''The Connection'' is the debut album by
American rapper
DeLon
Dilan Jayasingha (born March 14, 1980), known professionally as Dilan Jay, is an American actor, singer, and producer. He was the first artist from his country of heritage ( Sri Lanka) to place on the U.S. ''Billboard'' charts and have a No ...
. It was officially released on September 27, 2005. The first single from the album was "Calor de la Salsa", which peaked at No. 15 on the ''Billboard''
Hot Singles Sales
This is a compendium of the best-selling music singles. The criterion for inclusion is to sell at least ten million copies worldwide. The singles listed here were cited by reliable sources from various media, such as digital journalism, news ...
chart and established DeLon as the first
Sri Lankan to ever chart on the US ''Billboard'' charts. ''The Connection'' united
hip hop listeners of all cultures as it features eclectic beats of different styles of cultural music mixed with American hip hop. With roots in
salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
...
,
samba,
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
,
soca, Sri Lankan,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n and
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
ern music, ''The Connection'' is an album that unites all cultures through international hip hop. As reviewed by
''YRB Magazine'':
"Hitting the rap game from all sides, eLonmanages to be 'conscious' and 'street' on the same album...a seamless merger of hot production, a catchy hook and the lyrical precision of a young Talib Kweli." - Yellow Rat Bastard (YRB) Magazine, Issue ..61 "The Connection" Review.
DeLon has won international praise for this album and is recognized as the first attempt by an American rap artist to unite international hip hop. Not only did DeLon write all lyrics and rap on the album, he is also responsible for producing 70% of the album's beats. ''The Connection'' was released through DeLon's
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, Ceylon Records.
Track listing
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connection
2005 debut albums