Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Music / Post No Bills The evolving sound of reggaeton
Posted by Peter Margasak on 11.14.07 at 01:37 PM
I’m no expert when it comes to reggaeton, but in the last year or so I have noticed a pretty concerted effort by big names such as Daddy Yankee and Don Omar to expand the genre’s sound. I can’t say whether the shift, which has found artists incorporating straight hip-hop and dancehall along with bits of bachata, reggae, and soul, is a ploy to attract a wider audience or simply a necessary sign of growth. Plenty of regional styles have trademark characteristics, but the galloping post-dancehall beat of reggaeton has exhibited almost no variety or depth in the several years I’ve been checking the stuff out. Of course, I could be one of those old fogies saying, “it all sounds the same,” but I don’t think so. Most of the innovations of producers like Luny Tunes have to do with the activity surrounding the beats, not the beats themselves. I’m sure there are underground reggaeton acts pledging to keep it real by refusing to change or develop, but at this point I’m not much interested in that noise.
The increasingly popular Wisin y Yandel have joined the expansion crew with their new album, Los Extraterrestres (Machete). It’s got cameos from hip-hop stars Eve and Fat Joe, but the big change is that about a third of the 19 tracks dispense with the standard reggaeton rhythm, inching the music toward what’s essentially Spanish-language hip-hop. It's the most interesting record the duo has made. Most of it was produced by Victor “El Nasi" (a credit you can't miss, given the constant in-song shout-outs to him) and one can only hope that he and other reggaeton producers continue broadening their bag of tricks.
Wisin y Yandel headline the Aragon tonight.
Today’s playlist:
Mari Boine, Idjagiedas (Universal Norway)
Comments (2)
Showing 1-2 of 2
Maybe you should broaden your reggeaton list. Granted, most of what's out there on the mainstream world of reggaeton relies on the basic rythms you mention and the lyrics... ooh, those lyrics any caribbean spanish speaker already knows and which more often than not, rant around variations of misogynistic topics or killing/confronting the oponent. However, Calle 13, Tego Calderon and Welmo have tried to deviate from the usual Daddy Yankee, Wisin y Yandel and Luny Tunes paradigm, and have managed to come up with some pretty interesting pieces. Also, I must point out that, regardless of what reggaeton has become, its cultural background must be taken into consideration. What most of these "reggaetoneros" have tried to achieve (considering where they come from) is truly astounding. Of course, it is almost impossible to grasp all of this by listening only to maintream-reggaeton's mechanichal beat.
like
dislike
I wrote that some big names were deliberately branching out recently; I never claimed this list was exhaustive. Tego Calderon has always had his sights on a bigger sound, unfortunately I think he's lost, floating within too many ideas. Calle 13 are much more successful at broadening the sound.
