Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music.
Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae, dancehall and séga music, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the term consist of the riddim plus the voicing sung by the deejay. The resulting song structure is distinctive in many ways. A given riddim, if popular, may be used in dozens—or even hundreds—of songs, not only in recordings but also in live performances.
Reggaeton, also known as reggaetón and reguetón, is a music style from Puerto Rico that was influenced by Reggae en Español in Panama, Hip Hop, Dancehall, Bomba and Plena. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, Latin American, and Caribbean music. Vocals include rapping and singing, typically in Spanish.
Tegui Calderón Rosario is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actor. He began his musical career in 1996 and was supported by the famous Puerto Rican rapper Eddie Dee, who invited him on his second studio album, El Terrorista De La Lírica, released in 2000. Calderón reached international success in 2003 with his first album, El Abayarde, which sold 300,000 copies worldwide and was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award. His importance in reggaeton music led him to participate in Eddie Dee's 12 Discípulos album in 2004. He released three more studio albums between 2006 and 2015, varying in styles, focusing more in hip hop and African music rather than reggaeton in The Underdog (2006) and El Abayarde Contraataca (2007). His fourth studio album, El Que Sabe, Sabe, released in 2015, won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Music Album. In the same year, he announced that he is planning a studio album alongside the Puerto Rican reggaeton and pop singer Yandel titled El Blanco Y El Negro.
Shabba Ranks is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home country as a dancehall artist, he gained popularity in North America with his studio album, Just Reality, in 1990. He released two studio albums, As Raw as Ever and X-tra Naked, which both won a Grammy Award as Best Reggae Album in 1992 and 1993, respectively. He is notoriously popular for "Mr. Loverman" and "Ting-A-Ling", which were globally acclaimed and deemed his signature songs.
Bachatón is a fusion genre of reggaeton from Puerto Rico and bachata from the Dominican Republic. Bachaton combines bachata melodies and reggaeton style beats, lyrics, rapping, and disc jockeying. The word "bachatón" is a combination of "bachata" and "reggaeton". "Bachatón" was coined and widely accepted in 2005. It is a subgenre of reggaeton and bachata.
No Mercy is the debut studio album by Puerto Rican singer Daddy Yankee and was released in April 1995 by independent labels White Lion Records and BM Records. Daddy Yankee made the album alongside reggaeton pioneer DJ Playero. This album had rhythms of hip hop, reggae and dancehall. During this time, Daddy Yankee was known as "Winchesta 30-30" or "Winchesta Yankee". After his completion of No Mercy, he began to sell his cassettes in various stores and clubs, and performing for free in high school dances and private parties. After his mild success of No Mercy, many producers and artists began to work with him, taking then the name "Daddy Yankee".
Diva is the third studio album by Puerto Rican reggaetón recording artist Ivy Queen. It was released on August 23, 2003 and independently distributed by Real Music Group after being dropped from Sony Discos. The recording followed her two previous studio albums which were commercially unsuccessful and a hiatus from her musical career beginning in 1999. It featured collaborations with Latin hip hop artists including Mexicano 777, Bimbo and K-7 while the album's production was handled by a variety of musical producers; Luny Tunes, DJ Nelson, Noriega, and Iván Joy were enlisted, while DJ Adam produced a majority of the tracks. Lyrically, the album explored female empowerment, infidelity, heartbreak and love with "a veritable compendium of her artistic passion, femininity, and culture". The musical styles of the recording alternate between reggaetón and hip-hop while Queen experiments with R&B, dancehall, and pop balladry.
The Best of Ivy Queen is the first greatest hits compilation by the reggaetón recording artist Ivy Queen released on December 20, 2005, on Universal Music Latin and Perfect Image Records. Disc one contains studio tracks from her third and fourth studio albums, Diva (2003) and Real (2004), while disc two consists of music videos from her discography beginning in 1995 up to 2005 with the release of her fifth studio album, Flashback. Diva was released on August 23, 2003, and independently distributed by Real Music Group. The album follows her two previous studio album which were both commercially unsuccessful. With collaborations with Latin hip hop artists including Mexicano 777 and K-7, the album's production was by a variety of music producers, including Luny Tunes, DJ Nelson and Noriega, while DJ Adam produced a majority of the tracks.
White Lion Records is a reggaeton, Latin Music, Latín reggae and urbano record label established by Elías de León with the release of the album No Mercy by Daddy Yankee in 1995. The label would temporarily change its name to 'Boricua Guerrero' from 1996-2001 until reestablishing as White Lion Records with the releases of Maicol y Manuel's "Como En Los Tiempos De Antes" and the compilation "Planet Reggae" in 2002. As an independent label in 2003, it was selling over 100,000 copies of Tego Calderon's most recent album at the time; it soon after signed a distribution deal with Sony BMG.
Carlos Alberto Pizarro, known professionally as Alberto Stylee, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton singer and songwriter. While his career began with hip hop and reggae, he is most famous for musical hits in the reggaeton genre including "Perros y Gatos", "Te Imagino", and most recently, "Perdona".
Nelson Díaz Martinez, known professionally as DJ Nelson is a Puerto Rican DJ and record producer who played a significant role in the development and popularization of reggaeton. He first made a name for himself as part of the Noise, a club-centered collective that was spawned in 1994. The Noise—composed of DJs, MCs, producers, and club coordinators—hosted a long-lasting series of club nights in San Juan that were vital to the development and popularization of reggaeton. DJ Nelson earned credit as one of the top Noise DJs, and he also served as a producer and arranger for the collective's music.
David Sánchez Badillo, known professionally as Tempo, is a Puerto Rican rapper and songwriter. He was the leading figure in the reggaeton scene from the late 1990s until his arrest in 2002. He was released in 2013 after spending 11 years in prison. Although Tempo had success during the emergence of reggaeton, his popularity faded following his imprisonment; he is nowadays regarded as a controversial figure within the genre.
Eddie Alexander Ávila Ortiz, originally known by his stage name Eddie Dee, is a Puerto Rican hip hop recording artist, lyricist and dancer. He began his career in 1990 and launched his debut studio album three years later. He became one of the more popular Urban artists from Puerto Rico after appearing on DJ Adam's Mad Jam vol. 2 in 1997.It featured the hit single "Señor Official". His following releases El Terrorista de la Lírica (2000) and Biografía (2001), too enjoyed underground success. The 2004 album 12 Discípulos is regarded as "the greatest reggaetón various artist album of all time". The album features songs by some of the most successful reggaetón artist, including the intro of the album, where they all come together as one to show that "unity is needed for the genre reggaetón to survive and evolve". It was a collaboration between eleven other artist including Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderon, Ivy Queen, and Vico C among others, who were among the most requested at the time. The track, known as "Los 12 Discípulos" or "Quítate Tu Pa' Ponerme Yo" reached number eight on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart, and was nominated for a 2005 Billboard Latin Music Award for "Tropical Airplay Track of the Year, New Artist". The album itself reached number one on the Billboard Tropical Albums chart for three nonconsecutive weeks. Though retired since 2015, Eddie Dee is generally regarded within the worldwide Reggaeton and Spanish Hip Hop Communities as one of its most important and influential figures alongside the likes of Daddy Yankee, Vico C, Tego Calderon and Ivy Queen. Tagwut is actually an album by DJ Black, not Eddie Dee but he appears in it performing one of his hits 'Directamente Del Ghetto'.
"Dem Bow" is a song performed by Jamaican reggae artist Shabba Ranks, produced by Bobby Digital. This song uses the "Ku-Klung-Klung"/"Poco Man Jam" riddim created by Jamaican producers Steely & Clevie in the late 1980s. The lyrics are anti-imperialist and also anti-homosexual, as Ranks compares those who perform sodomy to those who submit to colonialism.
Pedro Gerardo Torruellas Brito, better known as Playero DJ, DJ Playero, Playe, Play, was a key figure in the dissemination of reggaeton during its formative period in the 1990s in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Israel Perales Ortiz better known by his stage name Mexicano 777, was a Puerto Rican rapper who gained fame across Latin America, and in the United States. Mexicano 777 was from Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, and was considered to be one of the pioneers of Latin hip hop and reggaeton.
"Take It Easy" is a hip hop and reggae fusion song, recorded by hip-hop/dancehall artist Mad Lion from his debut studio album, Real Ting (1994). The song contains a sample of "When A Man In Love" by Yami Bolo and "Return of the Boom Bap" from collaborator KRS-One from his 1993 debut album of the same name.
Urbano music or Latin urban is a transnational umbrella category including many different genres and styles. As an umbrella term it includes reggaeton, dancehall, dembow, urban champeta, funk carioca, Latin hip hop and Latin trap. The commercial breakthrough of this music took place in 2017. Artists in the style collaborate transnationally, and may originate from the United States including Puerto Rico in particular, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela or other Spanish-speaking nations, as well as Portuguese-speaking Brazil.
