Vico C

Internationally revered as “the Philosopher of Rap,” Vico C constantly feels the need to get things off his chest. On Desahogo (Purging), a mélange of island-inspired instrumentation (salsa, reggaeton), the boricua with a complex soul, who became an evangelical Christian after suffering a near-fatal car accident in the mid-Nineties, contemplates everything from forgiveness (“Lo Grande Que Es Perdonar,” featuring salsero Gilberto Santa Rosa) to the memory of his mother (“Mami”). Not formulated to blast out of club speakers — and too sterile for that scene anyway — Vico’s verses remain a guilt-free alternative to much of the mundane music currently coming out of Puerto Rico.