Student Life Archives

Dan Daranciang

If you haven’t heard of Reggaeton already, you are sure to in the near future. With hits like “Gasolina” having success in the States as well as internationally, this Latin-hip hop meld that originated over 10 years ago is now gaining an international audience. We turn to the resident expert on Reggaeton, Wash. U. student Daniel Pagan, to get some answers.

Cadenza: So where exactly does Reggaeton originate?

Pagan: It all started in Puerto Rico around ’94. Back then it was called “underground,” and you could only find a few CDs here or there. The tapes you could get had more basic sampling and beats on them, just rough cuts without the studio polish and more complexity of the songs put out today.

Cadenza: How exactly would you describe the music’s style and sound?

Pagan: It’s a combination of many influences. Mainly, it could be considered rap or hip hop, but there are strong influences of dancehall reggae, salsa and merengue music. You’ll hear horn samples as well as conga drums on top of the strong bass of a hip hop beat. Also, about 95 percent of reggaeton is rapped in Spanish, although some English is starting to creep into the songs in recent years as it has gained popularity.

Cadenza: Who are some of the style’s biggest, most well-known artists?

Pagan: Probably the biggest names, or the fathers of reggaeton, are Daddy Yankee, Tego Calder¢n, and Don Omar. Daddy Yankee just signed with Interscope Records in August, and Calder¢n signed with Atlantic in June. These guys all performed together at the MTV Music Awards this year, and Daddy Yankee just had a huge hit with “Gasolina” on his album Barrio Fino. Also, the producers Luny Tunes have played a major role in creating the beats for all these guys and other artists.

Cadenza: Where can you find this music?

Pagan: You can find the major albums at most record stores and they have a show on MTV2 now called “Rhythm and Reggaeton.” Also, reggaeton is starting to influence other popular artists like R. Kelly and Shakira, who did a reggaeton remix of her hit song “La Tortura.” It’s easy to find today.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 1st, 2006 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Cadenza. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.