Thursday, July 30, 2009

My First Exposure to Reggaeton



My first exposure to reggaeton was on a trip to Cuba (I know... not PR but give me a break, I am from the Pac NW, I admit full ignorance) about 4 years ago. I was listening to A LOT of Three 6 Mafia at the time, and occasionally would hear these spanish rap songs down there (which were actually reggaeton but I didn't know any better) that had samples of guns cocking. This was relevant to my interests.

I searched and asked around for the song with the gun noises, but no one could help me. Eventually someone told me about this group called Cubanito 20.02 that was reggaeton. I guess they were really big in Cuba at the time. Back then, I didn't even know what reggaeton was, I thought it would just be called like cuban rap (or latin rap).

I was pretty into it, the raps were tight, but I just couldn't get over the singing and the silly drum beats, I was looking for something more agresivo. Also, there is one guy in the group who does that thing where you rap and kind of sound like a big dog; it reminded me too much of real reggae.

Anyways, I bought the CD and pretended to be into it so I could look worldly when I returned to BC. Most people liked it, usually girls, and it was fun to drink in the sun and listen to it.

We still didn't know what reggaeton was, so anything that sounded like it we would just call "Soy Cubanito," which was the title of the album.

About 3 years ago, the original CD (with case) was stolen out of my old 1986 Acura Legend, by who I imagine was a street person, in Victoria, BC.

If that guy didn't pawn the CD, he probably had a huge boner after listening to it. I like to imagine that somewhere in Victoria is a homeless person who reps a tropical island lifestyle due to the theft, even though he is in Victoria, BC. He lives in a cardboard city, but with lots of like fake palm trees, drink umbrellas, and loud shirts. Oh, of course, braids as well.

Since then, I am pretty proud to call myself a reggaeton listener and have learned so much! I have probably 20 reggaeton songs with gun samples in them now. It's too bad Pitbull is from Cuba because listening to Soy Cubanito now I realize they aren't that bad; however, I am at a point in my life right now where listening to any kind of Cuban artist translates into direct support for Pitbull, so I can't do that.

Reggaeton has shown me that it's ok to be a pussy, as long as you are also a thug. North American rap is all about being tough, all the time, which is really unrealistic! Thugs cry too, and fall in love, which is why reggaeton is perfect. North American rap is full of static characters, whereas reggaeton is about being dynamic and multi-dimensional.

Who knew that 4 years ago, a simple purchase would indirectly change my life forever? Not me!

-Talento de Victoria

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

A New Hat has been acquired


Here at Solo Para Reggaeton, we are ALWAYS checking eBay for Reggaeton related items. Well, a big gift fell into the lap of Estilo Blanco.

He was able to score this sweet Dominican Republic hat for $17 shipped, this now gives him the full DR/PR set. He is now prepared for full reggaeton representation, although to be honest a Panama hat might be required as Makano and Flex have shown us that Panama is keeping it all kinds of real in the reggaeton world.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Jowell Invents Reggaeton Mullet

Not much to say about this one, just check out that picture! Obviously it's pretty awesome. Reggaeton has a way of doing that to things that would otherwise suck. He looks like a Japanese international student or a Puerto Rican version of Kenny Powers. I like it.

-Talento de Victoria

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Vintage Arcangel y De La Ghetto


I've been hesitant to post this video due to quality concerns—it's slightly worse than when La Chat and Project Pat performed on Jenny Jones—but I've cracked because it's just too good to not post.

De La Ghetto is looking a little chubby and rocking a sweet teen stache, which is a plus, and Arcangel doesn't look like Prince yet.

I imagine during the interview the girl asks "So what are your plans for the future?" and Arcangel says "Well, I'm thinking about going really weird and dressing like Prince, and De La Ghetto has been doing the master cleanse for a month and says it's actually not that bad, he has so much more energy!"

I don't know much about what this talk show is, but it looks like a great place to take a nap.

Reggaepop


The funny thing about reggaeton is that it's not afraid to sell out and get a little gay. Just check out the video above if you don't believe me. I guess this is what you would call Reggaepop. Alexis Jamsha (Nejo y Dalmata's producer) posted "trabajando en lo nuevo del putipuerko!! 100% sucieria!! fuck reaggepop!" as a facebook status this week. He put it english, so he must really hate it. Of course, given the weirdness, it's no surprise seeing De La Ghetto in there like a dirty shirt. He will do anything for a buck! In fact, here is another video with Geezy and a Mexican pop group.

It also looks bootleg, from the era of Sensacion del Bloque. Estilo Blanco watched it and thought it was just a mishmash of random clips, nope! It's just that budget.

While this is a really great feel-good romantic pop song, we would hate it if it were in english. It makes High School Musical look rugged. Luckily, it's in spanish and has been my song of the week.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I have no problem with reggaepop. It makes me feel like a 15 year old girl in love and has cut my masturbation down to only twice a day as opposed to 4-5 when listening to regular reggaeton.

-Talento de Victoria

Friday, July 10, 2009

Tu Te Imaginas - De La Ghetto



On this site we have such a mixed set of feelings about De La Ghetto. He is so talented, but at the same time he kind of disses reggaeton and tries to call himself the king of Spanish RnB. So unfair.

In this video Tu Te Imaginas, we get a little more of the taste of De La Ghetto as the RnB star. I tried to hate on this song, but I can't it's got that romantic style, and those little bits of De Le Ghetto making his voice just a little bit falsetto.

However, there are some problems with it that need to be addressed.
1) If this song were in English, there is no doubt I would hate it because it would probably have a rap in the middle by Lil Flip or Flo Rida. Yawn, F+
2) De La Ghetto is really not that good looking, and now that he's lost some weight he wants to show off his face and how he's all skinny. But that just draws more attention to the fact that his head looks like a guy who is both 14 and 45 at the same time! So weird!
3) The ladies in this video are pretty fly, but man do they look bored. How can you be bored with De La Ghetto right near you? Oh yeah, that's right, he's skinny now so he's lost some of his powers.

The lesson learned is that if you're a reggaeton artist, you will probably be better off being a bit chubby, wearing big sunglasses, a PR/DR/Yankees hat, and really big clothes. It will draw the attention away from you face and directly to the music.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Enemy of Reggaeton: Merriam-Webster



So it was just announced that "Reggaeton" has made it's way into the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Normally you would think this was a good thing, a sign that Reggaeton was on it's way to universal acceptance. And in some senses you would be right, however a quick look at the calender should tell you EXACTLY why this should fill you with total and complete rage.

It is July 2009. Even if you want to take a popular culture view of Reggaeton and say that it began in 2004 with the crossover success of "Gasolina," that means they are FIVE YEARS BEHIND. Oh, what's that? It's a dictionary so they are always slow? Well this year they added Vlog and in previous years they added stuff like "truthiness" from Stephen Colbert when it was barely a year old.

And you see that definition? It's wrong! While I would love to see a dictionary that defines everything in relation to Puerto Rico, this definition completely ignores Reggaeton hotspots like Panama, The Dominican Republic, and oh, I don't know, the freaking BRONX.

Screw these up tight jerks. If I was having a reggaeton party I would NEVER let anyone with the name Merriam or Webster onto the guest list. They are probably old white people who would only like the reggaeton songs that sound like merengue because they like Cuban food and bootleg revolutions.

So congratulations Merriam Webster, you just added Reggaeton to your dumb list of definitions. Well guess what? We just added YOU to a list: The Enemies of Reggaeton. Say hi to Pitbull for us.
-Estilo Blanco

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

The Problem with Puerto Rico Jeans


Alright, this site is no stranger to awesome stuff that you know you just can't buy. We've seen pendants, medallions, and tank tops. And now, Ebay has coughed up these jeans and yes they are every bit as awesome as you would think: dark denim, baggy, and embroidered with stars and "Puerto Rico." They are one of the more reasonable ways to represent Puerto Rico in the area of pants.

But then there are the problems, namely these are simply too baggy. I don't know how you wear these in any warm weather, although I guess since Puerto Rico is always super hot when you leave Puerto Rico it always feels cold, so maybe it makes sense.

In any case the price is right on these things, but I just wish that we could get Puerto Rico jeans in a nice boot cut that you could wear to formal functions, work, AND block parties.

Oh well.
Link
-Estilo Blanco