Reggaeton News:
When Arroz Con Pollo = $$$
©Barrio305.com
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One thing is certain, Reggaeton will not become another one time novelty
act like the Macarena or the Lambada. Reggaeton is a music style that
for the last fifteen years has been brewing in the island of Puero Rico.
At this moment it seems destined to burst through to a wider American
audience, who may already be familiar with it, thanks in no small part
to the Daddy Yankee’s world wide hit “Gazolina.”
The question is: will Reggaeton lose
its spark when the American big moneyed producers try to cash in on
its popularity?
With the record industry in an five year slump and
top selling genres like hip hop starting to show their age, it’s
of no wonder or little surprise to find record companies scrambling
to sign and cash in on this largely untapped market of urban latin music.
The true surprise has been the reaction of the top
hip hop impresarios. Who have been quick to cash in on their latin roots
and reggaeton’s fondness for their hip hop style.
Artist like NORE and Fat Joe have all released tracks
with reggaeton beats. And to the amusement of many
they have also started to pepper their raps with Spanish phrases like
“arroz con pollo” and “dale borriqua”. The fact
that a lot these MC’s had avoided Spanish until now has not gone
unnoticed by the many discerning fans that call reggaeton their music.
At a recent reggaeton night at the Miami Beach club Rumi, patron Sandra
Chalco a Miami Dade Community College student who often flies to Puerto
Rico to catch her favorite reggaeton artist, summed up her frustration
at the current situation. “To me it’s kind of lame that
this guys are all of the sudden telling everybody how they have always
loved reggaeton. Fat Joe should stick to rapping in English, like he’s
always has and someone should tell NORE to stop with his arroz con pollo
shtick, it’s embarrassing.”
The problem with such “shtick” is that it will only appeal
to the casual listener and will more than likely turn off the faithfull
that can recognize a copycat from a mile away. Another possible threat
comes in the form of major record label deals. Moguls likes of P Diddy,
have been quick to open new urban latin record labels and have offered
lucrative deals attract artists like Daddy Yankee and Tego Calderon,
hoping to revitalize the hip hop world.
The problem with these marriages is that in order to reach a wider audience,
the Puerto Rican artists will be forced to tone down or dumb down their
music. This latest development has many fans fearing that this will
be the end of reggaeton as we know it.
Yet, the situation is not a bleak as its looks, reggaeton as a music
style has been around for years, the music started as a street reaction
from Puerto Rican rappers to the ever increasing popularity of hip hop
and it only seems fitting that the two would come together in the end.
In Miami, Hip Hop Artist Pitbull has proven worthy of rhyming in both
English and Spanish and his song “Culo” was a classic in
both sales and credibility. Pitbull offers us valid proof that one can
embrace the U.S. audience without pandering or diluting one’s
latin roots.
In Puerto Rico Luny Tunes have retained their sense of adventure by
experimenting with reggaeton and R&B fusion with tracks such as
the spanglish “Verme”. This “new” sound has
quickly become a surprise favorite among fans.
And when it come to the big label takeover, Tego Calderon
refused to give control to P Diddy and went on to sign a worldwide distribution
deal with the legendary Atlantic Music. With his new deal, Tego remains
in charge of his Tiggiri record label and gives exclusive distribution
rights to Atlantic. It’s a win win situation for Tego - he'll
reach a wider audience, and at the same time retain control over his
artistic persona.
Will Reggaeton die out when America’s big money producers get
in game? The answer seems to be: No, not really…just be careful!
©Barrio305.com
