, long hair, and scruffy beard disguised him from being just an Ex-Menudo member. Robi wanted to write music during his time with the Puerto Rican pop group but was turned down. Today, Robi is a leading musical writer that has created some of the biggest Latin pop hits of all time. Maybe if it hadn’t been for Robi’s work with Ricky Martin, Martin still may have been living a life of Spanish soap operas.
While he was the anti-Menudo, Robi recorded the song, “Cuando Pasara” (When Will It Happen). This ballad was originally released by Menudo in 1982 on the album, Por Amor. For fans of Menudo, this was awesome because it felt like Robi hadn’t abandoned his roots. The song was originally written by Luis G. Escolar. Escolar, a lyricist, wrote a lot of the music for Menudo on this album; Robi used a lot of Escolar’s lyrics for his album, FRIO.
Robi didn’t stop by having quality people to work on his album. The album was produced by Ronnie Foster, a funk and soul keyboardist. That sound comes out quite a bit in Robi’s early sound. It is almost like a more melancholy version of Maggie’s Dream. Lots of funk, soul, and deep Latin influences can be heard. The album is fantastic and nothing like Menudo.
Since that day, I have been study Latin pop and rock music and have become a Latin pop music historian through the publishing of articles, fanzine, and websites. My goal is to teach people about Latin pop music and the history behind it with my website, Siempre En Domingo.
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