The Roots & Rise of Reggaeton

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Beyond Language Borders

International music has hit the charts like never before in the last two decades. Thanks to the internet and modern streaming platforms, language barriers and borders are no longer an obstacle to international sounds. This kind of access has reshaped the music scene, allowing songs in languages other than English to top international charts and go viral with listeners from all walks of life.

Latin music, especially, is in high demand across the world. Many Latin genres have dominated streaming charts and influenced mainstream pop, hip-hop, and electronic sounds. The huge demand highlights not only the global appetite for Latin rhythms and culture, but also a broader shift toward embracing a more diverse discography.

At the heart of this revolution is reggaeton. Born from a fusion of traditional caribbean reggae with Latin dancehall and hip-hop, it’s a global sensation that’s constantly reinventing itself. Lately, the industry has seen reggaeton inspire subgenres like cumbiatón, neoperreo, and trapeton (more on those later). Reggaeton will surely continue to evolve, as it’s constantly embracing regional sounds and creating new lanes for both artists and listeners.

Okay, you in? Today, we’re diving into the history and future of reggaeton. Don’t forget to check out our SONAR playlist at the end!

The Early Days

In the late 1980s reggaeton music was born in Panama where founding figures Leonardo (“Renato”) Aulder and Edgardo Franco (”El General”) began translating Jamaican dancehall music into Spanish. Jamaican dancehall was an updated form of reggae, inspiring the spanish name reggaeton.

El General

Renato

El General moved to New York City, where he worked as a nightclub manager. As hip-hop was gaining immense popularity in the States, his experimentation helped shape reggaeton into what it is today, with defining characteristics like the dembow beat.

“The dembow rhythm is usually employed as a loop, in line with reggaeton's mainly electronic production. Described as having a ‘bounce’, it has a 3+3+2 (tresillo) cross-rhythm with a slight syncopation on every other half-beat.”

As the sound spread to Puerto Rico, reggaeton gained a fan base in what was undeniably the genre’s most influential nightclub, The Noise. The club became a launchpad for major voices in reggaeton, such as Daddy Yankee, Ivy Queen, and Vico C. During this period, the genre was referred to as “underground” and was known for lyrics that often featured homophobia, misogyny, and sexual content.

At the same time, however, it gave voice to racism, poverty, and life in the caseríos— low-income housing projects of Puerto Rico. In the 1990s, underground artists and listeners were targeted by the government’s anti-crime campaign, Mano Dura Contra el Crimen (“Iron Fist Against Crime”), which labeled them as drug dealers and criminals. Ironically, the crackdown only fueled the genre’s growth, solidifying underground’s status as a sound of resistance and rebellion.

Turn of the Century

In the early 2000s, the genre became widely known as reggaeton and broke into U.S. charts.