"Oye Mi Canto"; Hear my song. Latinos, Puerto Ricans in particular, have been stating this for years. Trying to get anyone who will listen to hear their music: Reggaeton. A blend of Spanish rap style lyrics laced over a sped up reggae drum beat. Many people in the U.S. got their first taste of Reggaeton with "Oye Mi Canto" in the summer of 2004. In fact, Reggaeton was developed 30 years ago in Panama when Jamaican immigrants were brought over during the building of the Panama Canal. With them, they brought Reggae music. In 1985, rapper Vico C from Puerto Rico produced the first Spanish-language Hip-Hop record. Thus the two main influences of the genre were in place, as well as the two main producing countries. During the mid-nineties, Puerto Ricans were making their own material, with hip-hop influences, and recording what is considered to be the first Reggaeton tracks. Today, the music is flourishing in both Puerto Rico and Panama. And it now appears to be headed to the U.S. The music is very similar to Jamaican Reggae or Ragga. The same rhythm is employed and the vocals tend to be reggae style though hip-hop style vocals are becoming extremely popular. The lyrics are often about Love, Cheating, Street Life, Passion and Misunderstandings. Although there are plenty of artists that have incorporated raunchy lyrics the have to do with nothing but sex. Reggaeton today has grown in size over the past few years; evidenced by the track mentioned in the beginning of this article. "Oye Mi Canto" was released in the summer of 2004 by rapper Noreaga featuring a well known reggaeton artist by the name of Daddy Yankee and also featuring GemStar, Big Mato and Nina Sky. This song appeared on the Billboard charts and was in heavy rotation on radio stations everywhere. Everyone, including Noreaga believed that they had stumbled upon something new. But recently artists from Puerto Rico (which arguably produces the most popular artists of reggaeton) have emerged to be popular outside of la isla del encanto: Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Winsin y Yandel, Hector 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 it to the mainstream, amassing a large following in areas like New York, Florida, Boston and Chicago. Large companies are taking notice as well. Last year, Roc-A-Fella Records, best known for rappers Jay Z, Beanie Sigel and Foxy Brown, created an extension of the label for Latin artists known as Roc-La-Familia. Bad Boy mogul Sean "P Diddy" Combs also has started Bad Boy Latino. The genre that was once chastised is beginning to flourish. Reggaeton appears to be what Hip-Hop was in the early 1980s. A "fad" that is here to stay. Another example of large music companies taking notice is the signing of Tego Calderon to Atlantic Records via a worldwide deal involving Calderons own record label, Jiggiri Records. Plus Daddy Yankee opened his Whos Your Daddy U.S. tour in Madison Square Garden in NYC on August 27, 2005. |
