Reggaetón - April 26

A link to Wayne Marshall's transcriptions and sound clips: here. In case you spent 2004 on another planet or in a coma and didn't get a chance to hear it - Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina" Here are the the musical elements in this song that Marshall talks about as being linked to various other genres:

• "Galloping figures" and "half step harmonic motion" suggesting Spanish pasodoble (bullfighting music), like the venerable "España cañí":

• Nasal delivery like certain salsa soneros (singers) - here's an example of the great Hector Lavoe singing "Triste y vacía

• The Dem Bow rhythm, featuring "3+3+2" (also known as tresillo), here on the original Shabba Ranks tune. And the also seminal "Bam Bam" riddim:

Some dancehall tunes, also popular in hip hop circles in the US in the early 90s, which ended up being referenced in early reggaetón:

• Chaka Demus and Pliers "Murder She Wrote" (1992)

• Cutty Ranks "A Who Seh Me Dun" (1993)

• Dirtsman "Hot This Year"

PR underground/melaza/dembow/"proto-reggaetón": Playero 38 On reggaetonero, Tego Calderón, even has a reggaetón song, referencing an Afro-Puero Rican town, that samples the traditional Afro-Puerto Rican drum/dance called bomba: Nuyorican rapper Big Pun's "Dream Shatterer" Puerto Rican (from the island) rapper Vico C - an oldie but goodie (with a hilariously old school video) - "Tony Presidio" El General's "Tu Pum Pum" Little Lenny "Punnany Tegereg" Bachata-influenced reggaetón - Wissin y Yandel's "Mayor que yo" has tons of bachata guitar (If you don't remember, bachata guitar sounds like this: Making the hurban market: NORE & Nina Sky's "Oye mi canto" Some more modern Panamanian bultrón/plena/reggae(tón) - Kufu Bantón's "Vamos pa' la playa" ("A pasarla bien con los friends"). Notice the use of R. Kelly's "Thoia Thong" track: Here's the aforementioned "Thoia Thoing" The roots reggae and dub influence remains strong in Panamanian reggae - for example in El Rookie's "Grand Error" (although Rookie also sings more reggaetón-styled music) The easily downloadable computer beat-making program Fruity Loops (now "FL studio"): Reegaetón has sired mutant offspring all through the world. Here's choque/choke/shoke from western Colombia: