Exploring music: A beginner’s guide to Raggaeton

Angliski

At the beginning of April, the 10 soc class researched different music genres in English class to be able to write about them and recommend new music to the students of Spīdola. Today’s genre is Raeggaeton, which was researched by Artis.

Raggaeton is a form of dance music which became popular with Latin American youth during the early 1990s and spread to other audiences in the first years of the 21st century. Reggaeton blends Jamaican music influences of reggae and hip hop. The music is usually combined with rapping generally in Spanish. It is the most popular music genre in the Spanish speaking Caribbean.

History

Reggaeton’s roots are from Panama, with the music evolving and coming to Puerto Rico. Starting in the 1970s and continuing during the 1990s, reggae production took off seriously.

Music features

Reggaeton’s most notably unique feature is driving drum-machine track, this beat is called the “Dem Bow”. It features keyboards, electric guitars and other electronic instruments. There are a lot of techno, house and hip hop influences in reggaeton.

Artists and music

The most iconic and recognizable reggaeton musicians are Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, PitBull, Luis Fonzi, and Enrique Iglesias. One really recognizable song is “Despacito” a huge hit that took the world by storm in 2017. Other popular recognizable songs are considered “Bailando” and “Gasolina”.

Reggaeton in Latvia

There are groups who make reggae music in Latvia such as “RIGA reggae”, “Singapūras Satīns”, “DJ Bacon” but I did NOT find anything in particular about reggaeton in Latvia. There have been music/dance reggaeton festivals but no designated musicians to reggaeton. Reggae is a lot more common and easy to find in Latvia.

My playlist and insight

For people unfamiliar with reggaeton, I have compiled a list of songs that I consider valuable insight and representation for reggae.

In my opinion, reggaeton is a modern music genre using the top quality music engineered by artists. We’ve all heard reggaeton – a lot of us listen to it on a daily basis, and a few were addicted to “Despacito”. I enjoy reggaeton, and I truly suggest to everyone to get familiar with it. It’s the perfect music to not so much sing along but rather dance with. It’s good for any party to keep the mood fast, alive and energetic. I listen to it sometimes at home when I need a burst of energy and motivation to start doing something, and reggaeton is just the perfect music for that.

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