Reggaeton Today
The genre has only grown in size over the past few years and is starting to reach international recognition. Reggaeton's biggest international hit to date is "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee from Puerto Rico. a big hit tracks clearly influenced by the reggaeton style.
Most recently, artists which have grown to be immensely popular are Tego Calderón, Don Omar, Héctor y Tito, Zion y Lennox, Baby Rasta y Gringo, and last but certainly not least Ivy Queen, being the 1st female artists in the genre. They are the most demanded reggaeton artists in Puerto Rico, USA, and most of Latin America. All have performed massive concerts in Puerto Rico, USA and are the ones credited with bringing it into the mainstream and allowing it to become more commercial and embraced by the public that had chastized it in its beginning. Reggaeton is also beginning to amass a large following in areas such as Florida, New York, the Boston area, Chicago, Los Angeles, and small pockets of the USA where the Latino population is sizeable or where there is a large club scene.
And large music companies are taking notice. Sony Music has signed significant deals with artists such as Buddha's Family and Mickey Perfecto. Universal Music is also one of the major distributors of the genre in and outside Puerto Rico. They have deals with most of the large production companies of reggaeton on the island.
Don Omar recently headlined a concert in South America alongside international dancehall artist Sean Paul, worked alongside the famous merengue band Limi-T 21 on two songs on their recent album, was featured on Los Rabanes' newest CD, participated with Ednita Nazario in her recent concert, and made a public deal with Emilio Estefan for production of some songs as well as help in internationalizing himself and the genre. He will also be the first rapper to participate during the famous Banco Popular concerts that take place every year (this is not true, Welmo, who emcees straigth up hip-hop was the first a few years ago). Héctor y Tito themselves have recorded alongside Jose Feliciano, and more recently alongside Victor Manuelle and Domingo Quiñones (two popular salsa artists). They're also touted to have Gilberto Santa Rosa participate in their next album. Other artists have had high profile collaborations with other artists outside the reggaeton genre, most notably : Tego Calderón with Fat Joe, Wyclef Jean, Cypress Hill, Toño Rosario, and 50 Cent. He is also the official face of Hennessy in the Latin American market. Ivy Queen's next album ("Real") has songs alongside Sean Paul, Beenie Man, La India, and Fat Joe. Daddy Yankee has a song alongside Nas called "The Prophecy", and also has a track on the soundtrack of the movie One Tough Cop. Pitbull has also collaborated with many reggaeton artists as of late including Daddy Yankee on his smash hit "Gasolina."
Recent events have only slightly tarnished the image of reggaeton in Puerto Rico, most notably being Tego Calderón's public alimony dispute with his ex-wife, Nicky Jam's attempted murder case (the judge found no cause, and the case was dismissed), and Don Omar's highly publicized arrest after allegedly being caught by two police officers smoking marijuana inside his Hummer H2 and carrying a loaded gun with a mutilated serial number. He has denied any wrongdoing, and his case will go to court soon.
Reggaeton saw its first major hit in the USA when N.O.R.E.'s "Oye Mi Canto". Tego Calderon also grew in popularity along with other artists such as Tempo, Ivy Queen, and Daddy Yankee. These artists hit radio stations and MTV, as well as BET in a matter of no time. Many argue that reggaeton is set to explode in popularity, and it can already be heard in clubs in places as obscure as Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and italy.
