The Best Years in Reggaeton/Urbano History Part 1 (#'s 6 to 10) and Honorable Mention
This year was filled with so many classics. 1998 was a banner year for Reggaeton history. We also got the first taste of the mainstream
success that was to come. El Chombo and
DJ Negro each signed joint venture deals with Sony. Chombo and his Cuentos de la Cripta went on
to become huge in Mexico. Meanwhile DJ
Negro and The Noise became a sensation in Venezuela. Of course, international mainstream success
was years away.
There was more. Vico
C made his 1st triumphant comeback (there would be more) with ‘Aquel
Que Habia Muerto’. Mexicano released his classic ‘Entre El Bien y
El Mal’. MC Ceja’s “Todo Ha
Cambiado” came out that year as well.
Playero 41 released at the tail end of 1998 after a then unheard of 2
year wait. And it lived up to expectations. The first Gargolas and Hector & Tito
albums came out in 1998. We had the
legendary battles of Falo vs the Mansion Crew, Hector & Tito vs Baby Rasta
& Gringo, The Noise vs La Industria & DJ Joe’s ‘El Escuadron Del Panico’
vs Playero’s Dream Team. It was a
legendary year.
#7 1991
For the true old heads, 1991 might have been the best year
of the originators. The true “Vieja
Guardia”. The reason being because in
Puerto Rico, Panama and the Dominican Republic, the genre now had a presence on
television and radio. Artists like Vico
C, El General, Nando Boom and Lisa M actually crossed over. Not just in their respective countries
either. Songs like “Enfermo De Amor”,
“Menealo”, “Muevelo”, and “Bomba Para Afincar” of this year all crossed over in
countries like Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico.
To this day, these songs are remembered fondly by Latin American
audiences all over the world.
At the same time, the culture still had that underground
vibe of 1986 when the first B-Boys, EMCEES, Toasters and dj’s of the culture
originated in the streets of Puerto Rico and Panama, but had no distribution
for their music. 1991 was a hard time
for people. The United States was in a
recession which affected neighboring Latin American countries.
The crack epidemic reached all the way into Puerto Rico,
although it wouldn’t affect other Latin territories until the 2000’s (because
coke is cheaper over there); in the 80’s and early 90’s there were mass
deportations of immigrants under the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George
Bush Sr. A lot of immigrant youths were
involved within gangs inside the United States.
Now gang culture did exist in Latin America, but it wasn’t the
same.
These deported gang members brought over their American
teachings such as a more violence, drug sales, sex trafficking, hierarchy and a
much more militant mindset as is taught within gang culture inside the United
States. But on top of all this what
these gang members brought the most from the USA was violence. Lots of violence. Chains, sticks and brass knuckles turned into
knives, machetes and guns. And the
rampant gang activity we witness in Latin America today was born from this era.
The Reggaeton and Spanish Rap music of 1991 spoke about
these realities but not at great depth.
That did not happen until the Underground era of Reggaeton which began
in 1994. In 1991 the music was more
about escapism. Escaping from the harsh
realities that surrounded those living in the barrios. That’s why Latin Rap and Spanish Reggae was
so colorful back then. Just watch the
old Vico C and El General videos. Look
at the cover for Nando Boom’s classic “Reggae en Español”. Some of it was current fashion. Polka dots was the craze way back when, but
if you listen to the lyrics, much of it ran away from serious social themes and
instead was more about partying and forgetting your troubles. Some people really cherished that time
despite all the hardship.
*Editor’s Note: Though
Latin America went through several civil conflicts throughout the 80’s in countries
like El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Colombia among others, it appears that
in these days, gang culture as we know it was a rarity in Latin America. It was mostly guerrillas back then. But a lot of the deportees brought gang
culture into Latin America in the 1980’s, which then spread greatly throughout
the 1990’s.
#8 1995
Some might say this was a terrible time period because of
the confiscations from the govt. For
awhile people in Puerto Rico could not hear the 1994 stuff in the open because
the music was so dirty and it would piss off cops because of the rappers who
dissed them. But the genre adjusted
pretty quickly.
Before the end of the year, plenty of classic works came out
that were not explicit in content. DJ
Joe 3, The Noise 3, Playero 39, U Records 3, DJ Adam Mad Jam, DJ Crane vol 2,
DJ Eric 3, Spanish Oil 2 (Panama) among so many others. And that’s without mentioning the dirty
albums at the beginning of the year like DJ Chiclin 3, DJ Eric 2, DJ Joe 2, and
DJ Eric’s The Real Street Mix.
This year was very important because the dirty content was
becoming gimmicky. At times it felt like
some artists were being dirty just for the sake of being controversial and not
because of some natural form of artistic expression. The govt actually blessed the genre,
unintentionally in forcing the artists to become more creative. The artists welcomed the challenge and
started doing more socially conscious songs and ballads. It was the ballads with a Reggaeton beat that
really helped bring in a new audience.
#9 1996
This year would be higher if this list was solely based on
music quality. The Noise 6, Guatauba,
Playero 40, U Records, Cuentos De La Cripta 1, Spanish Oil 3, The Creation 2,
DJ Dicky No Fear 1, Big Boy Mis Ojos Lloran Por Ti, Control Machete Mucho
Barato… so many classics! But… the
community was so small back then. I
remember going with my Latino friends to school and they just wanted to be
about Bad Boy and Biggie or whatever and did not care about what was going on
with our Latino Heritage. Except Big
Boy. Everybody listened to Big Boy and
El General. That music even got played
at quinceañeras back then.
Point is, the genre was too clandestine for its own
good. It lacked a presence in those days
and seemed more like a weird hobby to outsiders. It was the equivalent of being into Hip Hop
in 1984, it was beginning to cross over, but wasn’t quite there yet. It was the coolest thing in the world, but
only for those of us in the know.
#10 2005/2022 (tie)
I think Reggaeton will lose popularity greatly in the coming
years and go back to being regional with different local artists representing
each market. Only uber famous or
transcending ones will become international acts. Because of how hot the culture is, anything
that trends big in “hot” Reggaeton markets like Spain, Chile and Argentina, goes temporarily worldwide because of social media. It
will not be like this in 5 years and artists like Standly won’t briefly
crossover like every other day. This is
a 50-50 possibility, but I believe will be at least in some semblance the future of Reggaeton/Urbano.
The reason I write this is though 90% of Reggaeton is going
back to the underground in a couple of years, Rolling Stone and Billboard will
not stop covering us this time. I
believe they will make other lists of the greatest albums and artists in our
culture, but probably not better ones.
They will miss true classics, but "Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy and “Primera Musa” will be Top 25. *shudders* What can you do? Sometimes trends win over soul.
Anywho… One thing
they will get right is when they look back at 2022 and call it the greatest
year in the history of Urbano… well partially right. It made the Top 10. Rosalia’s “Motomami” and Bad Bun Buns’ “Un
Verano Sin Ti” alone should put this up here.
But this was the year that the next generation became fans 4 life of
this music. 2020 was hampered by Covid
and only Camilo's team here using a bot alias thinks that was the best year ever.
Things opened back up in 2022 and this is the first time I
have ever seen the new generation care about history. Even my generation didn’t give a damn and
that’s why Brewley MC’s first album is lost.
I think it’s that today’s generation has more resources than ever. I mean few, like me, know the true history of
this thing and I don't know everything either. There’s a lot of fraud
historians rewriting the story to their liking but thankfully it contradicts
what the real pioneers say. But
deepfakes are gonna make it harder for people to preserve the truth, at least
for a time. We are at a crucial
precipice within the history of this music.
Other things that happened which were pretty cool were
Bunny’s record breaking tour, Felix Cumpleaños Ferxxo, Rauw Alejandro’s Saturno
and people everywhere finally got to party with others to the songs that came
out during lockdown. 2022 is the most
popular this music genre has ever been.
It will be a very long time before we surpass that level of recognition
for Reggaeton/Urbano… if ever.
2005
2005 on the other hand was just a great year. It kept the whole thing going strong post "Gasolina". Pal Mundo, Mas Flow 2, Los Bandoleros, Sangre Nueva, MVP 2, Barrio Fino En Directo and a host of other great Works came out this year. But the genre wasn’t all encompassing, only “Gasolina” was. I saw promoters take a blood bath when they brought Wisin & Yandel and Zion y Lennox to perform in a daytime all ages concert. Only 600 people showed up to a 3 thousand seat arena. What happened was, somewhere nearby Aventura got booked the same weekend and it killed the event as Aventura was much bigger than Reggaeton back then. That would never happen today if Bad Bunny and Rauw were on the same ticket. That would probably sell out Met Life.
Regardless, of that one incident, worldwide however, Reggaeton was reaching new peaks. Daddy Yankee and Zion & Lennox were literally selling out soccer stadiums in Central and South America. The record sales for the first time reached the millions with albums like "The Last Don", "Barrio Fino", "Mas Flow 2" and "Pal Mundo" all selling over a million units worldwide this year. You could not escape radio or television without hearing the "Tumpa Tumpa" blaring through speakers. Reggaeton was ever present within Hispanic culture during this time.
Honorable Mention: 2010, 2011, 2000, & 2003.
2010 and 2011 were fun years if you even knew the culture
still existed. Half of Latinos
worldwide, especially the aristocrats, had no idea Reggaeton was still a thing
because authentic Rap & Reggaeton went back into the underground. Instead, songs like “El Doctorado”, “Algo Me
Gusta De Ti” and “Limbo” were the most emblematic of the culture at the
time. Real Reggaeton and Spanish Rap
went back to the underground, literally.
2000 was a transitional year in between the Perreo and the
Lara Mercy flow of the mid 90’s. A lot
of great music was out, but I’ll be honest, outsiders thought we were kind of
corny back then. And we were the uncool
ones outside of our culture in those days.
The culture was still finding its identity.
2003 is the best year of the left out Mas Flow ones. Yes, 2006 and 2007 were solid, but Reggaeton
was being overcommercialized and anything that becomes too commercial
immediately becomes at least somewhat uncool.
In 2003, Reggaeton and Rap was still underground and dangerous. Plus the best works of 2003 outweigh 2006 and
2007 combined.
2003
Mas Flow 1, Desafio, Blin Blin vol 1, Gargolas 4, Don Omar
The Last Don, Hector y Tito Live, The Score, Nach Poesia Difusa, W&Y Mi Vida My Life, Yandel Quien Contra Mi,
Proyecto Akwid, DJ Goldy 4, Kasa Blanca, Rolexx, La Conspiracion 2, DJ Frank
Time To Kill II, Ground Zero, The Warriors 4, DJ Eric 7, Los Homerunes De
Yankee, Nicky Jam Salon De La Fama, Ranking Stone Censurado, Under Gramie, & Pina The Company.
vs
2006 & 2007 (combined)
RKM & Ken-Y – The
Masterpiece, Los Benjamins, Reggaeton Rulers, Casa De Leones, Los Vaqueros, Los
Extraterrestres, Flow La Discoteka 2, Broke & Famous, Don Omar King of
Kings, Daddy Yankee The Big Boss, Arcangel & De La Ghetto mixtapes, El
Roockie Semblante Urbano, Tito El Bambino Top Of The Line, Chosen Few II, Doble
V – Vivir Para Contarlo, & Los Bandoleros Reloaded.
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