Hey, mi gente! Thank you so much for the support with the last video and keeping up with the community tab updates on the Reggaetón video. I’m glad we’re at this point, but there are going to be certain people that may find this video… So, a heads up. If you comment ANYTHING anti-Black (racist too), your comment is deleted, and you’re blocked. You can have your own opinion without being anti-Black or racist. Lastly, Afro-Latino representation in Reggaetón is important! Okay, enjoy the video, like, and share this video📌
I think the focus on your video is good intentioned but there are fails with the Hot 100 centric aspect of it. Like, just 17 artists out of all the genre have made it to that list. That's such a little group and it's not that representative of all reggeatón and I say this as a person who haven't minded reggeatón at all but using the Hot 100 as to claim reggeatón has been gentrified (it has not exactly in my opinion, it has lowered its quality a lot and yeah, there are oportunists and much more money but new people in the industry is always a thing, heck, Sech debuted in the genre in 2014 and his big breaktrough came in 2018). Look, I understand the point of the video and the arguments about Black erasure but maybe get your facts on some of this artists and their careers before claiming reggeatón has been gentrified just because who makes it to the Billboard Hot 100. Like backgrounds and that sort of stuff. Hoping big things for the video on the topic. 👍
@@ola44445 I get your feedback, but at the same time it still doesn’t change the fact that there are only two Afro-Latinos with multiple U.S. Hot 100 hits as of 2023. One of the focuses of this video topic has to do with the lack of mainstream hits for Afro-Latinos in the United States. Bringing up Sech’s rise to fame still doesn’t change the fact that he had to work harder than most of his non-black Latino counterparts. Same thing goes for Ozuna. Both these men have to work twice as hard to be successful in the U.S. Hot 100. Not saying that the non-black Latinos didn’t worked hard, but they have a upper hand just for being non-black making Reggaeton. Then, we have imposters that are not Latina like Rosalia making Reggaeton music, but that’s another discussion.
@@JulianSteve Rosalía making reggeatón/urbano music as an argument of it being gentrified, I dunno, I find it a bit out of focus since the only reason of bringing her up is because she's in the Hot 100 and her internationalization. Never mind the US Hot Latin. Also the issue is that while a few hits in the Billboard charts may be a metric, it does erase the real impact and fame some of these artists are. Daddy Yankee, in particular, because he was one of the pioneers of the genre in Puerto Rico, while in your video, he appears next to Rosalía in the "opportunist" category. Same as Anuel AA, they've been in the genre for a quite a while and putting them next to Rosalía or Karol G is a bit too much. Would you say that all non-Black reggeatón artists are opportunists then? Like Vico C or DJ Playero? Also, with the El General issue of putting a Latina Mestiza woman in his video or performance, she was one of many collaborators the man had. And actually quit the genre very soon after that video. She was just the featuring of one his songs, you can't really make an argument about representation when the genre was starting and he had only one thing on his mind: to make music for his people. The genre is very collaborative, it is filled with collaborations since its beginnings, of course not every song was always gonna have only Afro-Latino singers or rappers in it, specially with the racial demographic background of Latin America and the way music evolves and genres are formed. 🤔
Laughing because Country/Rock music suffered the same fate. The pioneers are forgotten and now the genre is ytwashed. RnB/Soul and Rap (at some extend) still going strong to the roots. Rant: I don't like gatekeeping music, but gets sad when the pioneers are forgotten and replaced by newcomers that just drop
I agree with most of what you said! I think gatekeeping somethings are important. One of them being the origins of certain genres that were predominantly Black. It should be predominantly Black people in said genres, especially with the history behind it.
Thank you again Julian for blessing this platform with an amazing and educational video by giving us some of the history of reggaeton and in the end providing us with a list of Afro-latino artists.I loved the fact that you offered criticization of the artists who benefit from their privilege. Also, providing examples of how to include Afro-Latino artists such as Black American and/or Non Black(Afro) Latino artists to collborate with Afro-Latino artists. I can not wait for many more videos to come from you in the future! I hope we get a part two!!
I'm in a lot of kpop spaces and it broke my heart when I realised that many Koreans who listen to kpop call Reggaeton, "Rosalia's music". They literally giving a white Spanish woman credit for a genre of music that was started by marginalized Afro Latinos and it's sad. I appreciate your content and it makes things easier for some of us who are outsiders to the culture in terms of passing on this information to those in our circles.
Wow I don't know reggaeton was that old. This was cool. I'm down for a part 2. I don't remember if you mentioned it in your video, but something I've disliked of reggaeton videos is how the love interest is always a white blond girl, even though we know, we know, that if that model is latina for real, that hair is probably dyed. I wish reggaeton videos showed Latinx dancers with various and darker skin tones. Because that's what a Latino party really looks like! Even within the same family there's at least three different shades, if not more. And it also makes me worry that there's a bunch of really good Latinx dancers out there who don't even try to become professionals, because the casting people for the videos probably never give them the chance just based on colorism ._.
Thank you for commenting this! I think I can explore this topic more if I do a part II or III. I noticed this too. I do not like it, especially when the artists are Afro-Latinos doing this. I do noticed that the underground Reggaeton Afro-Latino artists are more likely to have Afro-Latinos of all shades. It’s nice to see that! As for Latines of other races, it’s rare for them to have a diverse cast of Latine people. Unless if they’re in the background dancing or passing by in the music videos😭💯
Thank you for always providing educational aspects to your videos. You don’t just criticize people. You explain why the issues you bring up are issues that need to be addressed within popular culture. I am not Latino so I’m not gonna give my two cents on this topic. However, I do feel the world of music has been blessed by the creativity and artistry of artists like Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny. Plus Nicky Jam is a beast with what he can do vocally on a track. With that being said, each of those men have benefitted from being white/light-skinned mestizo Latinos. It’s clear that the Latino music industry prefers artists to fit a certain “look” and aesthetic in order to be marketed. It’s not taking away from the artists’ talent but they need to recognize they have certain privileges over their Black/Afro-Latino counterparts especially the darker skinned ones who look straight up blickity Black and doesn’t look mixed-race. Black American women artist get the same treatment here in America. They have to be a certain complexion in order to get really pushed and put on. It’s blatant colorism. There are so many Afro-Latinos who deserve more spotlight but folks like Rosalia get more attention and recognition and I don’t see it for her at all lol But she fits the image so she gets heavily promoted and that’s so wrong to me.
JOHNIEEEEEEE! Thank you for commenting this! I agree with you when it comes to acknowledging the contributions of non-Black Latinos in Reggaeton while also admitting that they benefit from being closest to Whiteness (or already White, but Latino too). I wished that some of these artists acknowledged this more, but they do not. This also includes Afro-Latino artists who are mixed-race. They face obstacles in the music industry too but may get an upper hand for being closest to the "ideal" of Latinidad. As for Rosalia... You already know my opinion on her. Her super fans were trying to attack us in the comments back then in the video I made about her lol!
I appreciate this video and I’m happy that you listed the black Latin American artists at the end I will check them out to support, this reminds me a lot of the conversations surrounding the 50th anniversary of hip hop celebration that’s been happening this entire year, where people on social media have been talking the origins of hip hop and how the mainstream media have been rewriting the origins of it mainly giving Caribbean Americans and afro Latino Americans the credits for pioneering it but it was really African Americans in fact the origins of hip hop literally can be traced back to the 1930s and many who were there during hip hop origins during the 1970s would tell you that Caribbean and afro Latino immigrants in NYC made sure to not include themselves in it bc associating with African Americans means looking bad to yt people it wasn’t until the popularization of hip hop towards the end of the 70s and beginning of the 1980s that Caribbeans and afro Latinos joined in and by that point the entire elements of hip hop genre and culture were already made and formed. I feel this similar way to reggaeton being half Jamaican I’ve been known of the origins of it and have been peeping the whitewash of it once it got mainstream especially in regards to artists like bad bunny and Rosalia. It seems like things that originate from working black communities across the diaspora are always hijacked by white/non black/black people who aren’t part of that community reggaeton it comes from from a mixture of anti black racism, colorism and classism there’s a always a fantasize way of how society and mainly American society view non-western areas as exotic and want only aspects of it that’s appealing while holding a presence of themselves it. That’s the ugly roots to cultural appropriation
Ding ding ding! No lies detected, Kevin! Every time when the conversation of the origins of Hip Hop come up, it’s always a interesting, but messy takes. Regardless, we know that Black Americans originated Hip Hop. Sure, people in the Caribbean (including Afro-Latinos) participated in Hip Hop/Rap, but history shows. I myself had to educate myself on this. What you said about the shift of Reggaeton is so true! The idea of making Reggaeton predominantly White and mestizo sounds wild, but it’s the truth. At least we’re trying to change that by hearing from Afro-Latino artists! Seriously, thank you for that Kevin😁🤘🏾!
It also doesn't help that alot of afro latinos put non afro Latina's in their music videos and flood the music video with just non-black latinos. If you watch any of Ozuna's videos most of the time, all you see is non-black latinos. Hes the only black person in his own video half. The time that's crazy.
And it’s so funny that you say Rosalia needs to stick to flamenco, when flamenco is something invented by Romani people and co-opted by white Spaniards!
Reggaeton waa coined in 90/91 in flatbush, brooklyn by jaime davidson & Michael ellis both panamanian-Jamaicans The music in puerto rico they used spanish reggse, puerto rican reggae and underground until reggaeton took fold
Just fantastic video as an adoptee from Latin America living in the USA your videos and their book length worth of information. They are extremely valuable videos ! I learn so much every time
Small technical note: some of the clips had volume that didn’t match your mic, so when you were speaking I had to turn it up, but then for some of the music clips my ears got blasted out 😜
I love how apropos this is. Jamaican Independence Day was yesterday. Reggaeton is literally one of my favorite genres because it’s a mix of reggae, tropical beats, dance, and hip-hop, to name a few. I love how versatile it is. I have many fond memories from high school when reggaeton became more widely known in the US. The following songs will always have a special place in my heart: Gasolina and Rompe by Daddy Yankee, Oye Mi Canto Remix by NORE with Nina Sky, Daddy Yankee,Gem Star and and Big Mato, Aparentemente by Arcangel, Yaga & Mackie, and De La Ghetto, She’s Like the Wind by Tony Sunshine and Lumidee, and Los Infieles by Aventura (more Bachata but whatevs). Reggaeton and other música tropical helped me improve my Spanish immensely. In college, I was obsessed with Wibal y Alex, Wisin y Yandel, Jowell y Randy, Omega, J Alvarez, Farruko, Tito El Bambino, Vakero, Ivy Queen, and Arcangel to name a few. Such listenable music! To this day, I am thankful for this genre as it helped solidify my love for the Spanish language. My husband is Cuban and I would never have learned Spanish well enough to communicate with him if it were not for Latin fusion music. Thank you for shedding much needed light on this controversy in the genre. I'm literally trippin' over that one Panamanian artist that calls himself the N word. Like, what???? I will say that in Panama there are a lot of English speakers that have Jamaican accents because they learned English from people of Jamaican ancestry. Strangely enough my Panamanian friends said the "context is different" and that Flex had to be schooled to see the error in his ways. I can't wait to check out the artists you listed. I was dancing all up and through this video because all of it sounds good from the 1980s until now. It's a shame that we have to go out of our way to find these artists because they are not mainstream. It always weirded me out how little homage was paid to the Afro-Latino and the other Black Caribbeans who founded the genre. I really appreciate you bigging them up. I love me some Ozuna, Sech, Myke Towers, and ChocQuibTown. I don’t care if people tell me reggaeton is dead. They have been telling me that for 15 years. I don’t care!
Cat, I really enjoyed reading your comment and hearing your stories about hearing Reggaeton music. You acknowledged your love for the genre while also acknowledging that the genre erases Afro-Latinos (Black Jamaicans too). I think Reggaeton is making a resurgence in the U.S. Hot 100, but it’s lacking Afro-Latinos. As for the non-Black Latino calling himself the n-word… I was in disbelief and then I realized that anything is possible. We have some non-Black Latinos in NYC saying the n-word freely, so it’s not far-fetched. I still find it odd that someone in Panama that is not Black thinks he has the right to identify as a n-word / has it as a stage name. Shaking my head🤦🏾♂️… P.S. - Happy Jamaican Independence Day 🇯🇲🙋🏾♂️!
My mom is traveling to Puerto Rico to see Daddy Yankees last concert this tour, so I sent her this video and 🙁 is all she sent back XD. Tbh I don't listen much of this genre much at all (just whatever ends up on the US top 100 I guess), but I loved learning some of the history of the genre. Great video!
Great video Julian it was informative and I learned new things as well. I will definitely check out your recommendations I casually listen to reggaeton 😊. Part II please, when i was younger I used to think Reggaeton was Reggae music or some variation like Ska. Learning about the lawsuit I wasn't off, lol 😅.
Interesting history of reggaeton music Julian! Great video!👏🏾 Would any of yall in the comment section happen to know any DSBW reggaeton artists I could follow on Spotify 🎶 perhaps??
Holy moly! Did just not claimed that Daddy Yankee was middle-class or something during his beginnings right? The guy has been in the industry since the 1990s. The fact that you compare him to Rosalía or Karol G or J Balvin of all things, makes me thing you do not really know who is big in reggeaton and who was part of it and its rise and shaped the genre during the previous century. Like, I get your good intentions, but maybe get more info on the icons of the genre. You can't be mixing people like Daddy Yankee with 2010s debuting singers and thinking that's educational.
