Reggaetón

Reggaetón originates from "Reggae en español", which was the Afro-Panamanian version of Reggae and Dancehall. The origin of the term "reggaetón" is disputed, some say it is a portmanteau of "reggae" and "marathon" coined by DJ Nelson, however it was most likely coined by Michael Ellis. The suffix -on is an augmentative, Ellis wanted to convey that his songs had a bigger sound. In the early 1990s, the "Dem Bow" riddim became immensely popular and its drum pattern was adopted and repurposed by reggaetón producers into many of their songs, remaining one of the cornerstones of the genre to this day. Vico C's Bomba para afincar was also an early influence as it seamlessly mixed different Caribbean influences. Reggaetón quickly spread throughout the Caribbean thanks to artists like El General and Nando Boom, becoming especially popular in Puerto Rico. Artists like DJ Playero and DJ Negro pioneered a scene which would launch the genre's most successful artists in the mid-2000s like Daddy Yankee and Don Omar. Most early reggaetón songs from Puerto Rico can be found in compilations such as The Noise and DJ mixes like Playero's. Meanwhile, Panamanian artists like El Chombo and Latin Fresh managed to release some hits through the remainder of the 1990s, but their sound was closer to dancehall and less adventurous than that of their Puerto Rican counterparts. Tego Calderón's El abayarde was released in 2002, laying the groundwork for a new reggaetón sound which incorporated traditional Puerto Rican influences like Bomba and Plena. Building off that sound, reggaetón exploded in popularity across the world thanks to records such as Más flow and especially Barrio fino. On the eve of the success of Barrio Fino's lead single, "Gasolina", the genre faced a huge backlash, as it was accused of being a negative influence on young people. Nevertheless it continued to dominate the airwaves across Latin America, launching the careers of dozens of Puerto Rican artists and robust local scenes forming in countries like Cuba and Dominican Republic. A particularly strong scene was formed in Medellín, Colombia during this time, spawning many of the most popular reggaetón artists currently like Maluma and J Balvin. While the genre had been syncretic in nature since first being popularized in the late 1980s (mixing Hip Hop and dancehall with genres such as bomba and plena), it was during this time that reggaetón became more and more diversified, as different artists started incorporating elements from genres like Champeta, Bachata, and even Bhangra into their songs. Reggaetón has in turn influenced countless genres across the world, for example Cumbiatón in Mexico City, Dembow in Santo Domingo and Moombahton