Song You Need to Know: Brytiago and Darell’s ‘Asesina’

The remix of “Te Boté” — originally by Nio Garcia, Darell and Casper Magico, subsequently revamped with additional verses from Bad Bunny, Ozuna and Nicky Jam — has been one of the year’s defining songs: curt and hard-hearted reggaeton, a testament to what can be accomplished with two chords and one rhythm.  

Darell draws from the same well on “Asesina,” which recently breached the Top 20 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. As with “Te Bote,” the beat here is as spare as they come, needle-nosed and drama-free, and Darell’s voice, which is wonderfully grainy, shines with minimal accompaniment. Brytiago plays the gummy melody man, singing frustrated lines about “an assassin in the shape of a woman.” Vocally, the bad cop, good cop routine — rugged Darell and sweet Brytiago — works wonders, so it’s no surprise that “Asesina” has accumulated north of 225 million views on YouTube.

Darell knows not to mess with a good thing: You’ll also hear a resemblance to “Te Bote” and “Asesina” in another single he released this year, “Tu Peor Error.” Darell is currently working on a new album.