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Reggaeton goes electro-dance-pop....finally, it evolved!


Don’t get me wrong. I like reggaeton like almost everyone I know and many of the other strangers who also live on this planet.

Its sexy, contagious ‘dembow’ beat and dancehall-infused party rhythms rock big time. I may not exactly be crazy about it, but given a chance and the right circumstances, I’ll put on some music from “El jefe” when I’m in a party mood.
Needless to say, millions of people across the globe are die-hard reggaeton fans so it obviously has a huge mass appeal and staying power - not to mention chart-topping success.

Still, I have long thought the genre was overdue for a refreshing spin. It spent way too many years stuck in the same mono-beat and only drawing unoriginal material from inexperienced “artists” who fell in love with the gangsta-rap image and wanted to make a quick buck.

So when reggaeton superstar Daddy Yankee released earlier this summer “Pose,” his newest single from the soundtrack of the movie that he produced and starred, “Talento de Barrio” (due out this month), I was relieved because I know that he opened the doors for the genre’s evolution.

With the new cut – a spicy fusion of electro-dance-pop and hip hop – the self-proclaimed reggaeton king left ‘dembow’ behind and embraced a modern music blend that’s burning charts everywhere, taking the genre to new musical heights as he puts it on the world map.

The result: La crème de la crème of reggaeton - Wisin y Yandel, Don Omar, Hector “El Father,” to cite a few - are following in his footsteps and this in turn is creating a new, successful hybrid brew driven by electro-dance beats that is also drawing a broader audience.

Case closed.

Maybe Calle 13 and Tego Calderon will continue doing their own thing, but they are in a league of their own.

As reggaeton’s top ambassador, though, the interpreter of the mega hit “Gasolina” carries the torch of the urban movement and is in charge of its future, making sure it remains up-to-date and relevant to a whole new generation of music fans.

And Daddy Yankee knows this better than anyone else. His new hybrid sound is a great contrast to sheer reggaeton, which is also included in the new original 15-track soundtrack. Kudos for Daddy.

**Latin Music Examiner

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

do you even know how to dance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

daddy yankee do you know how to dance!!!!!