A warning of sorts, “The Most Expensive Girl in the World” tells how a pretty lady ended up costing a smitten fool a fortune. Elsewhere, a few isolated lines are upbeat.
Bega positions himself throughout this album as a wild swinger with an insatiable libido. He boasts of fantasy women all around the world (“I Got a Girl”), makes explicit sexual advances to a lady he just met (“Ice Cream”) and claims to have “found a lot of hot sex romances”(“Mambo Mambo”). The singer ogles a woman’s posterior on “Baby Keep Smilin’.” “Can I Tico Tico You” is nothing more than a sexual proposition, during which Bega says, “Ladies throw their bras when I start to sing.” He lusts after a television actress on “Beauty on the TV Screen.” The antithesis of Proverbs 31, “Tricky, Tricky” esteems a female for her looks, money, expensive tastes (including champagne) and fast lifestyle. At least six tracks include mild profanity. Beyond a trip to the liquor store, “Mambo No. 5” treats flirting like a sport and implies that men should keep multiple lovers at their beck and call.
Catchy Latin rhythms lose their appeal when they only seek to legitimize self-centered sexuality. Bad news. Especially for young men learning how to treat women, A Little Bit of Mambo could spell a whole lot of trouble.
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