Gloria Estefan's Party Hit "Conga" Sees a Remake With Leslie Grace's Version

By Mary Anne R. (staff@latinpost.com) First Posted: Jan 29, 2021 05:37 AM EST

Recording artist Leslie Grace attends the premiere of Columbia Pictures' 'Miss Bala' at Regal LA Live Stadium 14 on January 30, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo : JC Olivera/Getty Images)

In The Heights upcoming star, Leslie Grace, with rapper and activist Meek Mill and Grammy-winning music producer Boi-1da has created a reimagination of Gloria Estefan's '80s party hits "Conga."

Conga was known to be the song that hurled the Estefans into Latin music royalty and helped launched in a new generation of Latin artists, according to an NBC News report.

The remixed version of Conga entered the social media platforms on Thursday with a music video that features fan video submissions from people around the world singing and dancing to the track.

Grace said that Gloria has been someone that she had looked up to all her life as she was one of the first people that Grace saw represented that Latino heritage while singing in English. In addition, Gloria also managed to become a global superstar.

"That was always so inspiring to me being bicultural, seeing her just succeed and now being able to walk in her footsteps," Grace was quoted on a report

Grace grew up in a Dominican-American household.

Grace further said that when she was six years old she recalled that she would just imagine that she was on a stage and living it up.

Classic hit song revived

Jamaican-Canadian music producer Boi-1da worked with the recreation of the said party hit song. He was also know to worked with chart-topping artists such as Drake and Rihanna. Boi-1da also take into inspiration dancehall and reggae rhythms for his creation.

Boi-1da said that Conga is a cult-classic and he wanted to keep it authentic and true to the original when he was making it.

"I just made a kind of like a whole new beat around it with a little twist." Grace and Meek Mill then reinvented some of the lyrics while keeping the song's original hook," Boi-1da was quoted on a report.

Grace also said that the Estefans gave them their blessing every step of the way and that was the most important thing, according to Grace.

The new song was reported to be electrifying with its mini-musical style video and was reported to successfully find the in-between honoring the legacy of the past generation of Latino leaders who paved the way for other Latino artists of this generation, according to a People report.

The singer said that the classic song was reflective of today's generation.

The new version

The track used the original chorus for the new version and is refreshed with Spanish And English lyrics, which was written by Grace. It was also layered with a rap verse coming from the end of Meek Mill.

The new version of Conga is reported to be featured in ads before and after the Super Bowl.

Grace also talked about her upcoming film In The Heights, saying that filming the movie was the best summer of her life and that she really felt a personal connection with her character.

Meanwhile, Meek dropped his Quarantine Pack EP featuring appearance from Lil Durk, Vory, and 42 Dugg, according to a Rap-Up report.

Tags Conga, Remake