Best Comments from ReggaetonPartyMane1 and ReggaetonPartyManeP

I contribute way too much to Reddit and if some of my posts get lost in the shuffle, imagine my comments.  No worries, I have compiled some of my best comments for anyone curious so you don't have to go through that hassle.

These are my best old comments under my ReggaetonPartyMane1 moniker.  It is 95% inactive but I come back once in a while to answer questions and stuff.  I also still posts discographies under this moniker.

From 2 to 3 years ago

When reacting to why Bizzarap x Rauw failed posted by another user.

Probably did not live up to expectations. Rauw Alejandro was doing dembow at the time and had Biza come with that, it probably would have done better. But he did the techno pop which worked before and should have worked in theory for a mainstream artist like Rauw, but the songs were nowhere near as good as Quevedo nor Shakira. "Baby Hello" is better and somewhat 'catchy' but pales in comparison to singles like "Punto 40" & "Lokera". It may have worked for another artist, but maybe people had higher hopes. I don't know if the rumors of him cheating on Rosalia were out yet but I know that has killed him with the female audience.

Not all of Alejandro's singles hit for some reason. "Lejos Del Cielo" should have been huge and it wasn't. "Panties and Brasieres" flopped too which is a huge surprise because the song was excellent with Yankee spitting his best perreo flow in years, but the beat is not what people are used to and not innovative enough like "Punto 40" to keep people coming back. It sounded like Imperio Nazza stuff and I guess people found it passe. Not one of his "Trap Cake 2" songs were big hits either. IMO he should have gone with his collaboration alongside Nejo Y Dalmata from "Playa Saturno" and pushed that record to the moon in Colombia where the duo is most legendary. Then it would have trickled down everywhere else. "Si Te Pegas" is one of the best songs from 2023 but is too ahead of its time. That's how Reggaeton will sound like 5 years from now. He took the Chombo/DJ Pablito sound from 2000 and modernized it, but people didn't get it. Maybe if Karol G did it, that flow would have worked better.

What people want is the Luny Tunes Mas Flow sound from 2005 to come back. They want Bad Bunny to hop on a beat that sounds like it was from Mas Flow or 'Desafio'. With the synth sounds from today it would sound way better too. Farruko did it with Yomo a couple years back on 'La 167' but the song wasn't a single so most people don't know it. If Bad Bunny does a song on a beat that sounds like "Cae La Noche" from Mas Flow 1, it will be the biggest thing in the world. They play those songs more than the new ones anyways. Ryan Castro can't hold a candle next to old school Luny Tunes even though you can't find some of the stuff on Spotify. But I believe the problem is new producers don't know how to do that style and make it sound good. Tainy does, but he is doing new innovative stuff like that fire ass beat from Sech in "Data". I'm sure guys like Sky or Mr. Naisgai could make a beat like that, but their artists probably don't ask them too. Dimelo Flow and Slow Mike would probably kill it on that flow as well.

I personally want more of that futuristic sound from "Data" and "Saturno", but not everyone is ready for it. People right now are really into the classics and the smart thing would be to give the people what they want.

When reacting to another user's post about 2020 being a peak year for albums

I don't know what I was saying back there. I might have had too much coffee. 2020 was great year for Reggaeton regarding album releases.

I did research of 2008, and it's actually better than I remember, but that was the year it became uncool to like Reggaeton in the fresa people world. And it's because they killed the culture with their crappy watered down Pop Urbano. It's possibly better than 2022, definitely better than 2020. 2009 was actually a worse year, but it had "El Principe" which I remember fondly. I have thought about it several times about what I consider the best year in history. I think my Top 5 is

1997 - Boricua Guerrero First Combat, The Noise 7, Playero Exitos 97, DJ Chiclin 5, DJ Nelson The Flow, The Warriors 1, Nico Canada 2, Tiro De Gracia Ser Humano!!, Elvis G Hardcore Reggae Mix, DJ Goldy vol. 3 The Melody, DJ Adam Da Comeback, The Cream vols. 2 and 3, The Legend (online listed as Playero presents The Legend so people could find it, there are several producers including DJ Dicky and Harry Digital), Memo & Vale " En Mi Fokin Mundo Rebelde", The Noise 8 The Real Noise, Prime Underground The Phat Hits, DJ Stefano 6, DJ Joe 5, Wise Da Gansta La Vieja Escuela, Gutauba Live NY, Discoteca Rappers Live, Don Chezina "Bien Guillao De Ganster", El Cartel De Yankee, Spanish Oil 4, Cuentos De La Cripta 2, DJ Dicky No Fear 2, Baby Rasta & Gringo "The New Prophecy, The Big Blunts Live and more...

1994 - Playero 38, The Noise 1 and 2, U Records 1, DJ Crane vol. 1, DJ Stefano, DJ Chiclin 1 and 2, Spanish Oil 2, MC Non Stop Reggae, Maicol y Manuel mixtape, Wiso G - Sin Parar, DJ Dynamite - Underground Leaders, DJ Joel - Underground, DJ Joe 1 and 2, The Creation (DJ Andy), Prime Underground vol.1, Babycat #1, DJ Eric & Master Mitch Street Style, Guayama Live, Trujillo Alto Live, Vico C Greatest Hits, Madrid Zona Bruta, and I know there was even more...

2002 - We got "El Abayarde", The Majestic, Kilates, Los Matadores Del Genero, De Otra Manera, La Mision 3, Blass Sandunguero 2, Tempo Exitos, Rompiendo El Hielo, A la Reconquista, Reggaeton Sex Crew, Grayskull 2, El Mundo Del Plan B, Cartel De Santa 1, Guatauba XXX, Romances Del Ruido 2, Guanabanas "Guillaera", Despertando Conciencia 2, DJ Pablito presenta La Factoria (group version, not various artists one), Playero 42 parte 1 (part 2 never came out), Johnny Prez El Dragon, Planet Reggae, DJ Dicky 4, Yaga & Mackie "Sonando Diferente", Babilonia El Imperio Comienza, Fatal Fantasy 3, and I know there's more but that should suffice.

1996 - The Noise 6, Playero 40, Guatauba, Boricua Guerrero 1, DJ Joe 4, Cuentos De La Cripta 1, Spanish Oil 3, Rebel Style In Street Treatment, DJ Dicky No Fear 1, Playero Live and Street Mix 2, DJ Chiclin presenta Los Mas Buscados, DJ Eric 4, Control Machete Mucho Barato, Vico C Con Poder, U Records 4, DJ Nelson Reggaeton Live, The Noise Live 1, Maicol & Manuel D'Underground, Ivy Queen - En Mi Imperio, Prime Underground 3, Big Boy Mis Ojos Lloran Por Ti, DJ Stefano 5, The Crew vol. 1 With Sacrifice, OGM & Oakley Preparados, Reggae Overload vol. 1, Rappers The Beginning, DJ Guichy "Straight From The Ghetto" and even more...

1995 (tie) - Playero 39, DJ Chiclin 3 and 4, U Records 2 and 3, DJ Dynamite Raggamuffin Leaders, The Creation 2, Playero Exitos 95, DJ Eric Street Style 2, DJ Stefano 2, La Etnnia Ataque De Metano, Prime Underground 2, DJ Adam Mad Jam, The Noise 3 and 5, The Noise presents Little Boys From The Underground, Memo & Vale "Sueños De Destruccion" DJ Crane 2, DJ Joe 3, DJ Eric The Real, MC Ceja - Luz Solar, Trujillo Live 2, The Cruce Underground, DJ Raymond vol. 1 Reggae Shock, White Lion Rap & Reggae All Stars, Nico Canada 1, DJ Crane presenta DJ Gold-D Rap & Reggae Underground (later re-issued as Ruff Reggae in 1998), DJ Gold-D vol. 2 Hardcore Reggae, and even more...

1998 (tie) - Mexicano Entre El Bien y El Mal, Alberto Stylee Exclusivo, Vico C Aquel Que Habia Muerto, Playero 41 parte 1, DJ Joe 6, Guatauba Greatest Hits, Reencarnacion, Gargolas 1, The Noise Live 2 Anniversary, Cuentos De La Cripta 3, DJ Frank Time To Kill 1, DJ Dicky No Fear 3, Hector & Tito Violencia Musical, El Bando Korrupto No Creemos En Nadie, Benny Blanco - Tierra De Nadie, DJ Eric 5 Coming To Attack, MC Ceja "Los Tiempos Han Cambiado", Ivy Queen The Original Rude Girl, DJ Stefano 7 Industry Destroyers, The Cream Egyptian Live, Mansion Crew Todos Contra Todos, DJ Nelson Nel-Zone, Discoteca Rappers Live 2, Memo & Vale "Universal Dance", Baby Rasta & Gringo "Live Desde El Mas Alla", The Warriors 2 "Batalla En Dos Tiempos", The Crew vol. 3 "Kill The Mansion and more probably...

Then I would round it out with 2001, 1999, 2005, 2004 and 2006. Those were the best years in the history of this music by far. I think we could surpass even a year like 1998, but there would have to be more union and creativity which is very hard. Don't get me wrong, the culture is building very strong unions from P.R to Argentina and from Spain to Mexico. In the future an album like Mas Flow will have a tracklist like 1. Aleman 2. Bad Bunny 3. Rosalia 4. Daddy Yankee feat. and etc... It will be very interesting. I also believe that the USA will one day put out artists that don't have to go to P.R or D.R to make it. Even Balvin had to go back to Colombia from NY to make it. Only Don Dinero, Akwid, Crooked Stilo and a couple others made it big from the U.S without having to leave. The scene here is gonna explode in a couple of years again.

When reacting to a now deleted post about Colombian Reggaeton

It's hard to judge Colombia or anything not being directly in the scene. Colombia was the first country to support Reggaeton artists from Puerto Rico and Panama in the late 90's, early 2000's on a mainstream level. Before then it was all underground except for DJ Negro's "The Noise" who were with Sony Latin and became huge in Venezuela. They became among the first countries outside Puerto Rico and Panama who started doing their own brand of Reggaeton along with covers of famous songs starting around the year 2003. Though Colombia already had a thriving Hip Hop scene with artists such as La Etnnia and Tres Coronas, their first big Reggaeton hit was "Quiero Una Chica" by Latin Dreams which was a worldwide hit.

The problem people have with Colombia, me included, is that they became the top purveyor of "Pop Urbano", a hybrid of Reggaeton and Pop. It is very bland compared with the true Reggaeton and there was a huge backlash. I believe had Karol G not been dating Anuel, then Feid, she would have been washed away in this backlash as she until very recently was a huge purveyor of Pop Urbano, but then transitioned towards more authentic Reggaeton in recent years, but dabbles in all kinds of rhythms from Ballad to Cumbia which maintains her popularity with all audiences.

Colombia's international influence started with one guy, DJ Semaforo. He is Colombia's "El Coyote". He was the first guy to blow up Reggaeton in the country and like a true genius started playing local talent with the internationally known ones such as Tego, Hector & Tito, Daddy Yankee, Plan B, Zion & Lennox etc... This is what led to J Balvin blowing up in Southamerica, then worldwide. Without DJ Semaforo we wouldn't know half of these talents just how Coyote was the first guy to blow up underground Reggaeton on mainstream Puerto Rican radio.

I think Colombia hasn't had it's biggest impact in Spanish Hip Hop or Reggaeton. I believe this initial phase of worldwide influence which started with J Balvin's "La Familia" in 2014 and ended in 2020 when Anuel AA said "No Flow Maluma", which affected the entire scene and then symbolized a shift from Colombia back to Puerto Rico. Residente's J Balvin diss was just the nail in the coffin of a movement that hasn't dictated the Reggaeton world since before Covid.

Colombia became too commercial, too fast and too successful too quick. They were years behind Panama and Puerto Rico in starting a movement and much of the classic works like Playero and The Noise never got over there, so many Colombians who never went to Miami or New York are uneducated in classic Reggaeton prior to "La Gasolina". That's why Colombian Reggaeton often sounds underdeveloped or amateur when compared to Panama, Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic which all had thriving Reggaeton scenes a decade before Colombia. In Panama it is known as Plena which they also use to describe more tradtional dancehall rhythms.

Outside of Puerto Rico and Panama, the talents don't really take Reggaeton too seriously and treat it more like a hobby or side hustle. They didn't have talents like Vico C, Lisa M, Playero, Tego Calderon, Eddie Dee, Ivy Queen, Daddy Yankee, El General, Chombo, Baby Rasta & Gringo and many others who took the music really seriously like the salseros of the 70's and 80's and attempted to create the best works possible. The key difference between the artists from Puerto Rico and everywhere else is that they knew that in Reggaeton it was possible to make great works comparable to Willie Colon, Celia Cruz, La Fania All Stars, Hector Lavoe and many others. In Colombia and everywhere else, Reggaeton is barely considered music. That's why they don't take it seriously and are just trying to make money instead of great works. In Puerto Rico, they are actually trying to make works that stand the test of time. Everywhere else it's just about the money. That's why it was easy for these crappy pop acts to buy themselves into Reggaeton like nothing.

But in the present and future, Karol G, J Balvin and even Maluma (though I'm not a fan personally) will be the influence for a new generation like those artists were for people in Panama and Puerto Rico. Those artists won grammys, topped the charts and even made classics (even Maluma has "El Perdedor"). The next generation of Colombian talent will be much more prepared and proficient while this one was just learning their way. But every Latin American country is now going through this "Colombia effect". We see it now with Chile who are producing worldwide hits, but when you look deeper, it is a very underdeveloped territory in terms of talent they still lack substance like Columbia did 10 years ago, at least in Reggaeton. Chile did produce Tiro de Gracia, Makiza and Ana Tijoux.

I think Colombia now in Reggaeton is better than ever and even surpassing its current Hip Hop scene in terms of relevancy and overall talent. But it isn't the belle of the ball anymore and perception is reality. I think the Reggaeton from Colombia in 2017 from Alkilados, Wolfine, Reykon, Piso 21 and Mike Bahia most of all was just terrible. I think Ryan Castro, Totoy, Mañas Ru-Fino and others are making way better music. Yelsid was better than Maluma, why didn't he blow up? Sometimes it's not who's the better overall talent but who has the right singles, image and marketing. The album can suck but if you got those 2 or 3 songs especially in today's era where you don't have the buy the entire album, you are made. I came up in the era prior to 2014 when people had to listen to the entire album to get to the song they loved. In a sense, streaming has made things better, but it's also made it easier for less talented people to have success over more able ones.

Colombia's transcendence in Reggaeton is a blessing because when they showed that a scene outside Panama, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic can produce internationally successful acts, now everybody is coming at this like the gold rush. Soon, every Spanish speaking country is going to produce internationally successful talents even here in the United States where spanish is the #2 most spoken language by nearly half the population. Maybe most of the scenes shall remain local, but every spanish speaking country doing what the corporations denominate as "Urbano" will produce at least 1-2 successful talents in multiple countries, often several.

While helping a user search for an Hector & Tito Song

I don't know any song with marching except the footsteps in "The Godfather" intro. That album is from 2002 and is Hector El Bambino with Pina Records. There is also the marching drums in "Cae La Noche" from Mas Flow 1 which you may have trouble finding for it is not on all streaming platforms. It is on Spotify though. In order to help I will list every production Hector & Tito made or participated in from 2001 until their breakup in 2004.

Hector & Tito - Lo De Antes (2001)

DJ Nelson - Sweet Dreams (2001)

Boricua NY 2 (2001)

Sandungueo Mix 3 (2002)

Magnate & Valentino - Rompiendo El Hielo (2002)

collab with Grupo Mania "Caminare Por El Mundo" (2002)

DJ Dicky No Fear 4 (2002)

Hector El Bambino presenta "The Godfather" (2002)

Guatauba XXX (2002)

Grayskull 2 (2002)

Hector & Tito - A la Reconquista (2002)

Luny Tunes Mas Flow (2003)

Gargolas 4 (2003)

Blin Blin (2003) this is where "Villana" is on along with a collab feat. Jomar El Caballo negro.

Hector & Tito La Historia Live (2003)

Hector El Bambino presenta Los Anormales (2004)

Let me know if this helps. Also if it's solo songs or someone that sounds similar I can try to help. Hector & Tito started doing solo stuff around 2004. Also, Magnate & Valentino, Rubio & Joel, Yamil & Delfin, Baby Rasta, Baby Banton, and Karel & Voltio have a similar sound. Early Wisin & Yandel too. I doubt you would confuse anyone with Hector & Tito nowadays if you're familiarized with their work.

When a reddit user asked about Tony Dize

I read he had a substance abuse problem which made him real unreliable. I won't say what it was, maybe you can still google it but some stuff becomes hard to find with time. This is what truly angered Pina who then did "blackball" him but it was because he was owed something like 300 thousand US Dollars over missed shows and Tony not showing up to record. This supposedly was a problem since his days with WY Records but people forgave him because of how likeable and talented he is. I don't know. It's just what I've read. I read the same about Yaviah ironically as they were traded for one another. He supposedly did clean up for the Pina Records "Melodia De La Calle Updated tour" and met all his compromisos which lead to him paying back his dues. But I read he got into a depression when his 3rd album did not do well and I believe his significant other left him, but I'm not sure of any of this... it was so long ago. And it may have been in a forum, but it must have been a credible source for me to be writing it down now.

In today's era, Tony Dize would be around 70 gs per show and his cut would be at least 50%. Sadly in 2015 Reggaeton wasn't where it was now and an artist had to really bust his ass to earn good money. So if the debt kept rising, you could do 60 shows in a year which supposedly is a heavy load (Yankee did close to 100 for the Barrio Fino tour) and not everyone can handle it, but still owe the label money. One of the reasons Eddie Dee retired is because he hated he got paid so little for shows that the travel wasn't worth it. He preferred sitting at home and writing songs for others then living off the royalties. Plus he used to own a liquor store I believe and likely invested in several other businesses as well.

Reacting to my own post about a video Chente made regarding Eddie Dee's possible return.

 know the real reason Eddie Dee doesn't come back and it's money. I rarely see it reported, but in the days that 'El Diario de Eddie Avila' was rejected by Universal Latino (apparently) Reggaeton artists were very underpaid compared to now. I knew some artists' prices back then and you are talking about legends with worldwide renown hits getting less than 5 figures per performance. That's why Tego disappeared for a few years too. He was also underpaid.

I don't know first hand and either Eddie has good people around him who keep his business quiet or I have been cut off of that world where people know the real info. But I remember reading that the liquor store in "En Peligro de Extincion" is real and actually owned by Eddie Dee. I know plenty American Rappers do that and diversify the money they make from music. Yankee and Hector are the only ones widely know for doing this, but Eddie made some decent money. Possibly in the lower 6 figures during his run. I truly doubt he ever became a millionaire. He could have taken that dough and diversified into other businesses like real estates or bodegas. I'm pretty sure that's what Tego did and why he took such a long break.

Now that Bad Bunny, according to news reports, earned 7 figures for himself per performance in his last tour, the Reggaeton money has changed. I guarantee that in the few comeback Tego shows he's getting at least in the upper 5 figures if not 6 per event he performs in. This is thanks to Bad Bunny who brought him out to the grammy after show a couple years back and this is what brought Tego back to the game. In Eddie's time it wasn't anywhere near like this even if we adjust for inflation. Sure W&Y, Don, and DY were paid very well. Around the 'El Cartel The Big Boss' tour I read reports Yankee was getting paid a quarter of a million dollars per event and had been earning 6 figures since the 'Barrio Fino' tour which shouldn't be a shocker as he would fill in 30 thousand seat soccer stadiums back then by himself. But other old school legends that were Yankee's contemporaries in the 90s made less than 4 figures per performance during this era. Eddie Dee wasn't one of them, but I am almost certain he never got anywhere near what he deserved.

But now things are different and so is Eddie Dee's worth. No one has spoken about Tego's offers and outlets today just don't care. But I'm sure he's getting a respectable 6 figure deal where he retains all his rights? Why? That's what he got in his last deal with Venemusic, now known as 'Siente', in 2015 for "El Que Sabe Sabe". And it was only for the album. Tego said it in an interview with a Puerto Rican news publication back then. I believe it was $100 g's if I'm not mistaken. This time if Tego offers show money to the label and gives a minimum of dates he is willing to do, maybe 20 a year. Tego is barely doing shows now and that is probably intentional, plus his price went up thanks to Bad Bunny, and that probably has something to do with it. If Tego were to offer a stake in his performance earnings, he could most likely easily get a $500,000 dollar advance from a major label with a new album intact. Maybe even a million with more incentives like a greatest hits compilation or live album and more dates.

Unlike other old school acts, Eddie Dee remains very relevant. Just how Tego's "Pa Que Se Lo Gozen" is still played alongside the hits of today to the point Pop superstar Maluma goes viral performing it... Eddie Dee's hits like "Quitate Tu Pa Ponerme Yo", "Amor de Pobre" with Zion, "La Locura Automatica (Reggaeton Remix)" with La Secta All-Star and "Gasolina" (co-writer) still receive heavy rotation and do great in streaming services. Eddie Dee is still worth his salt despite being inactive for over a decade. Unless Bad Bunny (who is an exec A&R at RIMAS) signs him, there is no way in hell Eddie Dee will ever get 7 figures. But he could probably get the same deal Tego got with Venemusic where he retains all his rights for the same amount.

When Eddie Dee was signed to Universal in the mid 00's it wasn't by himself directly. He was part of a label known as 'Diamond Music' run by famed executive Ivan Joy. Other artists such as Johnny Prez, Pedro Prez (QEPD), Kenny & Eric were part of the deal. Machete Music/Universal Latino released Johnny Prez's 'Knockout' in 2007 and were supposed to release 'El Diario de Eddie Avila' soon after. I do believe the Diamond Music deal was lucrative, but the majors have little to go by when assessing Eddie's value so I don't believe they will make him a fair offer for his comeback.

If Eddie is willing to do a tour, he deserves to be offered 7 figures but will be lucky to get half. The plus side is that Eddie should easily be able to earn in the high 5 figures, low 6 per performance. There are a lot of Latin American cities that would pay top dollar to bring Eddie Dee's comeback tour. He would also do well in big US cities like New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Miami. Eddie Dee's comeback could easily be one of the biggest stories for the famed Viña Del Mar festival in Chile.

What I'm trying to say is this is the closest we have come to Eddie Dee coming out of retirement like he was supposed to. DJ Adam in an interview with Maiky Backstage said Eddie never stopped making music and has over 50 songs recorded, possibly a hundred for 'El Diario de Eddie Avila' and its promised preamble '180° Grados'. If Eddie Dee comes back it has to be now. I doubt he will get the kind of offers in the future he could now. The industry is beginning to turn their back on Reggaeton again after their Pop Urbano experiments and their 360 slave deals failed. They don't want Eddie to come back because they don't want to give him a fair shake. And if he succeeds other artists will want the same. These record industry people can be real greedy.

Guys like Eddie know their worth and that threatens the record labels. They want you to give all your rights away and someone like Eddie Avila AKA Eddie Dee is too smart and experienced to do that. But since he quit over the money. Maybe now he can come back. I know Bad can get him at least half a milli to come back. I could see Elias White Lion coming out of retirement just to work Eddie Dee's comeback. Eddie Dee and Pina Records will never happen, obviously. But maybe Eddie gets a decent offer from GLAD Enterprises, Sony Latin, or who knows? I doubt he will go back to Universal after how dirty they did him the first time. Eddie won't make Yankee money if he comes back, but he will probably make somewhere around 10x what he earned when he was active. I believe that will be enough incentive. Let's just pray to Jesus he gets rid of the useless middlemen and powers trying to sabotage and/or exploit the situation. Lord Willing. Useful middlemen/women who can make things happen are welcome.

Reacting to another self made post about why 'Panties y Brasieres' flopped?

I think that the sound wasn't Pop Urbano enough for some of Rauw's modern fanbase. Also DY comes across as an old fart to some of the new generation it appears. It was one of the best songs and singles in 2023. But instead we get all these crappy Perreo songs that make Fatal Fantasy 2 look like Amadeus Mozart but because they are trendy and the new audience don't know classic perreo, they were amazed by Jere Klein.

Not that he's bad, Standly's much worse. But I hear all these crappy Perreo Reggaeton songs hitting big from Chile, Colombia and Mexico that are either very average or below good quality. I know it's because these new kids never even heard what DJ Luiann was doing with Arcangel back in the day so their taste palette is very limited and so is their judgement in what makes a good Reggaeton song. This song was great and he had not broken up with Rosalia yet. The tracks with Rosalia were huge. What gives!? Were people mad he held this song back? Also "Saturno" is a modern day classic. Standly and those weak perreo guys can learn something from it. He makes Cris MJ look like Yaviah.

I didn't have Reddit figured out for awhile.  So about my first 20 classic Reggaeton Album posts had the reviews in the comments section.  Here is #5 which is Barrio Fino.  There's an entire page dedicated to the Classic Reggaeton Album posts here:  Every Classic Reggaeton Album Of The Week Ever

Daddy Yankee - Barrio Fino (2004)

What can one write about "Barrio Fino" that hasn't been said already. It's an enigmatic piece of work and easily the most influential album in Spanish Hip Hop and Reggaeton history. This was before the DY backlash that came a few years later where some labeled him a "fake rapper". People still remembered him rhyming next to Nas on "The Prophecy" and holding his own. Daddy Yankee around this time had the ultimate respect and credibility across the board but also had crossed over to achieve mainstream success even before "Barrio Fino" came out.

Though people like me view "Gasolina" as a blessing and a curse, only you bandwagon Reggaeton heads think it's the greatest song of all time. It's not even the greatest "Perreo" nor "Activaera" track of all time. It wasn't even the best single that year in Urbano Latino, but the song transcended even becoming a huge hit in Asia. Celia Cruz and Mikey Perfecto did it first with "La Negra Tiene Tumbao", but DY took that success to the next level.

"Barrio Fino" has never got the critical acclaim from the mainstream press as being a good overall album in Latin Music. It's just good for our world according to them. But this album competes with anything ever released from Cerati to Serrat, from Shakira to Vicente Fernandez to La Fania and Juan Luis Guerra. It's as good as anything Latin Music has ever produced. It is uber commercial, definitely, but it's very good. Daddy Yankee's legacy will not only be remembered for record breaking numbers and sales, but also for making great music.

Reggaeton Party Mane's Rating: 9.5/10

Sales: At least 4 million worldwide (This was in 2024, it is at 7 million now). I know some outlets report 8 million but I believe they misread sales reported for Yankee's entire time at Universal. The RIAA only certified "Barrio Fino" American Platinum once and Latin Platinum 6 times (see here https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=Barrio+Fino#search_section). I once saw the official numbers reported by El Cartel somewhere and this was around 2011. They said "Barrio Fino" was only at 1.9 million worldwide. I doubt Yankee sold another 6 million since then. Also "Barrio Fino" probably didn't do too well in the ITUNES days, it probably did decent, somewhere around a 500,000 equivalent but probably not more.

On top of this I took it upon myself to calculate an estimate of the Spotify/Youtube/Apple Music numbers at our disposal. 1 million units equals 1.5 billion streams and DY has approximately somewhere around 3 billion streams of "Barrio Fino" across all platforms, mostly coming from "Gasolina" and "Lo Que Paso, Paso". Still, it's probably safe to say Bad Bunny's "Un Verano Sin Ti" beat "Barrio Fino" already as it is sitting at approximately 5 million sold and will probably get to 6 million in the coming year. "Un Verano Sin Ti" is the highest selling Urbano Latino album of all-time, not "Barrio Fino" excluding Pop Urbano fusion releases by Shakira, otherwise she would be #1 but her albums are more Pop than Urbano and sold that way.

Listen to it on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/barrio-fino-bonus-track-version/1586112407

"What in the hell is "Gasolina Recording Co"?! I thought Daddy Yankee's publishing company was always "Los Cangris Inc". And his label is "El Cartel Records". Either this transition never went reported or someone on his management team is attempting a finesse. There are rumors Daddy Yankee and Don Omar want to be the among the first in Reggaeton to sell their entire catalogs. Maybe this is a preparation thing? I read somewhere Don Omar already received offers. Upon research I found this. https://www.billboard.com/espanol/negocios/yandel-vende-catalogo-a-beyond-music-primer-acuerdo-latino-1235654408/and I almost forgot about this one. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/tainy-25-million-deal-1319537/  

PS:  I am planning to remake this one, I know I can do better job.  I limited myself because of character limits.

I need to remake this entry as well.  Pay attention, the edited version of "Sentenciados" sounds terrible.  The edits are poor.  The way to tell the difference is the edited version is labeled as "Platinum" and has the song "Avisame" Bachaton Version which is not in the original.  The explicit version is available on streaming... for now.

Baby Rasta & Gringo "Sentenciados" (2004)

2004 was a banner year for Spanish Hip Hop & Reggaeton and though everyone fondly remembers "Barrio Fino", to me and many others "Sentenciados" was the best album released that year. Some criticized the lack of Luny Tunes or Mas Flow beats, but you still had Noriega, Cheka and DJ Sonic who all worked on "Mas Flow 1" and Tazmania rounding out the production. This is a half Reggaeton, half Hip Hop album. And not commercial Rap. This album is very 'Hardcore', 'Raw' and 'Underground'.

Baby Rasta & Gringo open up "Sentenciados" with socially conscious Hip Hop songs criticizing the government, corrupt authority and establishment inside of Puerto Rico with excellent beats made by Cheka & DJ Sonic. "Carnaval" is one of the biggest hits of the entire era and still highly regarded to this day. This album has more of the balance that you heard before Reggaeton went mainstream. It wasn't mostly commercial 'Perreo' songs but had a little bit of everything from 'Malianteo' to 'Battle Lyrics', 'R&B', socially conscious and introspective themes and of course songs for the girls and clubs. The only thing missing was a 'Bachaton' or 'Salsaton' which was the craze back then. That may be another reason fans with more commercial sensibilities never gravitated to this product. They made up for that with the 'Platinum Edition' including a Bachaton remix, but stay away from this version as it is a clean edit and it is not edited well. The original 22 track explicit lyric version is the way to go.

Rating: 10/10

Sales: 200,000 + units worldwide

Listen to Sentenciados on Apple Music: ‎Sentenciados - Album by Baby Rasta y Gringo - Apple Music (Note, this is the explicit lyric version, proceed with caution. Also, please be aware that the clean edit is poorly edited and does not impact very well. Audio streaming services try to sell you the clean version first but the 22 track explicit lyric edition should be available on all digital stores including Spotify, YOUTUBE Music etc...)

I just want to write that Baby Rasta is probably my favorite artist of all time. Possibly in any genre. He's just very versatile and no one can do a "pure" Reggaeton better than him. But what makes him incredible is his ability to convey emotion in his delivery and lyrics especially in Hip Hop. Songs like "La Vida Es Cruel", "Peleando Por Mi Musica" and "Vela Por Tu Vida" really speak to me. Moreso than anything Canserbero, Kase.O or Residente ever did. I admit Rasta is not at the same level as them when it comes to battle rap punchlines/quotables or metaphors in their lyrics, but he has a better delivery and equal flow to all of them. There are very few artists than can really convey a true emotion in how they express themselves musically and Baby Rasta is one of the best! Lord Willing, he and Gringo can continue giving us top notch work as they have for 3 decades!!! I am still waiting for "Reality Hip Hop". I feel "La Ultima Risa" is sorta of a hidden classic. And I hope they can make a "Romances Del Ruido 3" with the new generation (Bad Bunny, Alvaro Diaz, Bryant Myers, Rauw Alejandro, Miko, Randy etc...) I think that would be what is best for the culture.

When reacting to Jhayco's vitriol against J Balvin.  Original post:  Can Someone explain what this story means and who is jhayco beefing with? : r/Reggaeton

There is a practice which they even do in Puerto Rico and is very common in Pop Music. Because there are several Pop music industry types in Colombia they adopt it into Reggaeton and Spanish Rap far more than anywhere else. That is ghostwriting. Colombia often gives the credit to other artists, plant writers, execs and producers but deny the true writers any credit though they often are paid for their services unless they have corrupt management who swindle all their earnings.

Known artists such as Don Omar, Kendo Kaponi, Yomo, Polaco, Guelo Star among others have written worldwide hits for which they never received credit for; though all of them have songwriting credits as well for other songs they wrote for other artists as well. But there are incentives and payments of other fashions. Hector El Father would give some of his guys a salary of around 75k a year, sometimes a place to live rent free and one or two new vehicles in exchange for their songwriting credits. In Colombia, the management/exec teams over there promise you show and tour money though they don't always deliver and have angered some people because of it. Another incentive is if you write a hit (where you go uncredited) for a big artist, said artist may agree to do a feature for you, sometimes with no uprfront fee and you will only pay them royalties.

Often the artists are in on it (though not always if corrupt management is involved) and they are not really being robbed though sometimes they will sell a song that made hundreds of thousands of dollars for a measly sum of about $300 (US) approximately. But once you agree on it, there is nothing you can do. But some companies/artists/management will be fair and book the uncredited songwriters more gigs like live shows, other songwriting opportunities or appearance on popular albums.

But many get nothing more. It's kinda like when new producers sell a cheap beat on a million dollar track and never get any royalties on top of that first $500 payment unless they are business savvy or have good management. Except in these ghostwriting cases the artist is selling their right to receive credit for a song, often to a company, but sometimes the artists are in agreement with one another as well. After that point the company can take your credit and give it to a monkey if they want to. The song is theirs from that point forward in perpetuity throughout the universe. Unless it's a verbal agreement or in the contract you retain the right to rerecord which I don't believe they give most times.

Most people will just outright sell the song in hopes for a better opportunity while corrupt management just sell it without caring for their artists because they are thieves. If corrupt management is caught or denounced, which often they are, then this can result in jail time for the persons involved in the misappropriation and even the freezing of all associated accounts with their corrupt practices plus pretty much being kicked out of the music business forever.

I know people will think "Raphy Pina" because of the internet, but they are not the corrupt management I speak of and actually run a fair practice from what I've read. Pina Records had disagreements with some artists, but if people read carefully it's just that Pina refused to change current contracts while still active and acquiesce to new demands before the contract's terms were up which is standard. But because people love the artists such as Tony Dize, Ken-y and others who complained publicly, Raphy Pina is often the go-to villain when people bring up corrupt management. I disagree with this. He gave Arcangel and Chencho Corleone fair joint venture deals. He eventually let Yaviah go to WY Records in exchange for Tony Dize. He gave Lito y Polaco back their catalog which is why the "Conspiracion" albums are incomplete on Spotify. I think what has really tanked his image is that time he shoved Zion to the ground on stage in front of the whole world due to business disagreements. Apart from public complaints by artists previously mentioned.

What does this have to do with Jhayco? Balvin is notorious for using ghostwriters just like Drake. Among them 'supposedly' was Jhayco. Apparently the Colombians bregaron bien with Jhayco and it is a large reason of his success story. But he may be entitled to more. What that is? I don't know. I also cannot confirm Jhayco is one of Balvin's ghostwriters but we all know about Feid who did receive songwriting credits (although I don't know if it was for every song he wrote). This is my hypothesis of why the beef has popped off, but I do not know for sure. I just know what the common practice is in Colombia. J Balvin, Maluma, and Karol G all got famous off of others (sometimes uncredited) works. So did Farruko. Everybody knows that Pusho, Benny Benni and Almighty wrote for Farru in his most successful phase and I don't believe they always received credit, though they always got paid.

Defining The Generations/Eras of Reggaeton to someone asking.  The original post:  What are the Eras of Reggaeton ? : r/Reggaeton

I'm afraid this will go the fake expert Rolling Stone bunch, but here is what it really is. I will use terms known within our community.

1988-1992 La Vieja Guardia - The beginnings and creation of this which mostly took place in New York, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Spain. They all each had individual movements founded in New York and American Hip Hop. Except for Panama's whose foundation comes from Jamaican Reggae Dancehall and started moreso around 1985 but it wasn't until 1988 that their music started going globally. Same thing with PR and DR.

1993-2001 El Underground - It was called this because the music was underground as a culture despite a few mainstream successes like Vico C, El General and El Chombo. It was underground worldwide but the music was mostly territorial and local. What was big in Chile wasn't necessarily the same as in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic. There were few artists that crossed all boundaries like Mexicano, Vico C, El General and Mala Rodriguez but for the most part most artists remained popular in few and mostly local territories. Although places like New York and Miami with a diverse population of immigrants would have everything from everywhere making noise. I know for a fact that Hip Hop from Spain and South America was equally as popular in New York at times as was the Underground Reggaeton from Puerto Rico and Panama. This was only when it was all underground, in the next era all that would change.

2002-2008 The Mas Flow Era - This was when everything became big everywhere. Hip Hop in Spain crossed over to the mainstream locally. Mexican Hip Hop acts such as Akwid and Cartel de Santa were HUGE with Central American audiences in the USA and Mexico. Reggaeton from both Panama and Puerto Rico did record breaking numbers. Ultimately it was the Reggaeton from Puerto Rico that broke through further but you must remember that La Factoria, Aldo Ranks, El Chombo, Eddy Lover and Flex were all heard just as much as Don Omar, Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderon, Wisin & Yandel and Luny Tunes at one point in time. But when music sales began declining across the board, Reggaeton and Hip Hop in Spanish were among the most severely affected. This caused many artists to lose their joint venture deals with major labels and most Reggaeton-Latin Rap artists lost support from major companies.

2009-2015 Back To The Underground - Artists referred to this era as "Back To The Underground" or "The 2nd Underground" because most Urbano Latino artists lost their deals with major labels and got kicked off of radio and tv. Even "Mas Flow 3" was originally gonna have the subtitle "Back To The Underground". There's a series of mixtapes which frequently feature Jowell & Randy titled like this. Even the famous 'Reggaeton 94' radio station ceased to exist. This allowed for Colombia to become the most popular territory in special thanks to key figure DJ Semaforo, Colombia's answer to 'El Coyote', as their ability to market well and produce new locally farmed artists created one of the only 2 territories where Reggaeton and Latin Rap did not decline in popularity. The other was the Dominican Republic and their brand of Reggaeton known as "Dembow". The Dominicans decided to separate their brand from Reggaeton while the Colombians latched onto it. At first this worked for DR allowing them to stand out, but in the long run may have been a mistake and possibly contributes to their limited expansion. DR also has much more work visa related issues which is the main reason their artists have a harder time making noise when compared to other territories.

2016-2024 The Pop Urbano Latino Era

This is when the music became more mainstream and popular than ever. The key figures to elevating this were Nicky Jam, Bad Bunny, Enrique Iglesias, Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, Karol G, J Balvin and Farruko. The only downside is this new 'Pop' audience doesn't seem to get "Hip Hop" and Latin Rap records no longer chart unless they are bellaqueo trap songs. That is what Latin people call the sensual spanish R&B tracks by the likes of Anuel, Bad Bunny and Ozuna. We don't have a word in Spanish for R&B. Latin Rap and Reggaeton are becoming more united than ever. For the first time we are seeing collaborations between hardcore rap acts from Spain and South America with renown Reggaeton acts. Recent examples include Serko Fu with Feid, Eladio with Nach, Mala Rodriguez and Kiko El Crazy, Residente with SFDK and there are more to come Lord Willing. A key detail is that this may have never happened if Farruko kept "6AM" for "Los Menores" as originally planned. But then Balvin offered to release it a single and Farruko donated the track to "La Familia". Balvin never would have been as big without those circumstances and that was the catalyst in convincing Enrique Iglesias to record with Nicky Jam.

RPM's Lost Guatauba Review in the comments section of Classic Reggaeton Album Of The Week #13

Tony Touch and Nico Canada - Guatauba (1996)

The first "Guatauba" is a monumentally historically significant album in the history of Reggaeton and Hip Hop en Español. It is the first album to officially include collaborators from American Hip Hop. You have KRS-ONE and Greg Nice sending shout outs mid record. Mad Lion contributes a song at the beginning of the album. Another Dancehall Reggae mainstay Mad Cobra closes out the album with a song that is also on "Power Cypha The 50 MC's" I believe. Obscure but gifted toaster Jahdan also known as the 'Black Hearted Scavanger" has a really nice Dancehall on the compilation. And of course, the legendary Tony Touch who was one of the most important mixtape dj's and an MC as well is in charge of the beat mixing alongside Nico Canada. The concept was essentially bringing together the mixtape formula from NY Hip Hop and combining it with Reggaeton's underground scene of the 90's.

Although most Reggaeton listeners now just know "Guatauba" as something that Chencho says in his international smash hit with Maldy, "Guata Gata". "Guatauba" was actually a name adopted by Manolo, whose last name I never learned but was fondly known as Manolo Guatauba (RIP). The name comes from an ancient Taino God who was in control of Hurricanes. It was a way to pay tribute to their roots. He created the crew "Guatauba" which varied in members but had a solid roster over the years including Mexicano (RIP), Rey Pirin, Daddy Yankee, Nicky Jam (later), Rubio & Joel, Don Chezina, Cavalucci and others...

"Guatauba" were also both a promotion and production company releasing several albums over the years including "El Cartel de Yankee 1", "Gritos de Guerra" by Rubio & Joel & the famous Guatauba series of albums which consisted of 3 central albums while the rest were remix and/or collection works. Those 3 central works were this one we are observing here, Guatauba 2000 (1999) and the uber successful Guatauba XXX (2002) which is the one that most people know and includes "Guata Gata".

The "Guatauba" crew were pioneers in becoming the first group of Reggaeton artists from the island to frequently tour between Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, New York and Miami. As a promotional company 'Guatauba Productions' would expand to present shows in Cuba, various parts of the United States, Central and South America and even present some of the first Reggaeton in Europe. I believe they also went into Asia, Japan especially, but I don't recall for certain as of this writing.

The first "Guatauba" is famous for popularizing the use of Dennis The Menace's "Super Pounder Riddim" which was first given to Reggaeton pioneer Nando Boom alongside Bobo General from Jamaica. Dennis Haliburton, also known as Dennis The Menace, was one of Nando Boom's producers. This is the dub plate that is used all over Reggaeton, not the "Pounder Riddim" of Shabba Ranks's "Dembow". The confusion stems from the fact that Nando Boom did versions to both 'Riddims'. To the regular "Pounder Riddim", Nando Boom made the (approved and legal) Spanish version of "Dem Bow". But to Dennis Haliburton's "Super Pounder Riddim" Nando Boom did the song "Pension" which was a huge hit in the clubs of Puerto Rico. "Elllos Benian Dem Bow", the Spanish version actually wasn't that popular at first. It wasn't until Puerto Rican DJ David, under the pseudonym DJ Destroyer put out a remix of "Ellos Benian Dem Bow" by Nando Boom over the Super Pounder dub plate interlooping it with "Pension" for a popular underground mixtape. That was when the song became popular. Before then it wasn't well known and "Pension" was actually the much more popular song of the two.

In recent times, the original "Pounder Riddim" and the "Poco Man Jam Riddim" have entered into some controversy because their producers are suing 80% of Reggaeton over their "supposed use". Reggaeton did use the "Poco Man Jam" especially in the Underground, but it wasn't common. The original 'Pounder Riddim' by Steely & Cleevie was never used. The one that pretty much inspired the modern sound of Reggaeton when Puerto Rican and Panamanian artists began to rhyme over it is the "Super Pounder Riddim" and that was done by Denis Haliburton. Look up the "Pension" and Bobo General w/ Sleepy Wonder credits if you don't believe me. And Nando Boom's manager Ramon Bustamante licensed the rights to the Riddim for use directly from Mr. Haliburton. I don't know if the rights have transferred to digital. But post the 2000's most versions of the Super Pounder are recreations quite different from the original with distinct elements. Some producers have sampled from Mr. Haliburton's original creation but most drum loops in modern Reggaeton post the year 2000 are created from inception by its producers and not sampled.

The original "Guatauba" is a masterpiece and one of the most influential albums of all time. I recommend modern listeners interested in the true history of Reggaeton and Hip Hop en Español check it out.

Reggaeton Party Mane's Rating: 10/10

Sales: 20,000 units

Listen on YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/yweQL3Z90tw?si=3LuOE1CfS3aXJ

* edit... there is no original pounder riddim by Steely & Cleevie, that is a mistake, only Denis Haliburton made all incarnations of the pounder riddim.

A hidden gem in the Comments Section of Classic Reggaeton Video Of The Week #21

This song was not originally on "Lo Mejor De Mi" although it is available in some streaming versions last I checked. And you can tell they ripped from the mp3 rather than a master track. I doubt even Nely or Tainy have the master either as I believe they lost the rights to "Decisiones & Consecuencias" where "Fashion Girl" was gonna be a lead single. A lot of people complained about the video back in the day. I would have preferred a black and white flashy one with girls on a catwalk and photographers. Something really classy.

According to internet rumors at the time, the reason we never got "Decisiones & Consecuencias" was because of Nely & Tainy's manager's fault. He apparently was fired over this too I believe. The Reggaeton forums back in the day reported that the duo's manager went to an exec at 'Emi Latin' and asked for an additional $100,000 advance after they already paid 100 thousand dollars for the album. The exec was so pissed off, he had the album shelved and never let Tainy or Nely buy it back. I think Emi Latin owns the album to this day. It was supposed to come out in September of 2009 I believe.

There is a bootleg version of "Decisiones & Consecuencias" that many believe is the album, but they are wrong. Several of the songs on the bootleg were gonna be on the final tracklist but many of those songs come from other albums like "Broke & Famous", "La Buya" by DJ Nelson and Luigi's underground mixtape. No one except the creators and maybe some execs/industry people got to hear the final product which I read was turned in and completed when that manager pissed off at least one EMI Latin exec, leading to the album's shelved status.

Another likely contributing factor is that around 2008, there were directives at many major labels to turn away from Reggaeton. "Decisiones & Consecuencias" was not the only completed product shelved. "Historias De Platino" by Alberto Stylee, "Romances De Una Nota 2021" by Randy Nota Loka, "La Maravilla" by Arcangel, "La Roca" by John Eric, "Still Broke" by Nejo y Dalmata were all shelved as well by the major labels. Even though all these albums I listed were then given away free by their creators, we never got the real version of "Decisiones & Consecuencias". There are 2 bootlegs, but the one with 15 or 16 tracks is the closest to what would have been the final version.

RPM listing a rough draft of his 25 favorite Urbano albums

Here's my personal Top 25 for fun (I have to include Hip Hop En Español too). Not necessarily what I think is best, just my personal favorites.

Tempo - Game Over (1999)

The Cream 3 (1997)

DJ Joe 4 - Todo Como Antes (1996)

Playero Greatest Hits Street Mix 3 (1999)

Baby Rasta & Gringo - Sentenciados (2004)

Boricua Guerrero - First Combat (1997)

La Mision (1999)

El Cartel De Yankee 1 (1997)

Guatauba (1996)

Playero 37 (1993)

The Legend (1997)

Vico C - Hispanic Soul (1991)

OGM y Oakley - Preparados (1996)

Benny Blanco - Tierra De Nadie (1998)

DJ Frank Time To Kill (1998)

Hector & Tito - Violencia Musical (1998)

Tego Calderon - El Abayarde (2002)

Eddie Dee - El Terrorista De La Lirica (2000)

Luny Tunes & Baby Ranks - Mas Flow 2 (2005)

Luny Tunes & Tainy - Los Benjamins La Continuacion (2007)

U Records 3 and U Records 4 (1995/1996)

Reggae Entre Amigos (1989)

Alberto Stylee - Exclusivo (1998)

Voltio - Voltage AC (2004)

El Bando Korrupto No Creemos En Nadie (1998)

This is a rough draft sorta, there's more

RPM giving his opinions on "Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va Pasar Mañana"

I respect Bad Bunny attempting something different in "Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va Pasar". He was going by what they want in the island and what is hot in Puerto Rico isn't always what is trending worldwide. At the time he was releasing the album, Latin drill is still pretty big over there. Perreo not so much anymore. I think Puerto Rico is trying to either add more R&B into their Reggaeton right now or bring back an old school sound. They are also following the more futuristic stuff coming from Spain and Argentina. In the rest of the world Cris MJ is the future but in Puerto Rico their guy is Pressue 6X19 and he's waaay bigger than Cris MJ in PR. It has always been like that over there. For the longest time Cosculluela was the next guy, but internationally they always picked someone else ahead of him for like 4 years straight. That sometimes kills people's buzz although no one comes to mind immediately, there were times when the #1 Puerto Rico pick was shut down by the #1 international pick. Jory and Gotay are coming to mind right now who lost their footing when the rest of the world preferred Reykon and Maluma.

But people did not want to see Bad Bunny do YOUVNGCHIMI. Bunny did the exact one thing no one wanted to see him do. Who the hell needed a hardcore malianteo Bad Bunny album? Yeruza did a good enough job meanwhile Eladio is satisfying ears on the hustler/lyrical side of things and Chimi on the aggresive side. No one wanted to hear Bunny do that even though it still is the hottest style in Puerto Rico. Bunny could have gone Pop, Techno, Tropical, English American crossover, Afrobeat like Drake on "Views". I think he should have put out a compilation album like "Los Favoritos" but with less of himself on it. I think "Los Favoritos" would do better if Arcangel wasn't on every song which is kind of annoying. You might as well just make a solo album. Most people, even old school, don't know this guy, but Pancho Indio Crew did the various artist compilation album right with "Tha Bulbas". He was only on like 7 tracks including collabs with Panty Man and Nicky Jam but he let artists like David Deambulante, Dalmata and Plan B shine on their own. That is Arcangel's mistake with "Los Favoritos", he is on every freaking song!

Bunny did an album specifically for Puerto Rico but it dudded even in the island. Chimi does Chimi good enough, no one wants to listen to Bunny do malianteo for most of an album. Even though "Nadie Sabe..." sold half a milli, it pales in comparison with his other efforts. Even "X100PRE" is at like 2 or 3 million units sold. If Bunny wants to make a big comeback he should do an entire album where one half is the new Musicologo y Menes sound that is just like their 2015 sound but with more advanced synths and effects. The other half should be the Luny Tunes Mas Flow sound which people have been wanting to come back and though some artists have tried (Farruko, Don Omar, and others) no one has made it hit yet with the new Pop audience. Bad Bunny could do it. Also, if they just had to switch it up a little to round it up, they should do a song with that Cris MJ sound which is hitting big right now and is essentially DJ Blass Sandunguero 2 or Speedy's "Dando Cocotazos" from 2003 which was entirely produced by Blass. Listen to those albums and you will see what I mean. That is where Cris MJ is getting his sound whether he means to or not. Bad Bunny should have had only 4-5 malianteo/latin drill/trap tracks, max, instead it was 80% of "Nadie Sabe". Buns should also go back to doing Latin R&B, that always works out well for him.

RPM's honest opinion on Sinaka's debut album

I couldn't get through it. He's more talented than most but isn't applying it correctly. I sense no love for what he does almost as if his first job were that of being a cybersecurity tech and Reggaeton is his side hustle. Which is fine, but I heard the best stuff so I won't listen to someone do a technically competent yet poor imitation of it overall. He does sound old school reminiscent of Guelo Star. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if he comes from Reggaeton Royalty in Puerto Rico, though he's Chilean I think, and that is why he is so naturally gifted. But I hear him taking it for granted and not doing something original or revolutionary to elevate the culture. This would only impress someone with an idea of old school but who doesn't know it well like a person like me. You have to listen to at least 100 albums in totality from the 90's and 2000's, even the 80's when this barely existed (I've heard at least 500, possibly 1000) in Reggaeton/Latin Rap alone to feel the old school like we do.

I respect it, but he has long to go. Not that he can't do it. This is after hearing 6 or 7 songs, most to the end. I did not like one of them, but again he is very technically competent. It is almost as if some corporation like Lectercorp got some kid that is technically gifted at making our style of music kinda learn it to do a strong yet soulless imitation of it's old school influenced stuff. It's like what someone pretending to love old school thinks la vieja guardia is. That's my take, but it's just opinion. He does have talent, but it's like if he takes it for granted. No offense.

RPM'S Erroneous list of every year's #1 artist because he messed up for 2017 which is at least a tie with Ozuna and possibly 2008 for Daddy Yankee

A Rapper with plenty of credibility said that Balvin's people called him to write an answer song for $100,000 dollars. He knew for a fact that was Balvin's people because he's a well connected guy. He hypothesizes that because Balvin's peeps called him and they ain't cool like that, they must have called a bunch of other people that turned him down too. That is all I know of it and Balvin supposedly has always used ghostwriters.

I could make a timeline of the number ones every year and will as my answer.

1989 - Vico C

1990 - El General

1991 - El General

1992 - Vico C

1993 - Vico C

1994 - Wiso G

1995 - The Noise

1996 - Control Machete

1997 - The Noise

1998 - Mexicano

1999 - Hector & Tito

2000 - Lito y Polaco

2001 - Tempo

2002 - Tego Calderon

2003 - Don Omar

2004 - Daddy Yankee

2005 - Wisin & Yandel

2006 - Arcangel & De La Ghetto

2007 - Wisin & Yandel

2008 - Nejo y Dalmata

2009 - Cosculluela

2010 - Nengo Flow

2011 - Daddy Yankee

2012 - Kendo Kaponi

2013 - Yandel

2014 - Cosculluela

2015 - Yandel

2016 - J Balvin

2017 - Nicky Jam

2018 - J Balvin

2019 - Bad Bunny

2020 - Bad Bunny

2021 - Bad Bunny

2022 - Rosalia

2023 - Karol G

2024 - Alvaro Diaz

RPM explaining to a fan why it's important to consider the opinions of Canserbero fans and the Hardcore Hip Fans when it comes to evaluating Daddy Yankee's legacy

Ok thanks for reading. If you know Hip Hop maybe this works. People in Latin Rap before Barrio Fino that were aware of Daddy Yankee and his Rap stuff compared him to Nas. They even did a song together. But when he went too mainstream and dumbed down his lyrics, they now compare him to someone perceived as a garbage mainstream Rapper like Soulja Boy, Nick Cannon or the general mumble rappers. Mind you, it is only the Hardcore Rap community in Latin America that perceives DY as this, not the Reggaeton/Spanish Trap/or commercial Urbano audience that views him that way.

Those that look down on DY, Canserbero is their GOD MC and they listen to artists like Residente, AL2, Gabylonia, Nach, Lil Supa, Rapsuklei, Mala Rodriguez, Alcolyricoz etc... They used to be more vocal back in the day, but essentially to them Daddy Yankee is a wannabe rapper. DY fans, myself included, disagree but they make a point that he did sell out. The worst part is, Daddy Yankee is actually a better rapper and lyricist than Residente or Canserbero but he does not show it because it will cost him money. That is where he sold out. He could have balanced it like Jay and still made money without dumbing himself down, but he was convinced it would not work.

This would be like being able to discover the next E=MC2, but instead solving mazes for children with a crayon that they give out in family restaurants. What Yankee did should be considered a sin. Unless he were the real Residente and there is no actual Residente which is preposterous. Because Yankee held back how great he could have been, it will hurt him because a section of the audience (Canserbero fans) that keeps getting bigger do not respect him. They respect Tego, Vico, Eddie Dee, some even respect Tempo because Can bigs him up in a song. They do not respect Daddy Yankee. And this audience will affect where this music goes in the immediate future. They are bigger than you think although the mainstream forces completely ignore them.

Judging Maluma and Balvin as Pure Artists

If I had to grade both artists this is how it would go.

Maluma

Image - an 8/10 I guess because Girls and dudes into dudes really love Maluma's physical appearance? I don't get it. I'm not gay but I get girls going crazy over Idris Elba, Brad Pitt, Timothy Chalemet etc... but Maluma? He looks like some dude you would find at a local bodega. Maybe because they market him as a bad boy and he wears luxury clothes and jewelry? Were this solely my opinion he would get at 4 because he's somewhat personable, albeit kind smug. But you fans of his love him, although I've never met one of you in real life. I've known guys and girls that like Maluma, but no one that loves him like a Nach, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and even Balvin. Though I think those people knew Balvin personally which is a reason they love him so much.

Ability - 5/10 He is a decent interpreter but does not write his own stuff. His song selection is quite poor and I kind of hate that guitar guy who writes his stuff that thinks he's Ricardo Arjona but is more like the awful Mike Bahia.

Live Performance - 6/10 His music sucks but he performs it decently.

Beat Selection - 8/10 The Rudeboyz and Mosty are very good producers.

Song/Album Catalog - 4/10 He has some decent songs. There is this very good collab with Nicky Jam. HP is a decent pop song which reminds me of Bacilos who are kind of corny but people love that stuff. "El Perdedor" is actually a great Reggaeton song. But most of his albums are among the worst I have ever heard in the history of our music. He clearly wanted to be like Chayanne and Enrique Iglesias but since he wasn't good enough, he leeched off of our music and fused it with his crappy pop songs. Even though the songs had dembow, the arrangements were prototypical Latin Pop so the audience felt familiarized with it. He wasn't the first to do it nor go all in as Pipe Calderon beat him to the punch, but he was the first to be mass marketed. Even RKM & Ken-Y never went full Reggaeton Pop and had some street songs/authentic Reggaeton music and they were the pioneers of that fusion. Maluma though was 100% Reggaeton Pop and it worked. He sounds as if Robi Draco Rosa chose to make fun of Reggaeton and it's lack of lyrical proficiency at times and create an artistic avatar in Maluma. Maluma's music essentially is Robi Rosa taking a shit over dembow beats. I hate it so much.

Maluma's overall Rating as an artist: 6/10. Not awful, but far from great. In my humble opinion he is the most overrated artist in the history of Latin Music, not just Reggaeton.

J Balvin

Image - 10/10 Even Grandmas love him. He appealed to everyone. I can't say anything bad about the guy as a person.

Ability - 7/10 Balvin does not write most of his stuff. I believe that is why a lot of his music lacks soul. I think you have to love the Underground and see past its deficiencies from the 90's like sometimes copying Jamaica, New York and Cali in order to understand that Balvin lacks some love and soul in some of his delivery. He's good next to the average talent, but when you compare him to Mexicano, Lito y Polaco, Hector & Tito, Vico C, Nach, Kase.O, MC Ceja, Tempo, Ivy Queen, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and the list goes on and on. Many of those artists have an ability on the mic far superior to Balvin. It's the fact that Balvin can make up for this with his clever song selection, beat selection, marketing and collaborations why I gave him such a high grade on this. He is more like a 5 or 6 where I just judging pure talent alone and not the other intricacies that reflect his ability and delivery as well.

Live Performance - 9/10 He is very good live.

Beat Selection - 8/10 He did not always deliver in this department ironically but it was often good.

Song/Album Catalog - 7/10 So many hit singles, many of them good to great. But on the album side... meh.

J Balvin's Overall rating: 8/10

Balvin is a little overrated but only because most people don't know the history of Spanish Rap & Reggaeton. So they don't have anything to compare him to. But he undeniably is a good artist. Good, not great.

Further Elaborating on the "Gasolina" effect in Latino culture.

That comparison is invalid. Reggaeton is much more narrow with much less history than Rock N' Roll. Maybe my argument becomes invalid in 20 years and I could see that, if this music even remains relevant which I think it will. But it will have to go back to its roots, especially in terms of more balanced content in order to do so. And I believe it will. The sex crazed side of Reggaeton and Spanish Rap will die soon. It will always be there to some capacity, but this exaggerated 90% of relevant songs are about Sex, not even love, just sex... it is ridiculous and kind of makes me ashamed of this music for itself. I worry about the mindset of our Latino youth and culture when the music that most represents them has become so ignorant. It wasn't always like that. There was always oversimplified and ignorant themes but then you had creative guys like Coo-Kee or girls like Jackie La Original being lyrical not needing to sell sex. Like Glory from 1997 is so different and much better than Glory from 2005. She used to actually rap really good with varied content and creative lyrics but then in her later years, she just did what Sexy Red is doing today buy a whole lot cleaner in comparison.

I think because our music is so marginalized and its history is not well represented, even within our own people, I feel it is important to note such detail. You can't have the guys who thinks "Gasolina" is the best Reggaeton song ever but never heard a Lito y Polaco album educate anyone on the history of this music because they clearly will not know what they are talking about. Saying "Gasolina" is the greatest Reggaeton song ever is like saying "Ice Ice Baby" is the best Rap song ever made. They are both good but these opinions are coming from people who have failed to look deeper. And you have to because there are a lot of works that are of equal or more importance that go overlooked because these gatekeepers don't know what they are talking about.

It's like those guys who years ago killed the comeback of Maicol y Manuel because they went with this online "Dile No Al Plagio" campaign on Facebook when in Colombia some people got mad when they found out Maicol y Manuel were biting the flows of Ninjaman, Super Cat and Red Rat. We knew that! But they are creative with it and do a lot of original stuff as well. I feel bad for this generation that will never know how great Maicol y Manuel truly are. They make 95% of artists today look like complete garbage and many of those songs you can transport them to 10 years in the future and they will still sound fresh and new. So many people just don't know and it's annoying on how they try to educate us as if they did. It's like listening to a hustler pastor interpret the bible.

It ain't really all that deep, but it can be. "Gasolina" is such a dividing point not just on Latin Music, but Hispanic culture worldwide. They will write books about this stuff. And in 15 years scholars will break down these influences in schools just like we have to talk about the influence of The Beatles in the 60's and their affect on society at the time.

RPM'S Review of obscure various artists album "Rebeldia" (2005)

Rebeldia (2005)

This one would make the deep cuts but I think more people need to know about this. "Rebeldia" was Warner Latina's first incursion into Reggaeton. It was done in conjunction

with KGB Records. Not much is known about this label except that Felito El Caballote (of Point Breakers fame) was heavily involved. It appears he was an exec or possibly CEO of the label. I know this because with KGB Records he put out vol. 4 of his famous "The Crew" series also distributed by Warner Latina. Plan B's "Tension" song is one of their best from that album.

Anywho, not much is known about the KGB Records people. They were probably a promotional company from Puerto Rico just like the Desafio people. Back in the days, major record companies like Sony, Universal and Warner, when they did joint ventures with independent companies, they often liked to do it with promotional companies because it allowed an avenue for research. Often these deals came with research clauses in

which the labels and their workers were allowed to go into markets and test the audiences. Kinda like they do with movies. A lot of Puerto Rican record labels of the Reggaeton genre also doubled as research companies for the music.

I, firsthand know of how this works. I used to dj at several clubs back in the day although I cannot say where. And one of the network of clubs I dj'd for served as research for Universal Latino's Mexican Regional Division, Machete Music and the local Latino radio station. I worked mostly with other affiliations as a dj, but I worked for these ones as well.

Executives from the record labels would come down and check out the clubs not just when they booked international acts but also just to check out the local night scene. At least once I would be instructed to play an artist I may not be familiar with at the time, but had a buzz elsewhere and were being developed by the record labels that promoted their music via our clubs. It was because the execs wanted to see how people reacted. Another way the record labels research these scenes is outright just buying the clubs themselves. Somebody from Universal Latino used to own a piece in one of the big clubs in the city I was told. A famous Reggaeton production duo also owned a popular club out here back in the day which I only worked once. I cannot say who or where they were.

So, KGB was probably just what Desafio's 'New Era Entertainment' was, a promotional/research/record company in association with a major label, in this case, Warner Latina.

"Rebeldia" was quite ambitious and has some notable accomplishments.

First, it was among the first to try and bridge the worlds of Mexican Urbano

with Puerto Rican/Carribean Urbano. They did that with the inclusion of Sporty Loco and Crooked Stilo (who are actually Salvadoran but popular with Mexicans) on the album. Crooked Stilo actually has a historical collaboration with Don Chezina on "Rebeldia". This is kind of how Mexican Reggaeton artists today are collaborating with talents from Panama, Puerto Rico, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. It didn't work the first time around back then for a variety of reasons but mainly it was racial issues. Puerto Ricans and Mexicans did not get along as well back in the day and this caused potential working relationships to not be as flourishing. Some on both sides outright refused to work with people just because of their racial background. I don't believe we will see this problem nowadays which is probably a big reason why Mexican Reggaeton is blowing up big internationally right now.

"Rebeldia's" biggest hit was "Segueta" by Kartier which was on all the bootleg mixtapes back in the day because of the official Remix featuring Ariel El Puro which isn't on this album. H Man and P Man's single "Rozame" also did pretty well and is probably the best song on the entire product. All in all the album isn't very good but it's not terrible either. Felito was developing a lot of new talent around the time and he tried to give them plenty of shine on "Rebeldia" and "The Crew 4" but most of them did not cut

the mustard. Although Felito did discover Menace (Musicologo & Menes) and Nales (Doble AA & Nales) who produce many beats on both

"Rebeldia" & The Crew 4.

Probably the most memorable thing to come out of KGB Records' partnership with Warner Latina was the juggernaut campaign of Tony Haze & Shaka Black's debut album which did pretty well in California since I believe Tony Haze is from there or at least migrated there later on in life. Their album was even on Don Francisco's "Sabado Gigante" and although far from a classic, it wasn't half bad. I don't believe it went even gold although the single "Dame Un Beso" did fairly well in some markets. Rebeldia is far from great although most of the established names like DJ Blass, Randy, Guelo Star, Las Guanabanas, Don Chezina, Felito El Caballote among others have pretty good songs.

I saw an interview with Felito that was quite revelatory. Even though he was among the first Reggaeton artists to ever get major label joint venture deal, they did not go very well. I know he got into real estate at the time. And he kept it real in the interview stating that when the deals didn't go as well as he'd hoped, he would be working a day job in Universal Studios Florida and was recognized by Reggaeton fans while working inside the place. Fascinating. I still recommend you listen to it if you can find it. I will leave an incomplete link on YOUTUBE. If someone out there can upload the entire thing. Great.

Rating: 7/10

Worldwide Sales:
Unknown, probably between 20-30 thousand units.

Listen On YOUTUBE (incomplete)

Zion feat. Rico & Paya

Randy feat. Guelo Star & DJ Blass - La Primera

could not find the Pedro
Prez (RIP) song but I kinda remember what it sounded like. I think it wasn't
bad?😕

Felito El Caballote - Como Tu (A Bachaton)

Bonus Track Plan B - Tension prod. by Los Vegas

Bonus Track Kartier & Ariel - Segueta Remix (Gold Star Music)

PS: I don't feel Mexico has stronger talent than Chile, Colombia or any of the other relevant territories outside of Puerto Rico in Reggaeton and Latin Rap. In fact DR, Spain and Argentina all have stronger talent rosters than Mexico. But Mexico has an infrastructure and working relationships in the US music industry that those other countries do not have. It is arguably superior to Colombia's. That is why I think Mexico will triumph and become the next Colombia as long as mutual racism doesn't hold them back again. DR would be up there but they have too many VISA issues. They need talent to move to Miami and New York and develop them from there. Mexico is next I believe.

A comment from RPM reflecting on Panama's and Jamaica's influence on the creation of Reggaeton

I don't get the colonizer talk honestly. We are all Latinos. And I know most Jamaicans embraced Reggaeton before "Despacito". I think after "Despacito" people got angry because the music became bigger than Jamaican Reggae worldwide and some ignorant journalists and media people sold Reggaeton as 100% Latino. Even though no music is 100% original. Mexican music came from Vienna, Italy and German immigrants. All music originates from Africa. Afro Carribean people in Cuba invented all the famous Latin Rhythms including Salsa, Merengue and Bachata inspired by African Music. But Reggaeton is directly derived from Jamaican Reggae Dancehall but so many Latin Pop journalists were just ignorant of that. I think because people are now trying to leave both Jamaica and Panama's contributions behind is why people are now getting mad. I don't know how Colombia is 100x more mentioned about in all history of Reggaeton conversations and writeups while Panama might just get a blip at most; sometimes Panama isn't even mentioned at all. That is where I think people feel disrespected. I believe if the historians and journalists just mentioned Panama a little bit more, most of the offense would go away because the Panamanians never tried to hide they took this music from Jamaica, I cannot say the same for Puerto Ricans and Colombians. There is this small, but vocal, contention of Puerto Ricans and Colombians that say what they created is entirely separate from Jamaican Reggae and that is just not true. Even more people try to say Hip Hop had nothing to do with the creation of Reggaeton and that is just ignorant when Reggae also gave birth to Rap along with Jazz, R&B, Funk and Soul.

There is also a misconception that Jamaican producers never got paid. That is not true at all. I know that Tony Kelly, Sly & Robbie, Bobby Konders, Dennis Halliburton and others were all paid when their songs were sampled in Reggaeton. Now for Steely & Clevie themselves, you can read in an article that they did not used to own their material. But when the record company owner died sometime in the 2010's I believe he reverted all the rights for the songs he owned back to their original creators. So who is to know if the original owner did get paid for those samples. I know most Panamanian producers paid before 1995 when they started creating their original dembows. Anything on a major label that directly sampled from Jamaica pays publishers, but what happens is that sometimes those publishers fail to pay the original owners of some material and those royalties are then held up. If the original owners don't claim those royalties in a grace period of like 2 years, the publisher can disperse those royalties however they like. There is a term for it but I do not recall it as of this time. There are also people claiming royalties they don't own and that messes everything up like those guys in Miami who illegally registered Anuel and Victor Manuelle songs. They are doing time for that and owe millions of dollars in stolen royalties, mostly via YOUTUBE.

For the most part no one stole anything, especially post Gasolina. The most that happened was those underground dj's who sped up the beats in the 90s but they didn't know better, but even then, some of the stuff they used did pay royalties like the Vico C stuff distributed by Sony. But most of those underground records did not make any real money and if Steely & Cleevie wanted to sue DJ Chiclin and DJ Crane (QEPD) for sampling their records on albums that didn't even sell more than 20 thousand units 9 out of 10 times... they would be lucky to be owed even $100,000 dollars. I think the record companies should offer a fair restitution settlement compromise, but this lawsuit is frivolous. They might win one in a corrupt court but if they manage to appeal to a competent court system in New York, Miami or Los Angeles, Steely & Clevie would surely lose and owe money. This isn't like when Pharell got sued because in an interview he confessed they borrowed from Marvin Gaye. If you look at the list of the songs they are suing, it's all Post Gasolina stuff that made real money. Of course they won't sue DJ Raymond because they won't get diddly. And 98% of Post Gasolina didn't even sample Steely & Clevie. They are suing Ivy Queen for a song where she pays the original creators of Dat Sexy Body and it is not Steely and Cleevie. That alone should get the lawsuit thrown out but I think they filed it with a corrupt court and clerk. It's a shame that they with so much credibility would do such a thing. They must have fallen on hard times or just got greedy. Sly & Robbie should sue more because "Murder She Wrote" was used 10x more in old school Reggaeton than the Fish Market. They are not even suing Gringo Man from Panama who was the first guy to make that riddim big with "Trailer Lleno de Guiales" which I think they paid the rights for.

Here's RPM recommending some albums

Mostly Reggaeton

Alvaro Diaz - Sayonara (2024) Rating: 9.5/10

Jowell y Randy - Mazorkeo (2024) Rating: 8/10

Jay Wheeler - Buena Musica Para Dias Malos (2024) Rating: 9/10

Sech - Tranki, Todo Pasa (2024) Rating: 8.5/10

Feid - Ferxxxocalipsis (2023) Rating: 7.5/10 (the album is very imperfect, balance and quality wise, but the good songs here are phenomenal and worth everyone's time).

Karol G - Mañana Sera Bonito (2023) Rating: 8/10

Arcangel - Mas Sentimiento, Elegancia & Maldad (2023) Rating: 8.5/10

Tainy - Data (2023) Rating: 8.5/10

Sech - El Bloke Hills (2023) Rating: 9/10

Chencho Corleone - Solo (2024) Rating: 8.5/10

Myke Towers - La Pantera Negra (2024) Rating: 9/10

L-Gante - Celda 4 (2024) Rating: 8/10 This one is all Argentinian style Turreo but this guy has a great flow and solid lyrics. If he switched up the beat styles more he could become a big deal worldwide. He reminds me of Tego.

There might be more, If I remember I will add.

Hip Hop & Reggaeton

Eladio Carrion - Sol Maria (2024) Rating: 9/10

Nengo Flow - Real G 4 Life vol. 4 (2024) Rating: 8.5/10

Trueno - El Ultimo Baile (2024) Rating: 9/10

Pop Urbano

Manuel Turizo - 201 (2024) Rating: 8/10

Only Rap from artists who collaborate with Reggaeton creators

Yecko - El Bichote De Los Ritmos (2024) Rating: 8.5/10

Dano - El Hombre Hace Planes, Dios Se Rie (2023) Rating: 9/10

Responding to a user about unreleased album with the exclusives as always

Loyalty Records "About Time" - This was a record label from Mas Flow Inc based in New England.  They only had the artists Luigi 21 Plus signed and Yo-Seph The One.  I heard that Yo-Seph's father ran it.  I never learned his name.  The various artist project was announced in 2004.  There used to be photos with supposed participating singers.  I don't remember all participants but the photo I saw included Daddy Yankee, Yaga & Mackie, Luigi, Yo-Seph The One, Wibal y Alex, Baby Ranks, Hector El Father, Joan y Oneill, Baby Ranks, High Rollers Family, Franco 'El Gorila', Temperamento, Brujo y D-Voiz, Wisin, Alexis y Fido, Eury The Champion and other names I can't remember.  You can't find the picture anymore.  But you can see the album announced in the back inside cover of Mas Flow 2.  The album was gonna have production from Luny Tunes and the entire Mas Flow team except that Bones & Doble AA were gonna be the lead producers.  The record "Yo Se Que Tu" by Temperamento ft Brujo y D-Voiz (RIP) from New England was rumored to be from the album "About Time".  It only came out on a various artist album by Brujo called 'Konexion Local vol. 1' released in 2006.  "Yo Se Que Tu" is produced by Bones and a lesser known producer who goes by MIDI.  Bones used to have a studio in Massachusetts and would work from there and in between Puerto Rico.  But he moved in 2005 which might have been a possible reason the album never came out.  The early version of "Toma Tra" by Franco El Gorila known as "Si Ella Quiere Pelea" (also known as "Dame Tra") also featuring Wisin but produced by Bones & Doble AA instead of Nely and with different verses was supposed to also be a part of 'About Time'.  Loyalty Records would later be Luny Tunes' label used to develop Dominican talent from DR.  And I believe Manuelito DH from High Rollers Family was somehow involved with that meanwhile Calapeso was locked up for a few years.  I know more of what Loyalty Records had to do with in the Dominican Republic but since info on that isn't available anywhere I won't elaborate here.  But they were involved in some influential careers.  Luigi went on to become El Boki Sucio we all know and love.  Yo-Seph retired to focus on his studies.  He graduated with a business degree and is doing stuff with that now.  He attempted a comeback in 2018, but hasn't been heard from since.  I have no idea what happened to Bones.  He disappeared off the face of the earth back in 2007.

Mas Flow 3 - They say Mas Flow 3 might be cancelled as Luny might shift directions, at least for the time being. A lot of the songs recorded are either too old and might need to be remade or they were released for other albums. Here is one of the album's songs from Zion y Lennox.

The original Millenium which leaked - The unofficial versions (there are 2) are better than the one Machete Music put out of which Luny Tunes took their name off of. Just listen to the original version of RKM y Ken-Y's "Ella Me Hechiza" versus the official version. The original which leaked in 2006 was changed for the album which came out in the tail end of 2007 because the exec producers thought it needed a more updated sound. There is such a thing as a timeless sound you know. If something sounds incredibly good, you should just leave it as is instead of downgrading the song with an inferior version. Both versions are good and I believe Mambo Kingz did both, the first one with Nesty, but the original which never came out officially is much superior than the one kept for the album.

Also The Various Artists album "Los Magnificos" from Pina Records - Los Magnificos was Pina Records' superstar production team of Myztiko, Mambo Kingz, Ken-Y (on the keyboards), and DJ Rafy 9 Fingers who produced many of the big hits from Nicky Jam and RKM & Ken-Y during this time period. The album was gonna feature the Pina Records roster with special guests and Los Magnificos producing it. Instead they shifted to "The Royalty La Realeza" and cancelled the project because RKM y Ken-Y were selling out big venues in Latin America during that time. Songs leaked from the likes of Lito (solo), Polaco (solo), Nicky Jam, Carlitos Way, Cruzito and the album was supposed to also feature RKM y Ken-Y, David Deambulante among others... Lito's underground hit "Bounce" featuring Cruzito was one of the album's leaks. This album was also supposed to elevate Cruzito and Carlitos Way. Cruzito leaked several of his songs from "Los Magnificos" during this period and many were good. Check out this hidden gem Cruzito - Sacale Todo El Sudor (2007) prod by Myztiko from the unreleased album Los Magnificos.  I just learned that Los Magnificos was originally Ken-Y and a childhood friend who was their concert dj around The Masterpiece tour (I forget his name).  They produced "Amiga" together.  Ken-Y would play the keyboards and his friend would do the drums.  It  then evolved to be the super group of producers everyone knows.  They disbanded when Ken-Y signed with Fresh Records in 2015 at his first attempt at a failed solo career.

Eddie Dee - El Diario De Eddie Avila and 180 grados mixtape - None of these productions ever came out. I think if Eddie Dee came out tomorrow and RIMAS gave him a solid marketing campaign he would do at least 500,000 units worldwide, a million if he did a "Mensaje de Texto" remix with Bad Bunny. Don't change the Predikador beat, it's perfect. Maybe add a solo to it, but don't ruin the song by "modernizing".  I believe that to this day.

Answering someone on why "Mayor Que Yo" is now unavailable on streaming services

This is the answer.

If you are looking for 'Mas Flow 2', it is held in "Limbo" by Universal Latino because of contractual disputes with Luny Tunes. 'Los Benjamins' is available because they cleared all the digital rights back in the day for ITUNES and it was one of the first Reggaeton albums to be promoted heavily on digital/Itunes. But 'Mas Flow 2' needs a lot of paperwork to get on all streaming platforms as half the songs were licensed for other albums which further complicates things, especially on Apple Music which is why so many Reggaeton classic albums you will find on Spotify are not on there. So until things are resolved with Luny, the execs at Universal are probably not rushing to re-release "Mas Flow 2" despite the public's popular demand. They make enough money with J Balvin's old songs is what they think to themselves. They don't feel the need to ever make Mas Flow 2 readily available for you.

Adding Jenay's death to the Reggaeton Controversy Iceberg via comments, most people never read it.  Forgot to also add on the blog version will add now.

Hey guys. I missed a really BIG one. There may be a couple of others but this is kind of significant for me as I really enjoyed the work of this artist, his name was Jenay RIP.

Death of Jenay - What I write here came directly from news reports in Puerto Rico. Jenay was a very gifted and influential underground Reggaeton singer and discovered by Master Joe y OG Black. He began in a duo with Hakeem and had a few hits in the underground such as their songs on "Wise La Vieja Escuela" and "The Noise 9". He was supposed to release his debut "No Me Parezco a Nadie" with Pina Records in 2002, but it was shelved despite completed. They were supposed to rework it and release a new version but it never came to fruition.

Jenay had a great voice similar to Toño Rosario. Although his specialty was Malianteo, his biggest hits were all perreos. Among his most well known songs were "Quieres Ser Mi Gata" with Master Joe & OG Black, "Provocame" from DJ Blass Sandunguero 2, "Ahora Es Que Es" from La Mision 4 and "Alucinando" with Ñengo Flow. He could have definitely made a comeback as he was talented enough and a notable name to become relevant in this currently burgeoning nostalgia market. Sadly this would not come to fruition.

In August of 2019, Jenay was found gunned down in his ford explorer. I will not go into speculation I read at the time as little can be found regarding motive or suspects. All I can still find is he was found with 80 bags of Cannabis in his possession after being murdered. RIP Jenay. RIP Yeruza. RIP Jehza. RIP D Voiz, RIP El Taiger and any other artist of the culture to have passed away in recent memory.

When a Reddit user asked about Underrated talent, RPM wrote the truth about Joyce Santana pre-2025

D. Ozi is a really good rapper, but I did not like his first album. It's more decent for today's standards and yes he has good beats. He is even a good lyricist at times, but just like Pusho they aren't the best at making "songs". But I have to hear it again. I could be mistaken.

Joyce Santana - This is kind of his fault for being inconsistent when making albums. He is as good as he thinks he is which is kinda annoying as he believes he's like Top 5... but he doesn't prove it all the time. He'll kill Brray and Luar on a track but then put out a half ass album. Ever since "Luz En La Oscuridad" I have had the highest hopes for him, but I think he purposely sabotages himself. He's very well connected and possibly books shows like Eddie Dee and OGM used to do in PR. With the kind of money in Reggaeton live events today, he probably would rather lay low and in the background. That is my guess because he is one of the best rappers today. But he did think he made a classic with "Luz En La Oscuridad" and although pretty solid it was more around the quality of "Vibras" by J Balvin which to me does not classify an instant classic. Still... I don't think Joyce wants that Alvaro Diaz level fame where he is world famous yet underpaid. They did the same to Eddie Dee. When you aren't a corporate darling they will just push you to the wayside like they did with Myke Towers in "La Pantera Negra". They made that flop because they had to pay Myke a couple of milli for that album so it only sold like 60 thousand when all his other albums did at least 500,000 units since "Easy Money Baby", except "Lyke Myke" which was "for the streets". Right now the artists in Chile are like 1/10 of what it costs an average level Puerto Rican, Dominican or Colombian talent and many of them do big numbers when it comes to singles. So the labels are just thinking about the bottom line. The problem is once the good ones get big like Polima Westcoast, they become expensive too, then the labels start pushing other more "new" talent because they are cheaper too. But then eventually they run out of good "cheap" talent and those who they sign are just more affordable but profitless because their music sucks. They'll get lucky once in a while mass marketing a cheap crappy talent like Jere Klein, but it doesn't work all of the time. I think Myke will get a bigger break with helping out Omar Courtz on their new song together as Omar is a darling of the majors, but these major labels are trying to drive prices of Urbano artists down worldwide. They are purposely giving poor marketing and promotion to many good works from the likes of Sech, Myke Towers and Lenny Tavarez. But then when they overpromote 'El Standly' and he still flops, they still lose those hundreds of thousands of dolllars they thought they were saving.

Dano - He's the best Rapper in the world right now, but most listening to just Reggaeton have no idea. If he makes another work as good and interesting like "El Hombre Hace Planes y Dios Se Rie", he will become one of the biggest artists in all of Latin Music, not just Urbano.

Kase.O - Another one the Reggaeton heads don't know about. He's better than Canserbero (QEPD) who the Reggaeton heads know because of the shout outs from Anuel, Nengo, Arcangel, Lapiz and others... He was a couple of years too early with "El Circulo". Had that come out today, he would be one of the biggest artists in the world. Urbano wasn't even half as hot when that came out.

Another answer to another post on why Mas Flow 2 isn't available on DSP's

Luny was not on good terms with Universal Latino's ex president. He is on good terms with the new one. He is in renegotiation with Universal as recently as last year. In the meantime he plans to release singles and EPs; depending on how the public reacts, he and Tunes will decide how and when to move forward with Mas Flow 3 which Luny claims is still in the works as recently as 2024.

Los Benjamins is available because Luny Tunes did a deal which included a digital distribution clause which covered streaming which was already a thing in Europe back then but took awhile to catch on. That is why back then you saw "Los Benjamins" promoted all over ITUNES and "Noche De Entierro" was among the first Latin singles to sell over 100 thousand units in the Itunes store. Mas Flow 2 lacked these clauses which is why it is missing from DSP's and Luny's poor relationship with Universal did not help as getting it into stores requires a lot of paperwork.

Mas Flow 1 is available because DJ Nelson owns that album, not Luny Tunes. We will most likely never see "La Trayectoria" on DSP's except for the 10 exclusive tracks (maybe) as that album is technically illegal in today's standards. Naldo recently revealed that he and Luny never got the permissions for it but because they were cool with everyone, people just let it slide pretty much. There is a chance that Mas Flow 2 will be on DSP's someday but every artist and/or their representation must sign off on it from Daddy Yankee and El Cartel Records to Baby Ranks, Eddie Dee (he wrote Dejala Volar) and Tito El Bambino. It's a co-ownership, but those acts and their rep need to sign off to get the splits in order. It's a whole new world.

This is the interview with Molusco where Luny Tunes go into further detail.

More comments added 9/13/26

Still Under Construction