reggaeton

The tradition & historical record

Reggaeton (UK:, US: ) is a style of popular dance music that originated in Puerto Rico from the Spanish reggae of Panama during the late 1980s. It has been popularized and dominated by artists from Puerto Rico since the early 1990s. The culture surrounding the genre includes distinct dance styles, most notably "perreo", also known as sandungueo, which features sensual movements heavily influenced by Jamaican dancehall, salsa and merengue, as well as Latin rhythmic styles. It evolved from dancehall, with elements of hip hop, Latin American, and Caribbean music. Vocals include toasting/rapping and singing or rap-singing, typically in Spanish. Reggaeton is regarded as one of the most popular music genres in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. By the 2010s, the genre had seen increased popularity across Latin America, as well as acceptance within mainstream Western music. While drawing early stylistic roots from reggae in Spanish and Jamaican dancehall, Puerto Rico served as the cultural and creative backbone of the genre. ¹

There are several versions about the origin of the word reggaeton. The word reggaeton was officially invented and coined in Puerto Rico adding the Spanish suffix ton to the word reggae. One of them states that the word reggaeton emerged in 1994 when Daddy Yankee mentioned it for the first time while "freestyling" on the mixtape Playero 34. Another version suggests that it appeared the following year when DJ Erick released the album titled Reggaetón Live Vol.1, abbreviating the words reggae and maratón (marathon). The spellings reggaeton and reggaetón are common, although prescriptivist sources such as the Fundéu BBVA and the Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española recommend the spelling reguetón, as it conforms more closely with traditional Spanish spelling rules. ¹

There are origins of reggaeton traced to Panama City and Afro-Caribbean canal workers. There was an influx of Jamaican and Barbados immigrants in Panama during this time in order to build the Panama Canal who brought reggae music to Panama. One of the early hits in the reggaeton genre is the song "El D.E.N.I" by Panamanian music artist Renato which communicates discrimination faced by Black Panamanians that spoke English. Later, hip-hop was introduced to Puerto Rico which influenced the development of Spanish rap. After hip-hop and reggae in Spanish syncretized, the music genre "underground" became popularized in Puerto Rico. This links back to the start of Jamaican dancehall music being translated to Spanish in Panama. ¹

Often mistaken for reggae in Spanish, reggaeton is a genre that evolved in Puerto Rico during the early 1990s, heavily building upon the foundation of Jamaican dancehall although its technical evolution, official name, and consolidation as an independent genre took place in Puerto Rico. It had its origins in what was known as "underground rap" music, due to its circulation through informal networks and performances at unofficial venues. DJ Playero and DJ Nelson were inspired by hip hop and dancehall to produce riddims the first reggaeton tracks, which were heavily built upon the original Jamaica Dem Bow riddim created, in Kingston, which established the Puerto Rican underground genre. As Caribbean and African-American music gained momentum in Puerto Rico, reggae rap in Spanish marked the beginning of the Boricua underground and was a creative outlet for many young people. This created an inconspicuous-yet-prominent underground youth culture which sought to express itself. As a youth culture existing on the fringes of society and the law, it has often been criticized. The Puerto Rican police launched a campaign against underground music by confiscating cassette tapes from music stores under penal obscenity codes, levying fines and demonizing rappers in the media. Bootleg recordings and word of mouth became the primary means of distribution for this music until 1998, when it coalesced into modern reggaeton. The genre's popularity increased when it was discovered by international audiences during the early 2000s. ¹

The new genre, simply called "underground" and later "perreo", had explicit lyrics about drugs, violence, poverty, friendship, love and sex. These themes, depicting the troubles of inner-city life, can still be found in reggaeton. ¹

In 2004, reggaeton became popular throughout the United States and Europe. Tego Calderón was receiving airplay in the U.S., and the music was popular among youth. Daddy Yankee's El Cangri.com became popular that year in the country, as did Héctor & Tito. Luny Tunes and Noriega's Mas Flow, Yaga & Mackie's Sonando Diferente, Tego Calderón's El Abayarde, Ivy Queen's Diva, Zion & Lennox's Motivando a la Yal and the Desafío compilation were also well received. Rapper N.O.R.E. released a hit single, "Oye Mi Canto". Daddy Yankee released Barrio Fino and a hit single, "Gasolina", opening the door for reggaeton globally. Tego Calderón recorded the singles "Pa' Que Retozen" and "Guasa Guasa". Don Omar was popular, particularly in Europe, with "Pobre Diabla" and "Dale Don Dale". Other popular reggaeton artists include Tony Dize, Angel & Khriz, Nina Sky, Dyland & Lenny, RKM & Ken-Y, Julio Voltio, Calle 13, Héctor el Father, Wisin & Yandel and Tito El Bambino. In late 2004 and early 2005, inspired by the success of "Gasolina", Shakira collaborated with Alejandro Sanz to record "La Tortura" and "La Tortura – Shaketon Remix" for her album, Fijación Oral Vol. 1, further popularizing reggaeton. Four reggaeton songs were sung at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards: by Don Omar ("Dile"), Tego Calderón, Daddy Yankee, and Shakira with Sanz – the first time any reggaeton song was performed on that stage. Musicians began to incorporate bachata into reggaeton, with Ivy Queen releasing singles ("Te He Querido, Te He Llorado" and "La Mala") featuring bachata's signature guitar sound, slower, romantic rhythms and emotive singing style. Daddy Yankee's "Lo Que Paso, Paso" and Don Omar's "Dile" are also bachata-influenced. ¹

In May 2006, Don Omar's King of Kings was the highest-ranking reggaeton LP to date on the U.S. charts, debuting atop the Top Latin Albums chart and peaking at number seven on the Billboard 200 chart. Omar's single, "Angelito", topped the Billboard Latin Rhythm Radio Chart. He broke Britney Spears' in-store-appearance sales record at Downtown Disney's Virgin music store. That same year, Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie", featuring Wyclef Jean of the Fugees, became "the most popular song in the genre's history", with "the dembow beat in the background, the trumpet sample of Jerry Rivera's "Amores como el nuestro" in the chorus, the obvious salsa influence." In June 2007, Daddy Yankee's El Cartel III: The Big Boss set a first-week sales record for a reggaeton album, with 88,000 copies sold. It topped the Top Latin Albums and Top Rap Albums charts, the first reggaeton album to do so on the latter. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Reggaeton”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

reggaeton is music genre, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 23 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²