Reggaeton, is a Spanish version of Hip-Hop

With Latin FlairSpanish Music Merges Reggae, hip-hopDance onWho's Who in the Genre? Omoha World-Herald - July, 2005

It's reggae. It's rap. It's muy caliente in the Midlands. Reggaeton, a Spanish version of hip-hop that features earthy stories and slang, is showing up in Omaha and Lincoln nightspots. With a push from MTV and the area's growing Latino population, the musical genre that originated in Latin America is one of the driving forces behind a resurgence of salsa clubs in the area.

When the doors opened at Arthur's on a recent Thursday night, throngs of young, vibrant dancers began crowding the floor to groove, mostly to a mix of salsa, merengue and cumbia music.

Omahan Jessica Escobar sits at a tall table in the central Omaha club, wearing an army green blouse and dainty black stiletto heels.

She catches a friend bobbing his head to the rhythmic beats of merengue, but she's waiting for a different sound.

Later on, the disc jockey spins a snip bit of "Dile," a reggaetn song, over a merengue instrumental.

"Oh, yeah," screams Escobar, 23.

She turns to a sweaty Freddy Silva, 19, and sings "Dile que bailando te conoci (cuentale)." (Tell him that I met you dancing -- tell him.)

Silva, sporting a crisp white polo shirt, faded jeans and a sweatband, drapes his arms around Escobar's shoulders and walks her to the dance floor. Silver and gold stars hang from the ceiling. Tobacco smoke swirls as they gyrate, gesture and spit lyrics to the music.

Since the early days of hip-hop in the 1980s, Latinos in the United States have waited for a form of music that represents them, said Quinee Butler, executive director of Reggaetonline.net, a Web site that promotes Latino artists.

"When I heard 'Oye Mi Canto' ('Listen to My Song') on the radio and lyrics in Spanish, I thought, 'Wow,'" she said. "It's already integrated in the radio and nightclub scene without (English) translation. That's a powerful message."

Escobar, who recently moved from Puerto Rico to Omaha, said the reggaetn scene is nothing new to the East Coast or the Caribbean islands.

The Spanish rap trend started in Panama just over a decade ago, then migrated to Puerto Rico, where it evolved into a gritty tropical fusion of reggae, salsa, merengue and urban hiphop music.

More recently, it has surfaced in the United States, particularly in New York and Miami. Now cities like Houston, Chicago and Omaha have caught on.

The combination of reggae dance beats with hip-hop attitude makes it popular, said Donnell Jones, known as DJ Romeo on Omaha hip-hop radio station Channel 94.1, which plays reggaetn artists alongside 50 Cent and the Ying-Yang Twins.

"Reggaetn is going to be where hip-hop was . . . making a statement," he said. "It'll stay for a while. I really don't think it's a trend or fad. It's been underground for so long. People who want to hear it -- now they have an avenue to hear it in mainstream stuff."

Nielsen SoundScan reported that the fastest-growing music genres in 2004 were country and Latin, with a big boost from reggaetn. The sales drive is carrying over to radio stations. Nielsen Broadcast Data monitors nine stations nationwide that recently switched from pop to reggaetn/hip-hop formats.

Daddy Yankee's latest CD, "Barrio Fino," is the first reggaetn album to crack the Top 30 on Billboard's pop album chart. Other artists climbing the charts include Don Omar, Ivy Queen, Tego Caldern and producers LunyTunes and Boy Wonder.

Mike Fratt, general manager of Homer's music stores, said the company began carrying reggaetn music last year, even though the movement really took off in late 2003.

He thinks it appeals to more than just the Latino community because sales are healthy.

Jones, 36, spun his first reggaetn record in Omaha nightclubs about a year ago. But he has been getting more and more requests for it, especially in Schuyler, Neb., which has a growing Latino community. He visits the Colfax County town every four to six months to play his latest reggaetn mixes.

"Hip-hop artists want to get into reggaetn because once you put English and Spanish together songs will blow up," said Oscar Vargas, 21.

Vargas, who was hanging with friends at Arthur's, said he thinks reggaetn is another example of how Latino culture influences American language, music and fashion, and non-Latinos are taking note.

Like traditional hip-hop, reggaetn has an impact on fashion.

It represents big money to key players in the industry -- Daddy Yankee, for instance, soon will appear in P. Diddy's Sean John Spring clothing collection ad campaign, including a billboard in Times Square and spots on MTV and VH1.

And like its English counterpart, reggaetn can be associated with bling-bling, translated in Spanish to blin-blin.

Back on the dance floor, the bouncy Caribbean beats had Silva and Escobar wildly shaking their bodies next to dozens of other couples.

Two years ago, most Omaha nightclubs didn't play songs with Spanish words in them, let alone reggaetn, said Butler of the Latino music Web site. But several area clubs now frequently feature reggaetn, including the Drink, Club 1507, Rumors and Stir at Harrah's Casino in Council Bluffs.

Some people find reggaetn lyrics offensive because they're fueled with sex and violence. But others say the stories offer an accurate picture of street life, love and dancing.

"People like it because it's sensual," Escobar said. "It's the music and the rhythm that draws people together. It's like sex."

Silva, who came to the club with his mom and family, wants to start his own reggaetn career. The young rapper performs under the name "Fredo el Buda."

"It's a way to express my opinions about the problems I face in life and the beautiful women I meet," he said. "The reggaetn movement has only begun. Its impact on the United States hasn't peaked."