The Silver Spring Penguin

Silver Spring’s El Nino shreds reggaeton and Latin hip hop like a friggin’ storm.

Disclaimer: I don’t know what this 17-year-old Spanish-language rapper is saying. According to him, his songs are all about “immigration, girls, and how I’m gonna take over the Latin hip-hop game.”

Um, if you say so.

At any rate, El Nino’s reggaeton leans more towards hip hop without diminishing its infectious groove. With “Damelo,” the beat is definitely hip hop with swaggering high-speed reggaeton rhymes.

In “Soy un Gangster,” El Nino is all reggaeton — speed rhyme, reggae beat and all. The groove grinds down to straight East Coast hip hop in “Dile Como E.” Again, I don’t know what he says, but the joint’s melody and obvious refrain are catchy.

Take a hit of El Nino from his MySpace page, then trudge to Rockville to catch his live act. He kicks it Thursday, July 19, at El Boqueron 2 (1330 East Gude Dr) with fellow reggaeton acts De La Ghetto, Fuego and Joe Angel.

Phone (240) 848-5145 for tickets and more information.