Latin America
Reggaeton is very popular in Latin American countries such as Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Cuba, and Venezuela.
Reggaeton has become staple music in many parties and events,
complementing the common mix of merengue, salsa and electronic music,
and has paved a huge fan base. In some countries such as Peru with MC Francia, Los TNT and Mr. Fresh, Venezuela with Doble Impakto, Honduras with DJ Sy and El Salvador with Heavy Clan, domestic "reggaetoneros" have arisen, expanding the Pan-Latin feel[clarification needed] of the genre.
In some Latin American countries such as Cuba, where ideas and
language are an integral part of the appreciation of music, there is an
alleged critical backlash against the increasing popularity of
reggaeton. This rift supposedly exists often among members of the Cuban
Hip Hop community. According to British music lecturer Geoff Baker,
many critics claim that the music's lyrics do not explore any subjects
past "sex, dancing, and the singer himself, in various combinations."
Baker also believes that because reggaeton has an allegiance to so many
Caribbean and Latin American countries, it overshadows distinctly Cuban
forms and variations of music, such as Cuban Hip Hop, even though Hip
Hop is ultimately a north american musical genre. [25]
Ever since Reggaeton's worldwide exposure in 2004, the music has
also enjoyed a strong presence in Cuba. It's unexpected rapid growth
however, has hit Cuban officials by surprise, when by the year 2009, Reggaeton á lo Cubano has become the primary choice of music between urban cuban youth, specially in Havana. According to Reuter, Cuban officials are alarmed by the "decadent" and "Neo-Liberal" music.[26]
[edit] Panama
Spanish Reggae developed as a result of Jamaican immigration to
Panama as a result of the Panama Canal. Eventually, many of these
Jamaicans had intentions to go back to Jamaica, but many of them ended
up staying, and eventually assimilated and became part of the culture.[27]
Meanwhile, in the 1970s, Panamanians like El General began taking
reggae songs and beats and singing over them with Spanish lyrics.[27]
They also sped up Reggae beats, and added Hispanic and Latino elements
to them. The music continued to grow throughout the 1980s, with many
stars developing in Panama. El General has been widely regarded as the
"Godfather of Reggaeton" due to his unique sound with Latino rhythms.[28]
El General stepped down in 2004 from the music industry, and since then
has been working to help underprivileged Panamanian children.[29] Now, the reggaeton industry flourishes in Panama; artists are gaining recognition and popularity such as La Factoria, Eddy Lover, Flex and Makano.[30]
[edit] Puerto Rico
Reggaeton derives from the post-Salsa music youth generation of the
'80s and early '90s in Puerto Rico. Before reggaeton exploded in the
mid-nineties, young street artists, heavily influenced by East Coast hip hop and turntablism, rapped over cassette tracks easily acquired within their Commonwealth (United States insular area)
status. Alongside this early hip hop influenced reggae-rap, evolved the
Panamanian reggae style which eventually fused into reggaeton.
This new genre was simply called "underground." It contained very
explicit lyrics about drugs, violence, poverty, homophobia, friendship,
love, and sex. These common themes, which in many cases depict the
troubles of an inner-city life, can still be found in reggaeton today.
"Underground" music was recorded in "marquesinas" (or Puerto Rican open
garages) and distributed in the streets via cassettes. These
marquesinas were crucial to the development of Puerto Rico's
underground scene due to the state's "fear of losing the ability to
manipulate 'taste'".[12] Marquesinas were often in "housing complexes such as Villa Kennedy and Jurutungo."[12]
Despite being recorded in the projects of Puerto Rico, the majority of
the recordings made in marquesinas were of high quality, which helped
in increasing their popularity to the Puerto Rican youths of not only
the projects but those of the middle and upper class as well. The
availability and quality of these cassettes led to the genre's
popularity, crossing over socio-economic barriers in the Puerto Rican music
scene. The most popular cassettes in the early 1990s were DJ Negro's
The Noise I and II, and DJ Playero's #37 and #38.Gerardo Cruet Created
these recordings spread out the genre from the marginalized residential
areas into other sectors of society, particularly into private schools.
By the mid '90s "underground" cassettes were being sold in commercial
music stores. The genre caught up with the middle class youth and
inevitably found its way to the media.
By this time Puerto Rico had a few clubs dedicated to the
underground scene. Club Rappers in Carolina, and club PlayMakers in
Puerto Nuevo were the most notable. Bobby "Digital" Dixon's
dembow track was exploited in order to appeal in the context of the
club. Underground music wasn't intended originally to be club music.
Underground rap music in Puerto Rico faced harsh criticism. In
February 1995, there was a government-sponsored campaign against
underground music and its cultural influences. Puerto Rican police
launched six raids at records stores in San Juan,[31]
in which hundreds of cassettes were confiscated from record stores and
fines were imposed (in accordance with Laws 112 and 117 against
obscenity.)[12] The Department of Education banned baggy clothing and underground rap music from the school systems.[32]
In the following months after the raids, local media demonized rappers,
claiming they were "irresponsible corrupters of the public order."[12]
The Puerto Rican chapter of Morality in Media
asked the local authorities to intervene and ban selling underground
music, which subsequently required that all local productions being
sold displayed a Parental Advisory label[citation needed].
By 1998 DJ Negro released The Noise 3 with a mock up label that read
Non-Explicit Lyrics. The album contained no cursing until the last
song. The album was a hit and underground music further crept into the
mainstream. Senator Velda González of the Popular Democratic Party and the media continued to view the movement as a social nuisance.[33]
In the mid 1990s, the Puerto Rican Police and National Guard even
went as far as to confiscate reggaeton tapes and CDs in an effort to
get the "obscene" lyrics out of the hands of consumers.[34]
Schools also banned hip hop style clothing and music in an effort to
quell the influence of reggaeton in the educational environment. In
2002, Senator Velda González led public hearings in an attempt to
regulate the sexual "slackness" of reggaeton's lyrics and the perrero
style of dance associated with the genre. While the effort did not seem
to negatively effect the general public's opinion about reggaeton, it
did reflect the unease of the government and upper social classes with
what the music represented. Due to its often sexually charged content
and because of its roots in poor, urban communities, many middle and
upper class Puerto Ricans found reggaeton to be threatening, "immoral,
as well as artistically deficient, a threat to the social order,
apolitical, [and] misogynist." [32]
Despite earlier controversy, reggaeton slowly began gaining
acceptance as an important part of Puerto Rican culture, helped in part
by politicians, including Velda González, who used reggaeton in
election campaigns to appeal to younger voters, starting in Puerto
Rico's 2003 elections.[32]
Currently, Puerto Rican mainstream acceptance of reggaeton has grown
increasing more visible with reggaeton's appearance in popular culture,
including a 2006 Pepsi commercial featuring Daddy Yankee.[35]
Other examples of a change in sentiment within the greater population
of Puerto Rico can be seen in some religiously and educationally
influenced lyrics. "Reggae School" for example is a rap album produced
for the sole purpose of teaching math skills to children, reminiscent
of School House Rock. [36]
Despite Puerto Rico's struggling economy, reggaeton stars have been
able to achieve success not only as global stars but as local
entrepreneurs; this has been evidenced in industry labels such as DJ
Nelson's Flow Music, Daddy Yankee's El Cartel Records, and Wisín and
Yandel's WY Records. Through production models derived from U.S. hip
hop artists and based in grassroots movements, reggaeton has been an
artistic vehicle gaining worldwide popularity, a far cry from its
previous reputation as an infamous underground product of urban youth. [37]
[edit] United States
With the help of N.O.R.E, a New York-based rapper, and his producing of Nina Sky's 2004 hit Oye Mi Canto, which featured prominent reggaeton artists Tego Calderón , Daddy Yankee reggaeton quickly gained popularity in the US.[38] Soon after, Daddy Yankee caught the attention of many big names in hip hop with his song Gasolina, propelling the style across the country.[38] Also in 2004, XM Radio launched a channel called Fuego (XM),
which played exclusively reggaeton music. However, XM Radio removed the
channel in December 2007 from home and car receivers, but can still be
streamed off the XM Satellite Radio Website. The genre has also
provided the foundation and basis for a modern Latin-American
commercial radio phenomenon known as Hurban,[38]
a combination of the terms Hispanic and Urban that is used to evoke the
musical influences of hip hop and Latin American music. Reggaeton
forming from hip hop and reggae has helped Latin-Americans contribute
to the urban American culture while still keeping many aspects of their
Hispanic heritage. The music relates to many of the socio-economic
issues happening in America including gender and race which highly
connects to hip hop in America today.[38]
Underground clubs, youths in the inner-city ghettos, and huge hip
hop moguls all participated in pushing the genre to the top of the
charts.[38]
[edit] Europe
Reggaeton has not become as popular in Europe as in Latin America. However, It has a great appeal to Latin American immigrants and Spanish people, especially in Spain.[39] A Spanish concept called "La Canción del Verano" (The Summer Song),
under which a particular song or two define the mood for the season and
are regarded unofficially as such by Spanish media, served as the basis
for the appearance popularity of reggaeton songs such as Panamanian
rapper Lorna's "Papi Chulo (Te Traigo el Mmm) " in 2003, "Baila Morena" by Hector y Tito and Daddy Yankee's Gasolina in 2005. Puerto Rican and Panamanian reggaeton artists have toured Spain to give Reggaeton concerts.
Reggaeton Videos