Reggaeton Profiles: Tego Calderon
If you're listening to reggaeton and don't know who Tego Calderon
is, then maybe you have been living under a rock for the past few years.
Born in 1972 in Loiza Puerto Rico, Tego grew up with both his parents
in Carolina. His love of music began at an early age when he discovered
his father's salsa collection. Young Tego's particular favorite was the
"Sonero Mayor" Ismael Rivera, whose self styled interpretations
broke new ground bringing up themes of racial inequality and social responsibility.
Rivera's musical influence can not be understated, as he brought Reggae
to Puerto Rico by playing in a now legendary concert with non other than
Bob Marley It was Tego's family relocation to Miami that introduced him
to the world of hip hop. While attending high school he would practice
his now famous Flow blending salsa rhythms into the dynamics of hip hop.
After many years of performing all kinds of odd-jobs he gets his first
true break. Rapper Eddie Dee invites him to collaborate in the tracks
"Terrorista De La Lirica" and the still mind blowing "Boriquas
N.Y." The word on the "calle" was that Tego was gonna blow
up big. .
With this in mind, he goes back to try his luck in Puerto Rico but it
wasn't easy. The people weren't ready for his rhymes. To bring food to
his family's table he was forced to work menials jobs. It was then when
he was arrested for illegal firearms possession. Upon his release Tego
signs the White Lion Label who releases his first record "El Abayalde"
2002 - the record that would open the doors for reggaeton. With the aid
of Luny Tunes Tego created a sound that was parts hip hop, dancehall and
salsa. Tego's approach had never been accomplished with so much with so
much style and "pisaz". Word of mouth made "El Abayalde"
an undeniable success eventually selling over 300.0000 copies in Puerto
Rico alone - (P.R. population is at around 4 million- this means that
2 in 8 Puerto Rican households bought the record. Soon word spread to
Miami and NYC. "El Abayalde" maintain's it's popularity and
can be heard blaring out of many sound systems in our own 305 backyard.
It can be argued that without the success of El Abayalde Daddy Yankee
and Don Omar would not have experienced such high demand. Miami's 305
showed their respects to Tego when he was made the unofficial king of
La Calle Ocho festival in 2003, where by all accounts Tego owned and commanded
the festival.
Tego's music is undeniably cut for the dance floor but unlike most, Tego
proves that just because a song is made for "perreo" - it doesn't
mean it has to be light for the mind. In cuts like "Loiza" Tego
flows about racial inequality in the courts, he tunes into peoples hearts
by being proud of "su negrura" and honoring la calle without
romanticizing the harsh realities of doing prision time and teenage pregnancy.
Tego knows because he's the real deal. He's been there and until very
recently had to take any job he could just feed his daughter. But when
it came time to bat he stepped it up with the kind of pride, style and
flow that many would kill for. Thank you Tego for being one the true giants
of our music.
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