Reggaetón at crossover crossroads
By Chris Nixon
For the San Diego Union-Tribune
June 10, 2005
During the past three decades, hip-hop has shifted focus from the party (using fun-loving, almost nonsensical rhyming words) to the paycheck (the accumulation of status symbols like expensive jewelry, fast cars and beautiful women).
Now, to some extent, hip-hop seems the soundtrack of capitalism, spreading hope of a better life to underprivileged people across the world. If you could dial-flip through the world's radio stations, the word "bling-bling" would be heard in French, Italian, Russian and Swahili.
In Puerto Rico's reggaetón, the language of preference is Spanish, and bling-bling gets translated as blin-blin. Reggaetón – a music form combining elements of hip-hop, reggae, salsa and merengue – is equal parts Puerto Rican party music and street-savvy hustler talk.
The record label Machete Music – a leader in signing and distributing reggaetón artists in the United States – pushes the genre in Latino markets but may soon realize crossover mainstream popularity. (Saturday, for example, the San Diego County Fair will host a Reggaetón Fest, featuring artists including Puerto Rican Zion y Lennox and the Dominican-born LunyTunes.) For artists from these nations and other Caribbean countries, reggaetón represents access to a world of entitlement, a world away from gritty street life.
"The songs talk about street struggles, but you could also have a romantic song," says Jehova Chavez of L.A.-based Machete Music. "They're talking about street knowledge. It's about what they experience growing up and what it takes for them to become recording artists. Living in the 'hood, it's very tough. Music is your way out. Every day is a struggle. You're limited in your resources, and you have to survive with what you got."
The imported Latino rap music provides infectious reggae dance beats and infuses it with hip-hop attitude, making reggaetón popular in Latino markets throughout the U.S.
"I see reggaetón as a new form of hip-hop," says Chavez, whose employer label was created five months ago by Universal Music to produce and promote Latino hip-hop and reggaetón. "Basically, it's reggae sounds over hip-hop drum beats with a little bit of influence from salsa and merengue. It brings all those sounds together into one sound, which is the reggaetón sound. On top of that, you have the artists rapping over the beats, which gives it that hip-hop feel that people enjoy."
The trend started in Puerto Rico just over a decade ago, then migrated to East Coast cities including New York City and Miami. Now cities such as Houston and Chicago have adopted reggaetón. The West Coast is next in the music's groundswell of popularity, according to Chavez.
"A lot of people on the West Coast are just discovering reggaetón," says Chavez, whose label represents reggaetón stars Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Ivy Queen and producers LunyTunes. "It's been a word-of-mouth thing, growing from Puerto Rico to New York to Chicago. In Texas, it's just amazing what's going on over there, in Houston and in Dallas. We're trying to bring this music to the youth. We're trying to take this new genre and take it where hip-hop was when it was first starting."
According to Walter Meneses, publisher of a San Diego-based monthly guide to Latino dance clubs and events called La Sonrisa Latina, reggaetón is taking over salsa and merengue clubs and gaining ground with the younger Latino audience in San Diego.
"About a year ago, I started hearing reggaetón in the clubs in San Diego," says Meneses, who cites the Blue Agave (on Mission Gorge Road, just east of Mission Valley) and Club Caribe (in Bonita) as venues to hear reggaetón music. "People are enjoying this type of music more and more; it's growing tremendously. When people go out, they are demanding reggaetón songs to dance to. The clubs that are playing salsa, meringue and cha-cha are seeing the popularity of reggaetón and adding it (to their playlists)."
Latino hip-hop station Blazin' 98.9 (98.9 FM) is reggaetón's purveyor on local radio waves. The station's playlist features reggaetón artist Daddy Yankee alongside 50 Cent, the Ying-Yang Twins and The Game. Blazin' 98.9 (formerly More FM) also is sponsoring the Latino Summer Fest 2005 at Southwestern College June 25, featuring reggaetón artist Don Omar.
How big can reggaetón get? Very big, believes Machete Music's Chavez.
"I see reggaetón being what hip-hop was 20 years ago," he said. "When hip-hop started coming out, there was no radio for hip-hop. The only outlet that it had was the streets and word of mouth from the kids everywhere you went."
Word of mouth seems to be working. Daddy Yankee's 2004 album, "Barrios Fino," currently sits atop Billboard's Top Latin Album chart, with the hit "Gasolina" fueling the success. Albums by Don Omar and LunyTunes & Baby Ranks (along with a few reggaetón compilations) also have dominated the Latino charts.
At tomorrow's Reggaetón Fest, Zion y Lennox are the headliners, but Chavez suggests checking out LunyTunes, too: "They are the No. 1 producers of the whole movement. They produce practically every hit that you hear in reggaetón."
"It's amazing to see how hip-hop has grown," says Chavez. "If you're 35 or under, hip-hop is around you and it's in you. Reggaetón is a part of the same culture; it's just a new form of hip-hop that the kids can grab on to."
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
