15 August 2006
Reggaeton Making Inroads in U.S. Music Market
Latin music breaks barriers, embraces hip-hop and Jamaican influences
Washington — It has been called hip-hop spiced with Spanish flavor by USA Today and it has swept over the United States, especially in Latin communities. A mix of dancehall reggae, hip-hop, salsa, merengue, cumbia and other Caribbean beats fused together and known as reggaeton, it is the newest music-genre to hit the West.
The United States discovered this blend over the past last two years, though it has existed for more than two decades. Reggaeton has cut through cultural barriers spreading throughout the Caribbean and Central America, as well as South America. Reggaeton’s appeal is its unique combination of danceable beats, infectious rhythms and intense raps not heard anywhere else in the mainstream entertainment market. While Hispanics, the largest minority in the U.S., are the main audience, reggaeton’s popularity is reaching even those who do not speak Spanish. The latest hits play in clubs and bars, on MTV, and on radio stations all over the United States.
According to Billboard magazine’s Radio Monitor, in 2005 major American operators Clear Channel Radio and CBS Radio joined Hispanic radio marketers Univison Radio, Spanish Broadcasting System and Entravision Communications to launch new stations in order to “exploit the raggaeton phenomenon”. Since then, many of the stations in Spanish-speaking areas have incorporated reggaeton into their programming. Univision’s KFZO station in Dallas plays 60 percent reggaeton and 40 percent Spanish pop music. In Miami, stations follow a similar format mixing reggaeton with other genres like English hip-hop and free-style.
REGGAE ROOTS
Jamaicans in Panama, descended from immigrants who helped build the Panama Canal, developed Spanish-language reggae in the 1970s. Later, Puerto Rican rapper Vico C (Luis Armando Lozado Cruz), born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, used the material and produced the first Spanish hip-hop record in 1985. The mixed sounds began to thrive in Puerto Rico, where the Latin influences of salsa and merengue were added. Soon it was heard in underground clubs and block parties, and became especially popular with urban youth. In the 1990s, reggaeton became widespread in Puerto Rico as the voice of those living in crime-ridden neighborhoods and enduring poverty on the streets.
Not to be confused with Latin rap, reggaeton is very dance-oriented and encourages shaking of the hips. Critics often decry the sexual nature of some songs, but in fact the lyrics vary in their topics—from social inequality to cultural pride.
REGGAETON STARS AND POPULARITY
The Recording Industry Association of America reports that reggaeton was the driving force behind a 14 percent increase in 2005 Latin music sales in the United States and Puerto Rico.
Music artist Daddy Yankee (Ramon Ayala) and his addictive single “Gasolina” (gasoline in English) is one example. Released in 2004, it remained a mega-hit well into 2005. This anthem for girls who love cruise in cars along their hometown streets soared on Billboard’s music charts and was listed as the number three Latin album as of August 15.
Named one of Time magazine’s 100 Influential people of 2006 and dubbed “The King of Reggaeton” by The New York Times, Yankee has been credited with bringing the genre into places unknown to the masses. His album Barrio Fino and the live-version Barrio Fino En Directo have sold more than 1.6 million copies combined in the United States, and his other single, Rompe, has done well, debuting on Billboard’s Hot 100 as number 24. The singer has a slew of endorsements with major companies like shoe company Reebok, Ford Motor Company, and cell phone company Cingular, and recently it launched his own clothing line “DY.” Yankee will be touring the United States this fall.
“When you see kids dressing like us and rhyming like us, you can see that it’s not a fad, it’s a subculture,” stated Daddy Yankee in press reports. He estimates that close to half of his U.S. sales are from people “who just think the music sounds good” not from any one ethnic group. “Reggaeton artists are the voice of the people, the new generation,” he said.
Don Omar (William Omar Landron Rivera), another acclaimed reggaeton giant, featured American rapper Fabulous in his album, Da Hitman Presents Reggaeton Latino. The album brought him notoriety with fans in the United States. His latest disc, King of Kings, is the highest-ranked reggaeton offering in the top 10 U.S. charts, debuting at number seven on the Billboard music charts.
Major record artists are joining the bandwagon. Acts like the Black-eyed Peas, Usher, R. Kelly and 50 Cent have been collaborating with reggaeton artists and continue to do so for future projects. A film entitled Reggaeton, funded by Latina music artist Jennifer Lopez’s company, Nuyorican Productions, is currently in production and due for release in 2007.
