The beat is great, insistent and infectious; the poetry of language, of sound, amuses and mystifies; the layers of sound splash out at you or interweave and almost disappear in the drive of the music. It is Reggae. It is Hip-Hop. It is Punk. Sometimes it is Funk. At times it comes close to the grittiest Rap. This is Reggaeton.
I love it much more than I do not like most Rap. Seldom does Rap have a sense of humor; a sense of laughing at itself. Rap needs to be too angry. Reggaeton delights in itself. Sometimes the Reggae seems far away, but the Hip-Hop is always right there. The music uses many languages just the way it plays with sound. Even though I can’t understand much of the Spanish, neither can my Spanish speaking husband. But that’s not necessary. The riot of sound runs away with the language.
Okay, so I’m speaking of the best of Reggaeton. Some of it is just repetitive and boring. Even Daddy Yankee puts out songs that don’t live up to his best. But when he is good, he is very, very good. The repetitions are there, but they vary in a way that keeps them from being boring. The best reference I can make is to a musical tapestry of instrument and voice.
So why do so few people I know like it? I’m guessing that in general many “Americans” are not familiar with Latin music and its evolution of sound. I once was the same. Little by little this body of music became more familiar through listening, going to parties with Latino friends, visiting the Dominican Republic, residing in Manhattan, and living with my Peruvian husband.
Armed with a decent knowledge of this music (from Fado to Forro; from the Cha-Cha to Son; from Cumbia to Bacchata; from Chicha’s Culebritica to Huaynos; from Salsa to Merengue; from Flamenco tango to Samba and on) and with a good background in Classical, Folk, Rock, Country, and world music, I moved to Peru. Here I was hoping to hear some of the great musicians I had heard on albums and Cds. Though Lisandro Mesa is originally Columbian he has adopted Peru and I hoped to see him in a live show. He used to give concerts in our town, but (wouldn’t you know) he now tours the United States. I hear “live” music here almost every weekend, but it is too loud and too repetitive. Several months ago I found a radio station that was playing this “new” music, Reggaeton. “Dame la Gasolina” by Daddy Yankee was popular and played often. I ran out and bought the Cd.
Slowly I am learning the different songs and have seen some videos (some raunchier than necessary), but the radio does not announce the names of the performers. This is a disservice to the musicians. How does one learn which Cds to buy? This must keep sales down or confined to a small handful of kids who buy pirate Cds and learn by elimination.
A message to Daddy Yankee: Hey DY, please have someone change the policy of radio stations in Chiclayo, Peru. And while I’m at it, please continue to create those wonderful songs that are so complex and intriguing. Oh, yeah, a little less Funk, please.
