Reggaeton

COUNTRY: Panama, Puerto Rico [wpspoiler name=”Reggaeton Kids” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]

REGGAETON started off as Spanish reggae in Panama but quickly evolved into Puerto Rican dance club music that finds influence in a multitude of musical genres–according to Wikipedia’s entry on reggaeton, it “blends Jamaican musical influences of reggae and dancehall, and Trinidadian soca with those of Latin America, such as bomba, plena, salsa, latin pop and bachata as well as those of hip hop, contemporary R&B, and electronica. However, reggaeton is also combined with rapping or singing in Spanish.” Reggaeton isn’t just “Latin rap.” Instead, it has its own distinct rhythms, such as the “Dem Bow” (this link may be just for grownups) popularized by Jamaican dancehall recording artist Shabba Ranks. Raggaeton is still developing as a musical form, but one thing is clear–with its hard-living lyrics about life on the mean urban streets, raggaeton surely isn’t for kids…or is it?!?!