“When the whole reggaetón movement started, the superstars were the producers, not the rappers,” Arcángel tells Apple Music. With Los Favoritos 2, the Puerto Rican pioneer flips the script on an approach once employed by the likes of DJ Negro and DJ Nelson. “They used to do these compilation albums. Basically this is the same thing, but the difference is that I'm on every track.” Following the often personal 2019 album Historias de un Capricornio, making this project allowed him to let loose and have fun in the studio. “I worked with a whole bunch of new people—new producers, new writers, new artists,” Arcángel explains, a deliberate contrast from the first Los Favoritos volume, which prominently featured DJ Luian. With several up-and-coming beatmakers and vocal guests like seasoned vets Wisin & Yandel and Yaga & Mackie and contemporary stars Maluma and Sech, he’s curated an outstanding mix of reggaetoneros and traperos whose hits and talents, much like his own, span some two decades. “I'm just vibing with all the artists and having a good time creating music with them.” Let Arcángel walk you through some favorites from Los Favoritos 2. Amantes y Amigos (feat. Sech) “It's always a pleasure with Sech, because he's such a good human being. It's very easy to make music with respectful people, and then he's very talented, too. We've been in the studio so many times, and a lot of the time we don't even work. We just have fun, we talk about life. We’re planning on making an album. So we have a lot of songs that we're just picking and bringing them out little by little.” Emilio & Gloria (feat. Wisin & Yandel) “I've been a fan of Wisin & Yandel all my life, since I was a little kid. But I've never recorded with them both on the same song. This is one of the most important songs of my whole career, because I always wanted to do something with them as a fan of the movement, as a music fan that I will always be. This song is very special because it's dedicated to Emilio and Gloria Estefan. It's this powerful and unbreakable love that they have. We just trying to be like, 'I want to have that type of love with you,' that Emilio and Gloria love. That's what I want. They have been together for 42 years!” Aparentemente 2 (feat. De La Ghetto and Yaga & Mackie) “My new producer was talking to Toly, the original producer of the first ‘Aparentemente.’ I had gone six or seven years without talking to Toly; I had no idea where he was. Then we talked and I told him, ‘Everybody's bringing their classics back. What do you think about doing a 2020 version?’ The next day, he sent me the beat. When I told my friends about the idea, everybody told me I should put Ozuna on the song, or Bad Bunny. No, I will never do that, because a classic is a classic. I would never disrespect Yaga & Mackie like that. I would never remake a song that I made with my brothers without making them a part of it. I called them and brought them back together, because they are not an official duo anymore. But they just loved the idea. They jumped on it and they did it with love, honor, and respect.” Satisfacción (feat. Myke Towers) “I think I'm one of the first rappers that met Myke Towers, like nine years ago. When I started rapping, I popped in the same year. But not everybody runs with the same luck. Sometimes it's a process, and it's better because you learn a lot more. He had to pass for all those years and then find himself. Now he's a beast, man. He's one of my favorite artists right now. His delivery, his lyrics—come on. He’s been trying so hard for this time, and I feel lucky just to be around him and be a part of his process. He’s a superstar.” Un Año Tarde (feat. Maluma) “For this song, I collaborated with a young music writer. He gave me this idea and I finished the whole song, like, in 25 minutes. Boom. Then I sent it to Maluma, who sent me the whole song back in two days. Me and Maluma, we have a musical story. We’ve already worked together; we have a lot of respect for each other. He can be in Colombia. I can be in Puerto Rico. I love working with him. It's always a pleasure.”