Reggaeton is defined as a fusion of Jamaican Reggae and dance hall music and Latin American (especially Panama) music like bomba, plena and bachata. Reggaeton first became popular in the 1990's and since then many DJs have worked on creating a blend between ideal Salsa music and Jamaican Reggae. With time Reggaeton has now developed into a music form of its own and is expected to be a separate category in most music awards soon. The pioneer of Reggaeton music is no doubt Daddy Yankee. Daddy Yankee's single ?Gasolina? is an ideal blend of Reggaeton and quick rap like Spanish/Puerto Rican lyrics.



With the advent of time more and more artists are being referred to as Reggaeton artists and the most popular Reggaeton artist(s) after Daddy Yankee are probably Wisin y Yandel. However there is no denying that the first main stream Reggaeton artist was Daddy Yankee. Born in 1977 Daddy Yankee is a Puerto Rican Latin Grammy Award winner. Born Raymond Ayala, Daddy Yankee was recently listed as the top 100 influential people in America and is considered to be one of the most popular Latin American singers today.

Ayala started rapping at the age of 17 and was immensely popular with friends, and used to perform in parties as a hobby. From being a 17 year old who was shot in the leg and rapped for hobbies, today Raymond Ayala AKA Daddy Yankee has sold over 5 million copies of his album Barrio Fino. Daddy Yankee was recognised for his contribution to Latin American Music and was awarded the Latin American Grammy recently. Known for his intriguing mix of Rap and Reggaeton music forms Daddy Yankee has already released his latest album El Cartel: The Big Boss in 2007. The album is expected to do as well (if not better than Barrio Fino).

Over the years Reggaeton music has gone from being a DJs only music scene to a proper discipline of mainstream music. Just like rap music has evolved over the years, similarly in time Reggaeton too is expected to establish itself completely and have a niche market dedicated to it. Already music companies and record labels all over the US and Latin America are scrambling for fresh talent and are looking to find the next big thing in the Reggaeton music scene.

With upcoming artists like Wisin y Yandel, Dan Omar lighting up the Reggaeton scene there is no shortage of future talent when it comes to Reggaeton music. In fact music producers like Luny Tunes have already proved that Reggaeton just like any other musical branch and has its own niche. If you are looking to learn more about Reggaeton music or you are already a Reggaeton fan then the site www.reggaetonline.net, is a must visit site. In fact reggaetonline.net is perhaps the only site on the internet that is dedicated to Reggaeton music and caters to first time users, and Reggaeton fans alike. In addition the site also caters to movie fans that keenly follow Latin American artists like Michael Philip Del Rio and more.

Origin of Reggaeton Music

Although inspired by a variety of sources. Reggaeton music is truly eclectic in its inspirational sources, and it has influences from countries like Jamaica, Panama, Puerto Rico and other Latin American Countries. There is no denying that Daddy Yankee is perhaps the first Reggaeton artist to make it to mainstream music. However Reggaeton music has been around for a long time now, and it has become increasingly difficult to pin point its origin to a particular country. Many people claim that Puerto Rico is the home of Reggaeton music (critics feel this is mainly due to the fact that Daddy Yankee himself is Puerto Rican). All said and done it is not the origin of the music that matters it's the quality and the way it blends in with other music that truly counts.