Reggaeton – Here to stay
Website design By BotEap.com“Hear My Song”; Listen to my song. Latinos, particularly Puerto Ricans, have been affirming this for years. Trying to get anyone who wants to listen to listen to his music: Reggaeton. A mix of Spanish rap style lyrics intertwined with an up-tempo reggae drum beat. Many people in the United States tried Reggaeton for the first time with “Hear My Song” in the summer of 2004. In fact, reggaeton was developed 30 years ago in Panama when Jamaican immigrants were brought during the construction of the Panama Canal. With them they brought Reggae music.
Website design By BotEap.comIn 1985, rapper Vico C from Puerto Rico produced the first Hip-Hop record in Spanish. This is how the two main influences of the genre were established, as well as the two main producing countries. By the mid-1990s, Puerto Ricans were making their own hip-hop-influenced material and recording what are considered early Reggaeton tunes. Today, the music is flourishing in both Puerto Rico and Panama. And now it looks like it’s headed for the US.
Website design By BotEap.comThe music is very similar to Jamaican reggae or ragga. The same rhythm is employed and the vocals tend to be reggae in style, although hip-hop style vocals are becoming extremely popular. Lyrics often deal with love, deception, street life, passion, and misunderstandings. Although there are plenty of artists who have incorporated raunchy lyrics that have to do with nothing more than sex.
Website design By BotEap.comReggaeton today has grown in size in recent years; evidenced by the clue mentioned at the beginning of this article. “Hear My Song” was released in the summer of 2004 by rapper Noreaga with a well-known reggaeton artist named Daddy Yankee and also with GemStar, Big Mato and Nina Sky. This song appeared on the Billboard charts and was heavily rotated on radio stations around the world. Everyone, including Noreaga, thought they had stumbled upon something new. But recently, artists from Puerto Rico (who produce arguably the most popular reggaeton artists) have emerged to be popular outside of the island of Enchantment: Tego Calderón, Don Omar, Winsin y Yandel, Héctor y Tito, Daddy Yankee, Baby Rasta y Gringo and Ivy Queen. These are the most popular artists in Puerto Rico and most of Latin America. They are credited with bringing him into the mainstream, amassing a large following in areas such as New York, Florida, Boston, and Chicago.
Website design By BotEap.comLarge companies are also taking notice. Last year, Roc-A-Fella Records, best known for rappers Jay Z, Beanie Sigel and Foxy Brown, created an extension of the label for Latino artists known as Roc-La-Familia. Bad Boy mogul Sean “P Diddy” Combs also started Bad Boy Latino. The once grounded genre is beginning to flourish. Reggaeton seems to be what Hip-Hop was in the early 80’s. A “fashion” that is here to stay.
Website design By BotEap.comAnother example of big music companies taking notice is Tego Calderón’s signing with Atlantic Records through a worldwide deal involving Calderón’s own record label, Jiggiri Records. Daddy Yankee opened his “Who’s Your Daddy” US tour at Madison Square Garden in New York City on August 27, 2005.