GaTa, Maicol Superstar, Mista Greenzz, Darell, DJ Blass - Evolution of Reggaeton's Roots letra de (lyrics)

What's up you guys and welcome
To the first episode
Of Reggaeton con la Gata Reggaeton with Gata

I believe that Reggaeton is a
Compilation of a number
Of genres but just like Darell said: Que
No hay Reggaeton sin Reggae? Pues si uno lo
Escribe sin Reggae ni
Puede escribir Reggaeton
Mista Greenz: Los Puertorriqueños
Lo modificaron a una version mas pop
Que en vez en cuando incluye un flow R&B
Maicol Superstar:
DJ Blass: No hay Reggaeton sin Reggae
Digo yo sin Dancehall

Now of course there isn’t reggaeton without
Bomba, hip hop, rap, soca
Dancehall salsa y calypso especially Reggae
Because of it's immediate


Ties with Panama+Jamaica’s
Subculture’s formation of Reggae en español

Reggae met the spanish language by way of
The formation of a
Subculture not Panamanians
Jamaican Panamanians so i’m going to back up
And tell you how that happened exactly
In 1903 the construction of
The Panama canal began
And 50, 000 people migrated
From Trinidad, Jamaica
Barbados their treatment in
Comparison to whites
Mestizos creoles and native blacks
Was horrible native
Blacks resented the west indians because they
Felt like they were making life harder for
Them native blacks who were Hispanic
Were nicknamed as "Spanish" and
West indians speaking dialects
Such as patois were nicknamed as "Chombos"

The xenophobia was out of
This world tensions rose
So high that laws were created to
Limit the immigration of Blacks
Coming in from
Those countries and were not spanish speaking

By the 1960s Black Panamanians
Organized themselves politically both
In office as well in labor unions
Their work dealt with discrimination in
A number of industries well
Into the 70s and so on and so forth

I’m going to pause there with the
History lesson to focus on
These points over a hundred and
So years ago, Jamaicanis
Trinidadians and Basians immigrated to Panama
And 60 years after they got there
Some learned spanish and some did not and
The ones who did not assimilate
Were treated like dirt there were efforts to
Distance non spanish speakers from the rest

With this in mind
The West-Indian Panamanians
Brought over their languages, accents
Their cuisine and their music

Reggae was being explored upon in
Panama as early as the
1970s in communities such as
Rio Abajo of Colon, by a
Guyanese Panamanian by the name of
Guyana and DJ Wasabanga now
What is Reggae? We know what
It sounds like: , but what is it?

Stylistically It’s a compilation of
Rhythm and Blues, Jazz
And mento dancehall is defined as a more
Sparse version of it stylistically anyways

We’ve covered how the West Indians made it to
Panama, what they brought
With them culturally
The xenophobia they faced and when Reggae
And the Spanish Language first started

In order to understand Spanish
Reggae you have to
Understand that there are two
Groups of Panamanians
They’re not the same and do not even
Like each other you must understand
The social dynamics between the Chombos and
The Spanish unlike in other
Social hierarchy systems in Panama it did
Not explicitly go by skin color
But by your Spanish and your
Accent when you spoke it

With this being said
The creation of Spanish Reggae and
It's popularization was an act
Of rebellion native Black, white
Mestizo Panamanians were so xenophobic
That laws were created
To limit the migration of Caribbean blacks

Now, there is a lot of
Tension regarding Panamanians originality
And contribution to Spanish Reggae
That confusion stems from
The ignorance of separating Panamanians and
West Indians you simply
Can’t separate the two there
Are Panamanian Jamaicans
Panamanian Guyanese, Panamanian
Trinidadians, Basians, etc
They’re subcultures in otherwords
The Reggae produced from these
Groups are as West
Indian as they are Panamanian
But again don’t confuse
Panamanians who are not of
West Indian descent, and
Or the "Spanish"

Now that we’ve heard all of this
Let's process the fact that Reggae
Didn’t go from Jamaica to
Puerto Rico directly panama was the
Buffer panama may have
Had the issue of xenophobia
Between the "Spanish"
And the "Chombo" but all of
LatinAmerica struggles with classism, racism
Colorism and
Or xenophobia with that in mind
Why would white latinos seek music of
Black people without a buffer?

Why would White Spanish speaking
Latinos bother with
A genre in a language they didn’t
Understand? Patois is black if los "spanish"
Didnt want to learn it and
Discriminated others for it and
They were Black
Everyone needs to take a step
Back and ask themselves if theyre being
Honest withracism in latin America
Even in the music industry today, you don't
See many black latinos make Reggaeton
That’s not a coincidence

Many look at the history and trajectory of
American Rap and assume because Reggaeton’s
Lyrical style is rapped
That it's popularization
Happened in the same fashion
That is false majority of Rappers are
And always have been Black

Reggaeton is a derivative of Spanish
Reggae and Reggae which was
Created by West Indian-Afro Latinos
And West Indians but
If you turn on any award show they are the
Minority represented despite these sounds
Being largely Black

While the civil rights movement
Influenced the creation of
Rap in America, Xenophobia from
"Los Spanish" Whites
Mestizos as well as tension
With Americans who’ve
Came over to impose their jim
Crow ways on Panama influenced the creation
Of Spanish Reggae in Panama

Fastforwarding political tensions with a
Slew of respectability
Politics influenced the creation
Of Underground in Puerto Rico as well as the
Bridge from Puerto Rico to Panama
Insert Maicol saying how he
And Alberto Stylee went
To Panama to study the sound for months

You can’t understand Reggaeton
Without understanding
Spanish Reggae spanish Reggae, dancehall
And Reggaeton are sisters their
Compositions are extremely similar, you
Grab a couple of riddims
Add and overemphasize the dembow
Riddim as the underlying beat
Incorporate tempos of Calypso
Lyricism of Spanish Rap and you
Have Reggaeton in Puerto Rico
Do everything minus the lyricism
Of Spanish Rap and
Slower tempos and you have Spanish
Reggae & Dancehall in
Panama the recipe incorporates tempos
Riddims, unique sequences
The Spanish language and you have them both

As important as Panama
Panamanian subculture and Puerto Rico
Is to the genre – I can’t want to exclude
The efforts of Latino
Rappers including Nuyoricans
And NY panamanians reggaeton is multifaceted
West coast rap in regards
To Latin artists had
A different social structure
And influence which
Produced their infamous narco and
Gangsta rap in
Order to fully understand it's sound
You have to understand
The respectability politics

Tego is cited as hearing Panamanian
Music during this time
And describing it as "puro reggae" growing up
In a predominantly white latino
Community it's astounding as
To how people would exclude Panama as
The buffer between Puerto Rico and Jamaica
Why would white latinos touch a
Black languaged genre without
An introduction by someone else?
Every genre that has
Been popularized by whites required a buffer
Someone to tell them "it is cool"

Class and Race go hand in
Hand in Latin America, majority of
Those protesting it's sound in Puerto
Rico were white puerto ricans
Reggaeton was considered to be "Poor people’s
Music" but just because the poor were of
Different races doesn’t mean the taste in
Music was especially for those who hope
To "move up" within the classes
It has been and will always be the truth in
Latino culture you are what
You surround yourself
With it’s a tough bullet to bite but it
Does not make it any less true

New York Panamanians
Don't get enough credit panamanians
Don't get enough credit
Heavily critiqued for formally sampling
And creating covers
Of popular Reggae tracks ie
Dembow by Nando Boom
Is a cover of Shabba Ranks Dembow
My argument stands: These black Latinos were
The first to interact with the
Genre and sample Reggae and Dancehall
Riddims to explore the music
That in it of it'self is
Revolutionary bc of classism, racism and
Xenophobia Black Latinos faced not just in
Latin America but in the
United states do they speak spanish
Is it spanish enough
They’re dark skinned but speak spanish?

How in tune are you really with
Latin culture? You say you’re
Afro Latino are you "african latinos"
Where is Panama? The
Gaslighting denial and stupidity is based
In racism and xenophobia and
The fact remains if these "chombos"
Didnt touch Reggae nobody
Else would have alberto
Stylee’s fascination that led him to stay in
Panama for at least 6 months
During the 90s was
The acceptance of the genre so
Openly via carnivals and festivals
In Panama that was not
Occuring in Puerto Rico

The fact remains the "higher class" did
Not want to touch that
"low class poor people’s music" with
A 10 foot pole until
It was popular today as it was
In the 90s Panamanians and
Jamaicans live side by side in
Communities like East Flatbush
Their music studios neighbors to
Each other as well

NY Panamanians mirrored the music
Created in Panama
Their anti colonial resistance
Included production of
Reggae with and without the Spanish
Language the glorification of the beauty
Of Black Latina women that
Has since been lost in translation as
Well as unfortunate hyper machista
And anti gay sentiments exemplified in
Iconic records such as Dembow nuyoricans
NORE big Pun, Residente although he was
Born in PR, Chino XL, lloyd Banks
Left their imprint on the genre by
Exemplifying their lyrical styles in Spanish
Spanglish and English notoriously
Creating some of
The most iconic records influential in
The genre or as a sister to
The genre in Hip Hop
Rap as well as contributing
To cross overs crucial
To Reggaetonn’s identity as a
Pan latino genre

Reggaeton Pioneer Daddy Yankee regularly
Credit's West Side’s most
Notorious group for it's Hip-Hop
Influence Cypress Hill
One of the first latino hip hop
Group – and certainly the
First to get a star on
The hollywood walk of fame

Latinos were heavily involved in Rap battles
Also called Underground both in New
York and Puerto Rico new York
Influences such as Cypress Hill
Biggest Rap influences in puerto Rico include
Vico C in puerto rico
The censorship was so high that
Record stores were regularly raided
And although small efforts were made
To bring the conversation of
What it is to the
Forefront policemen like the
Police Chief Pedro Toledo are quoted
For calling the music
"pornographic expression constitutes
An incitement to violence and pornograph"

He was dedicated to devouring Reggaeton
He said it "diminished the quality of life of
Puerto Ricans" and him and many other alike
Were using the fear of
This expression to influence
Grandparents and parents to
Censor their households

They called this art "violent" but
Were unable to prove
In court how it influences
Reality my comment on this is
The machista and classist reality of Latino
Culture begs the control of
Women, women’s pleasure
And women’s sexuality as well as what
Is respectable and what isn’t

Some may critique reggaeton for being
Disgusting towards women but it
Is a two way street
Women aren’t two dimensional, men
Contrary to popular belief
Women like sex just as much as
Men and that doesnt make
Them jezebels or whores
And if it does keep that same energy for men

Going back to Reggaeton, the 80s and 90s
Were full of persecution
Record stores raided
Censorship activists coming
To the forefront, it is what made the iconic
Nightclub "The Noise" pinnacle to
Reggaeton’s musical evolution
And popularization into the
Fourth generation today

I’d categorize the first generation as
The featured in Playero
Nelson and Alberto Stylee’s work mixtapes
Introduced a compilation of
Styles by a variety of
Artists the tapes overemphasized
Puerto Rican’s unique compilation of
Riddims + lyrical style
That differentiated their music from
That of Panama’s

Some artists like Tego Calderon
Described Panama’s sound as
"puro reggae" Pure reggae as it was
But it was reggae unique
To Panama’s subculture
And second generation of
Panamanian Caribbeans, los chombos

Let’s get specific about it though
Reggae sounds like this
Today Reggaeton sounds like this

Artists like Guaynaa with hit's
Like ‘Rebota’ is
Able to make it popularly bc why?
The over simplification of the
Reggaeton sound exemplified
In his song is desperately missed

For a time Wisin Y Yandel were criticized
For using pop beats to mask the
Rawness of the percussion in Reggaeton but
They were ahead of their time, bc that is
All you hear today with songs like ‘Te
Bote’ which has a faster tempo of
Course, or J Balvin’s mi gente which is
A medley of sounds of course
But still utilizing the pop cushion to
Make the dembow’ Reggaeton percussion softer

I can’t leave out Dominican
Republic la Hispaniola’s
Most notorious sound of the moment
‘dembow music’
This derivative of Dembow features
Sounds more concentrated in Brazilian Funk
And an incorporation of number of other
Genres and riddims it's quirky
Personality is the glue that binds
Together an array of classes
And races in Quisqueya as it's popularity
Has proven a steady path
Out of poverty for some of
The biggest artists today

Mr Manyao is credited for being
One of the first dembowseros
In a brief catch up with him
He’s exclusively let us know about
His plans to collaborate with Panamanian
Artists in 2019 el ‘bow’
Has made it's way back around
Full circle with artists
Like Sech one of the first panamanians to
Breakout internationally alongside
The PuertoRicans
Who’ve notoriously dominated the
Industry since Reggaeton’s inception
Besides obvious talent
The reasons why grow complex i’m excited as
Panama is now reinvited to the
Table publicly anyways that
The rejuvenation of
The genre can now commence

Its no secret that Reggaeton’s white
Washed sound is burning the
Ears of million of it's fans, We get it
Artists have to do what they can to evolve
Into the next level but many just
Like myself miss the gritty
Nastiness that scared
Most away in the first place

Reggaeton Sex, Final Fantasy, Playero
Sandungue mixtapes by Blass, The mixtapes
The compilation of albums created by
DJs I miss that
I miss the sense of urgency exemplified in
Perreo it is no secret that the doggystyled
Imitation of dance is inspired by
The variations of beats per minute during
Sex ha, I got you there
But all of the different styles of
Reggaeton including but not limited to
Perreo, Sandungeo, Bellakeo, Guayeteo
Sobeteo, Malianteo
And so forth are literal artistic expressions
Of the movements of sex

Circling back to the sense of urgency
Perreo today or neo perreo as
Some like to claim it
Is a watered down version of
These different gems of
Art the chief of police "Pedro Toledo" wasn’t
Over exaggerating by calling
Reggaeton "pornographic
Expression" but the art just like life
It'self is multifaceted race
Class, Respectability
Reggaeton is political

As much as artists hate to analyze their
Words as many have expressed to me–their
Metaphoric expressions on life have
Opened the door
For a revolution, because Ricky Renuncio
Spanish Reggae dominates all other forms of
Art and influence in Panama and
Dembow is steadily cultivating the expression
Of the younger generation in
Dominican Republic it's just
Like Maicol Superstar
Said "every country has it's
Own bow" Until next time this
Is Reggaeton With Gata