Rating:
Genre:
Latin
Release Date: 06/13/2006
Reggaeton emerged in the early 2000s as one of the more unlikely international dance music hybrids, but one that captured the imaginations of club-going hipsters with almost alarming speed. Comprised of equal parts
hip-hop,
dancehall reggae (mainly of the late-'80s variety) and
Latin pop, it seems to have sprouted up in Puerto Rico before making its way to Miami and then to clubs all over North America and Europe. This two-disc set offers a good window on the state of
reggaeton circa 2006, though several tracks -- notably
Rude Girl's
"Si el Hombre Quiere" -- demonstrate that the music's roots extend back over 15 years. The singing and rapping are both almost exclusively Spanish, and the overall tone of this music is generally Latin rather than Jamaican, but everywhere there are explicit references to
reggae history, from
Candyman's appropriation of
Nardo Ranks' signature vocal trills to the purloined
"Bam Bam" rhythm that forms the basis of
"El Pru." Elsewhere there are hints of
house (on
Two Swing's fine
"Pegale al Beat") and
turntablism (on
DJ Loco & MC Magico's so-so
"Traicionera"). Not everything slams with equal force, but these discs offer a good overview of a fun and significant strain of international dance music.
~Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
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