I Like It Like That
Pete Rodríguez · 1967 · from the album I Like It Like That (A Mi Me Gusta Así) · written by Tony Pabón & Manny Rodríguez
The boogaloo everyone knows, even if they don't know it: a 1967 party anthem that Cardi B sampled fifty years later.
- boogaloo
- piano
Why it matters
Pianist and bandleader Pete Rodríguez, born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, recorded it for Alegre Records in 1967. Tony Pabón and Manny Rodríguez wrote it, and it became one of the most influential boogaloo songs of the time.
It never really went away. A 1994 cover by the Blackout All-Stars became a US hit after a Burger King commercial in 1996, and in 2018 Cardi B sampled the original for her song “I Like It”, with Bad Bunny and J Balvin.
What to listen for
- The chorus, chanted in English by what sounds like a whole room, and the Latin rhythm section under it: that mix is boogaloo.
- The piano (Pete Rodríguez's own) and the percussion keeping the Latin groove going under the English chorus.
- A tempo that's easy to dance to: a good song for your first shines and for practicing a clean basic with lots of styling.