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Origin of Reggaeton
There are two existing versions of reggaeton origin: some say that it originated in Panama, others argue that this musical direction comes from Puerto Rico. That is actually where the majority of reggaeton singers come from.
Reggaeton actually developed from Jamaican Reggae, but was certainly influenced by various other musical directions, like for example, North American Hip-Hop and Puerto Rican rhythms. |
Puerto Rico |
Panama |
But let's first take a look at the Spanish-speaking rap and reggae that have made an essential contribution to the development of reggaeton.
Spanish Reggae and Rap: origins and development
Reggae singer |
Reggae developed in the 70's in Jamaica and has gone through numerous changes since then, having been combined with other sounds and rhythms. Panama was the first place where Reggae was performed (by Chicho Man) in Spanish, while the first Spanish rap (performed by Vico C) appeared in Puerto Rico. It all happened in 1985, and in the years to come this movement arrived in other Latin American countries as well as in the United States.
During this peak of Spanish-speaking music movement, Vico C managed to make a breakthrough with his Spanish rap and "merengue house" (a mixture of rap and meregue). |
Hip-Hop singer |
In the 90's, one began talking about typical Spanish reggae. In Puerto Rico one began listening not only to rap but also to Jamaican reggae, which had a great success there.
The first reggae songs, heard in Puerto Rico were, for instance, "Dembow" by Nando Boom, "Pantalon caliente" by Pocho Pan, "Dulce" by La Atrevida or also international successes performed by Gringo Man and El gran General, such as "Muevelo" and "Son bow".
First Reggaeton sounds
The first sounds resembling modern reggaeton, appeared in Puerto Rico in "The Noise" disco between 1993 and 1994, where one listened to the rap of Vico C, containing Jamaican sounds.
In Puerto Rico, one began calling reggaeton " Under", mainly due to its often coarse lyrics and unvarnished language and also because it used to be distributed secretly among young people.
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