Reggaeton, also known as reggaetón, reguetón and reggüetón,, is a modern style of popular and electronic music that originated in Panamá during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puerto Rican musicians. It has been popularized and dominated by artists from Puerto Rico since the early 1990s.
Sir Speedy is a Puerto Rican reggaeton musician.
The 18th Lo Nuestro Awards was held on February 23, 2006 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. The nominees were announced on December 12, 2005, during a press conference televised live on the Univision Network morning show ¡Despierta América!. The show was co-hosted by René Strickler and Patricia Manterola.
Playero 38 is DJ Playero's 2nd album, recorded sometime between 1994. With the success of Playero 37: Underground, The Noise: Underground, The Noise Vol. 1 and The Noise Vol. 2 giving reggaeton great momentum, DJ Playero released Playero 38: Underground. It established the dembow as the official rhythm of reggaeton, while lifting the genre to mainstream status. However, as with Playero 37, many of the lyrics focus on promoting the use of marijuana, and this added to the negative perception the genre gained in its early stages. Consequently, the government of Puerto Rico confiscated thousands of reggaeton records, because of the lack of disclosure about their explicit content.
Los Anormales is an album released in 2004 by reggaeton artist Hector "El Bambino", now known as Héctor el Father. The album, released under his own label, broke all record sales in Puerto Rico when 130,000 copies were sold in just two days. This album features the most important reggaeton artists such as Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Trebol Clan, Divino, Zion and the duo Alexis & Fido. The album has gone to sell over 200,000 units.
Pina Records is a Puerto Rico-based record label founded by music producer Rafael “Raphy” Antonio Pina Nieves in 1996. Pina Records is one of the longest-running reggaetón record labels; in 2026, the label will celebrate its 30-year anniversary. One of the genre’s most successful labels, Pina Records’ biggest artists include the likes of Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha, Plan B and R.K.M & Ken-Y.
No Mercy is the debut studio album by Puerto Rican rapper 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".
Dando Cocotazos is a reggaeton album released by artist Speedy in November 2003. The album contains 14 tracks and was released on the Pina Records label. Appearances are made by Blade Pacino, DJ Blass, DJ Reggie and others.
Maicol & Manuel were a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo. They have their origins in the first wave of reggaeton artists as early as 1991. The duo have released countless songs on many various artists compilations. They worked with DJ Eric Industry and DJ Negro. In addition they have recorded and released albums such as Yakaleo and El Desquite.
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.
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.
La Trayectoria is a double-disc, 42-track compilation of Luny Tunes productions in the reggaeton genre released on June 22, 2004. The album includes
Luny Tunes are a two-part producing group featuring Francisco Saldaña (Luny) and Víctor Cabrera (Tunes), which have produced many songs. Following is an incomplete list of almost every song they have produced.
Monserrate and DJ Urba are reggaeton producers from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, respectively. They have been on the business for some years, but they really got a start when Daddy Yankee hired them to produce his Barrio Fino Album. Then they followed up with the Barrio Fino en Directo Album. They are aligned with Luny Tunes's Mas Flow Inc and Daddy Yankee's El Cartel Records.
Ñejo & Dálmata, also known as Ñejo y Dálmata, are a reggaeton duo from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Ñejo was born June 20, 1975 & Dálmata was born February 27, 1979. They had worked together in collaborations with other reggaeton artists before they released their duo album Broke & Famous in 2007 which peaked at 8 on the 'Billboard Latin Rhythms Albums Chart" and at 9 on the "Top Heatseekers Chart", as well as a number of their singles also charting on Billboard.
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.
Pedro Gerardo Torruellas Brito, better known as Playero DJ, DJ Playero, Playe, Play, is a Puerto Rican DJ who was a key figure in the dissemination of reggaeton during its formative period in the 1990s in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
American singer Nicky Jam has released six studio albums, three compilation albums, one EP, one mixtape, and 30 singles as a lead artist.
Rafy Mercenario is a Puerto Rican reggaeton producer. He has produced hits for several artists including R.K.M & Ken-Y, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and Ivy Queen.
