As blatant vehicles for rising rappers go, “Talento de barrio” won’t do much to help Puerto Rican hip-hopper Daddy Yankee, playing a gang leader who finds cutting records a little more promising than offing rivals in the projects near San Juan. The film also hardly serves as a decent calling card for future PR film production, with its shoddy direction, editing, low-grade casting and general messiness–which shouldn’t be confused with urban realism. This reps a lousy catch for fledgling Latino-oriented distrib Maya Releasing, which will get some returns only upon late November vid release.
Edgar (Yankee) leads his gang with a solid hand while dabbling in rap-lyric writing. Trouble creeps in with the appearance of ex-con Jaico (Angel “Maestro” Rodriguez), who at first plays the loyal servant under Edgar and then, as Edgar decides to retire from the street for a music career, begins to take vicious control. Torn between a peaceful life with g.f. Zori (Katiria Soto) and revenge, Edgar does what any self-respecting hero in an urban street drama would do, and packs heat for the final faceoff.
