Reggaeton

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Reggaeton

Place of origin: Puerto Rico
Stylistic precursors
Reggae , contemporary R&B , hip-hop , rap
Instruments typical of the genre
The bow (rhythm), drum computer , sampler

Reggaeton is a style of music that has developed on the basis of reggae , hip-hop , merengue , Latin American styles of music and electronic dance music .

history

The music genre did not make its international breakthrough until the beginning of the 21st century. In the USA , since the late 1990s, some major labels built holdings in record companies in Puerto Rico in order to be able to distribute the music. Numerous collaborations between Puerto Rican and American musicians, especially from the hip-hop scene, also contributed to the current popularity of the music style.

Emergence

Reggaeton emerged - largely independently of one another - in different regions:

The first reggae musicians in Latin America appeared in Panama in the mid-1970s . Reggae had become popular here thanks to the many Jamaican immigrants who had come to the country to build the Panama Canal . However, decisive elements that also characterize reggaetón, such as influences from hip-hop and house , were only developed later by artists from Puerto Rico . The first Spanish-language hip-hop tapes came from Puerto Rico in the mid-1980s.

Development in the 1990s

At the beginning of the 1990s, ragga from Jamaica also found wider attention on the island. The Spanish versions of ragga hits such as El desorden by Nando Boom (Original Stick it up by Cutty Ranks ) and Hombre Murió by Killer Ranks (Original Nuff Man a Dead by Super Cat ) sounded exotic, but they pointed the way forward the development of reggaetón. The CD Dancehall Reggaespañol on the major Columbia label brought the music to Europe from 1991.

In the same year the song Dem Bow by the Jamaican raggae singer Shabba Ranks was released . This became style-defining for the further development of reggaeton; its typical, straightforward rhythm, characterized by electronic drum sounds, has been used almost unchanged to this day and is even referred to as Dem Bow in the reggaeton scene . The Dem Bow rhythm itself was created by Jamaican reggae and dancehall producers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The rhythm was influenced partly by Reggae's One Drop Rhythm, and partly by other West Indian music such as Calypso and Soca . In the same year a cover version of the song Dem Bow was released by Panamanian producer El General , one of the pioneers of the music genre.

At that time this music was called under, as a short form of underground. Even if Panama has a longer reggae and actually reggaetón culture, the new riddims from Puerto Rico did not go unnoticed. In the following years the Panamanian reggaetón mingled with that from Puerto Rico. There were also Cuban elements. Reggaetón, which is so successful today in Latin America, was born.

During the 1990s, reggaetón gradually became a major musical style throughout Latin America. One of the first world successes was Meneaito , the original of which was recorded by Gaby in 1989 ; it was remixed several times after 1990 and in many South American countries it became a popular club hit in its various versions. The sound of reggaetón was continuously perfected and the movement as a whole was commercialized.

Around 1995, however, the genre was given the term Reggaetón, probably in Panama by El General, whose album "Baila con El General" was nominated for a Grammy in 1999 ("Best Dance Album"). Another successful reggaetón artist from this era was El Chombo , also from Panama, who from 1997 published the compilation series Cuentos de la Cripta with changing singers and who in 1999 achieved one of the first world hits of the genre, El Gato Volador . Reggaetón had thus finally established itself as a successful music genre in the Spanish-speaking world at the end of the 1990s.

2000 to 2005

The reggaetón sound became mass-compatible thanks to the arrangements of the Dominican producer duo Luny Tunes , who have released several of their own albums since 2003 and produce the vast majority of Puerto Rican reggaetón albums.

In the first years of the 21st century, the style made the leap to Europe, where it initially became popular in Spain. The best-known reggaetón hits in Europe were Papi chulo… te traigo el mmmm (from the 2003 film of the same name) by Lorna and Siéntelo by Speedy and the US rapper Lumidee from 2004. 2005 succeeded with Gasolina by Daddy Yankee and Loco by Pachanga first reggaeton hits the jump into the German top 10 of the charts.

Kumar at TFF.Rudolstadt 2010

Cuban reggaeton

The origin of Cuban reggaeton was shaped by various groups from 1999 in Cuba. The style was picked up from Latin America, mainly Puerto Rico.

The first band that became known with the new style of music was called SBS. They were very popular with the Cuban youth as they showed a new style of their own, rap with Puerto Rican influences mixed with Cuban music. Later other groups were formed that became known across the country, such as B. Candyman, who managed to land in the top 10 with a very original style. Candyman's music had a Jamaican influence as he lives in eastern Cuba, in Santiago de Cuba .

After 2000, various groups and solo artists such as El Médico , Triángulo Oscuro , Máxima Alerta , Pandilla X , Concepto , Baby Lores , El Chacal , El Insurrecto , Gente de Zona , Kola Loka and Eddy K were able to celebrate successes with their Cuban variant. These groups and solo artists mixed reggaetón with Cuban music styles such as timba and the result was typical Cuban reggaetón - also Cubaton .

2006 until today

In 2006 a trend emerged within the reggaeton genre. Renowned reggaeton or hip-hop artists no longer dedicated themselves exclusively to reggaeton. In parallel with this development, a super-genre was created. Elements of different musical styles were combined with classical Latin music styles. So z. B. Toby Love , who invented his own style of music, which he called "CrunkChata", a mixture of elements from R&B and Bachata (see also Crunk ). From then on, insiders called this Spanish-language music both “Latin Urban” and “Hispanic Urban”. Another well-known case was the rapper Chelo from Miami , who like doing, he also joined the Latin elements with R & B. The well-known rapper Pitbull released his album "El Mariel", on which not a single reggaeton track could be found, but almost all of the 22 songs were influenced by Cuban music styles, for example, and were sometimes sung or rapped in Spanish. One song that sparked discussion was Mamacita by Pharrell Williams and Daddy Yankee : At first some listeners thought it was reggaeton, but this thought was wrong because the song did not contain the basic element, the Dem Bow. Rather, this song could be described as a good example of Latin Urban, as it also contained Spanish lyrics, and thus generalized as Latin Urban.

Another trend was that many songs now had more complex beats. Some producers now resorted to the so-called bachatón and salsaton to give reggaeton a new basis and to produce more differentiated songs. The basic rhythm, the Dem Bow, remains with the Bachatón, but some elements of the Bachata are taken over, e.g. B. Guitar sounds (example: Esta noche de travesura by Hector “El Father” / Luny Tunes). The same applies to the salsa tone , which is derived from salsa (example: Quítate tú pa ponerme yo by Eddie Dee ) and the less common merengue tone (example: Colé by Mojiganga). The Dominican producer duo Luny Tunes developed a song (Noche de Entierro (Nuestro amor se acabó)) for their compilation Los Benjamin , which included elements of the Colombian Vallenato and was called Vallenaton .

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After it had been very quiet for a few years, the reggaeton scene started a comeback around 2014. This was also due to well-known Latin American artists such as Ricky Martin , Shakira or Enrique Iglesias . Also helpful were new artists - especially from Colombia - who brought a new style: Maluma or J Balvin . Songs like "Chantaje" (Shakira feat. Maluma ), "El Perdon" ( Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias) or " Despacito " ( Daddy Yankee & Luis Fonsi ) developed into world hits.

Major guest appearances
  • In Pitbull's album "Dale" you can also hear some reggeaton songs.

Characterizing elements

Especially the simple but effective basic rhythm and the sparing instrumentation make reggaetón a very haunting music that constantly encourages you to dance.

rhythm

The basic rhythm of the reggaeton - Dembow rhythm played by a drum computer , named after the song of the same name by Shabba Ranks from 1991, is kept in four-quarter time and is basically one of the many variants of traditional dancehall; however, it tends to be arranged in a simpler way and to sound more synthetic in terms of the sounds used. The tempo of the Puerto Rican reggaetón songs is usually around 95 bpm . Some songs, especially El Chombo or El General from Panama, have a higher tempo (up to around 110 bpm).

The bass drum is sometimes left out on the second and fourth beats, and a snare drum is sometimes found on the first sixteenth after the third beat. Usually, however, these are the only variants that are used in reggaetón, in contrast to the more complex rhythm variants of traditional dancehall. On the other hand, periodic changes in the timbre of the snare drum are typical .

The fill-ins (about every 4 bars) are more based on those of techno than those of dancehall. Fast repetitions of the kick drum and the snare drum as well as the brief interruption of the rhythm are typical. Noise and sample collages as in traditional dancehall were also to be found in the early days of reggaetón, but are now mostly withdrawn in favor of a “smoother” sound.

Sometimes other percussion instruments are used to embellish this rhythm, e.g. B. Congas and Bongos , which, however, only play a minor role compared to the concise basic rhythm.

Occasionally, you can also find African elements in reggaetón, which have saved themselves through the music of the slaves in various Latin American styles such as bomba and plena and are reflected in reggaetón.

instrumentation

A synth bass is played above the rhythm structure , which mostly emphasizes the even beats of the beat and only enters into a more complex rhythm with fill-ins. It usually consists of fourth and fifth steps.

Most of the rest of the instrumentation is limited to monophonic synth riffs . The piano, accordion or guitar chords typical of other reggae variants are rarely found , but sometimes samples of traditional Latin American folk dances (e.g. cumbia , merengue , son etc.).

From around 2003 the influence of the R'n'B from the USA became noticeable in the instrumentation, so melodic string hooklines and pad sounds are used more and more frequently. This has made a decisive contribution to the fact that the reggaetón of today sounds significantly more “pop” and more compatible with the masses than it did in the 1990s .

variants

Over time, many opportunities have emerged to mix reggaeton with other musical genres. These are not just Latin American styles of music, but urban styles as well. Sometimes there is a strong House influence in the songs . This was revealed, for example, in the song The Anthem by Pitbull and Lil Jon . In this song, the characteristics of the house song Calabria are particularly audible. From the reservoir of Latin music styles, producers usually operate at the Bachata , from which a Bachatón or Bachateo arises. It is noticeable here that many songs are called Bachatón without hearing the Bachata influence, rather the influence in those songs comes from the Mambo , but this resulting style is then called Bachaton. Short merengue intervals are often found in transitions in Bachaton songs (e.g. in the song Mayor Que Yo by Luny Tunes and Wisin & Yandel ). Mixtures of merengue and reggaeton are called merengueton, this is often found in a faster variant of merengue, the merenmambo , whose influence of the mambo can already be seen in the name; Examples of this are the song Pa 'La Tumba by Hector "El Father" or Dime Quienes Son by Wisin & Yandel. As a last important mix is Salsaton to name, a mix of salsa and reggaeton. A well-known salsaton song is Sabor A Melao by Daddy Yankee .

Texts

  • The lyrics are very direct and blunt. The artists sing about everyday crime and violence on the street or in their neighborhood ( barrio ), whereby this life is usually described as completely normal, even a desired state.
Example: "Vivo en la calle, como siempre buscándomela." ("I live on the street, as always I look for it.")
  • Topics like love or separation and dancing are also very common.
  • But often it is simply about sex . Often one finds deliberately ambiguous texts, sometimes very direct and obscene.
Example: "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee : there is singing the singer Glory : "Dame más gasolina" - "Give me more gasoline" - but for many in Latin America "gasolina" in this context actually means " semen ".
  • Many songs glorify powerful cars and motorcycles: "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee , "Tócale bocina" by Noriega, "Cola de motora" by Don Miguelo, "Cuatro gomas" by Rubiote & Yésica or "Honda y Yamaha" by Ingco Crew.
  • Song titles like "Rákata" ( Wisin y Yandel on the album " Luny Tunes : Más flow II"), "Ran tan tan" ( Héctor y Tito ) or "Rat kataka" (Lorna), often underlaid with machine gun noises, are onomatopoeic for that Used to practice coitus .
  • The lyrics are almost entirely in Spanish spoken chant ( rap ), which stylistically lies between the fast, hard "toasting" in dancehall and the more melodic or slower old school hip-hop . The sparingly orchestrated mix of styles reflects the culture clash of the Caribbean musical styles.
  • In some cases, the text used has a politically and socially critical function, e.g. B. in songs by Julio Voltio or also with Tego Calderón and Ranking Stone and especially with the reggaetón artists from Cuba , because here encoded system criticism is practiced.

Common slang expressions in reggaetón tracks

  • abusadora - literally: a woman who takes advantage of a man, also: ... who breaks his heart ( Ivy Queen calls herself that)
  • (nos fuimos) a fuego / (vámonos) a fuego - literally: into the fire, also: crazy, insane
  • abnormal - literally: the abnormal, also: the crew, the gang ( Héctor "El Father" calls his band that)
  • barrio - neighborhood, district
  • (una chica) bien belleca - a “spoiled”, “dirty” girl
  • blin blineo - show off with expensive jewelry ( Engl. coll .: bling bling )
  • (se soltaron los) boricuas - the Puerto Ricans (are loose)
  • (lady) candela - literally: (give me) heat, flame, here: love me passionately
  • clavando - literally: nailing, here (as in German): screwing
  • cuero - literally: leather, here: hooker, slut
  • dembow - the rhythm of reggaetón
  • gata - literally: cat, here: girl, woman
  • guirla - girl ( derived from the English girl )
  • guallando - literally: rubbing, also: dancing tightly, also: screwing
  • masacote - large penis ( Tego Calderón also calls himself "el dueño (owner) del masacote")
  • pega'o (pegado) - literally: glued, here: (people) dancing closely, or: (song / singer) "in", "hip"
  • pum pum - vagina; also used in Jamaican dancehall tracks; a “pum pum printer” is (too) tight pants that reveal too many body details
  • relajando - joking ( derived from the Spanish relajar )
  • roncando - literally: snoring, here: big face, nothing behind it
  • sin jockey - literally: without a rider, here: woman / girl traveling solo
  • tiraera (tiradera) - verbal attack in a song on another rapper, " dissing "
  • (nos fuimos) under - Abbreviation for Engl. underground
  • yal - women, girls (derived from the English girl / gal )
  • mambo - Daddy Yankee calls himself that
  • azotar - to whip (¡Azótala!)
  • látigo - whip; often used (¡Dále con el látigo!)
  • vacilar - literally to hesitate, here: to dance, to pound to reggaetón (Vamos a vacilar.)

The woman in the reggaetón lyrics

In many Reggaetón texts the woman is referred to as a gata (cat) - a wild cat ('gata fiera'), a 'felina' (wild cat) or a cat in heat ('gata suelta'). This cat is beautiful and graceful ('gata sandunguera'), but also a bandit ('gata bandida', 'gata gangster') and highwayman ('bandolera'), who ambushes men and makes them their prey. In doing so, she cheats and betrays men ('gata traicionera'), she is sovereign and cannot be trusted. She is a devil in bed ('diabla en la cama'), she abuses men ('abusadora'), she is a killer ('la killer').

This is not just a male projection, but also the self-expression in songs by Ivy Queen , Glory , Joan, La Hill or Lorna.

This portrayal of the woman is roughly composed of the images that Thalía (in the song Mujer latina ) or Noelia (in the song Candela ) had drawn years before - strong, beautiful, luminous, "straighte", "tough", independent and irresistible Women, according to the popular cliché of the Latina - mixed with a bit of gangsta rapper - image .

Examples of songs in which these metaphors can be heard:

Incidentally, the fact that it is almost always all about sex does not mean that women are easy to get. Ivy Queen sings in one of her greatest hits:

Yo quiero bailar, tú quieres sudar
y pegarte a mi, el cuerpo rozar,
y yo te digo: si tú me puedes provocar
eso no quiere decir que pa 'la cama voy.

I want to dance, you want to sweat,
and come very close to me, touch my body,
and I tell you: even if you can provoke me
, that doesn't mean that I will go to bed (with you).

The Venezuelan group Dame pa 'Matala criticizes this attitude in their song "Fucking Reggaeton".

Major artists

Singer

singers

Duos or groups

Producers

German reggaeton performers

Conflicts

With the Latin Recording Academy there has long been a dispute about the lack of recognition of reggaeton at the Latin Grammys. For its part, the Academy complains about the lack of involvement of representatives of reggaeton in their activities.

Web links

Commons : Reggaeton  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ History of Reggaetón (Spanish) ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ elchombo.com ( Memento from May 16, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ The Latin Grammys Put Reggaeton's Progress on Life Support , rollingstone.com November 15, 2019, accessed November 16, 2019