Critical Review of Various Entries on the "Wayne and Wax" Blog

The Wayne and Wax blog brings up many critical issues surrounding the history of Reggaeton and its place as a current musical genre. When Wayne Marshall first encountered Reggaeton in the early 2000s, it was called “Spanish Reggae.” The name was just a precursor to the cultural debate it would later ensue.

Marshall discusses a little of the “music itself” background as it pertains to Reggaeton. The most important aspect is the snare drum, and many of them. The basic aspects of Reggaeton are “bombastic synth textures, plucky melodies, 4/4 kicks...and that good ol’ dancehall-reggae 3+3+2 syncopation” played on the snare, a mark of many caribbean music genres. Reggaeton producers will often change the sound of the snare every 8 to 16 bars by changing the sample, thus causing a change in the timbre. Marshall describes Reggaeton as “digital music par excellence.” Even with the use of multiple snare sounds, it is clear that Reggaeton is truly the product of a world of digital sampling technology.

Reggaeton has changed over the years. Marshall compares dancehall reggae from the late 80s with the Reggaeton of today. This was probably due to the growing popularity of Reggae in the 80s, and especially dancehall Reggae in urban areas. Therefore, hispanics in Panama, Puerto Rico, and New York began to listen to and produce their own version of Reggae, which later became Reggaeton. The growing Reggaeton scene among New York latino communities helped Reggaeton catch on in Puerto Rico. It has gone on to become popular in many Latin American countries, Japan, and the UK. As Marshall describes, “New York nurtured a musical conversation among its post-colonial peoples.”

Although Reggaeton is responsible for the joining of cultures, it has also drawn sociocultural lines. Fans of Reggaeton often argue about “who started it.” Has the music, in Marshall’s terms, shifted from “musica negra” to today’s “reggaeton latino?” Many bloggers argue over whether Reggaeton ‘belongs’ to people from Panama, Puerto Ricans, or all Latinos in general. One Mexican fan claims his right to fan-dom because he is Latino and tries to assure everyone that being Mexican does not make his love of the music any less legitimate. Although Reggaeton is able to represent many things to many people and is emerging as a “mainstream, pan-Latino genre,” it still draws lines between cultural groups because of competing ideologies and modes of nationalism.

Discussion Question: Marshall describes Reggaeton as a “digital music.” Although he uses this term to explain the way it is produced, the use of the internet has also aided its wider dispersal across the globe through blogs, Youtube, and Myspace. One would imagine that this sort of international recognition would aid the coming together of many Latino groups under the common bond of Reggaeton. Yet, there still seem to be wide dividing lines caused by arguments over Reggaeton’s origins. Has the internet only aggravated this disagreements, or would the rifts between the groups be even wider without the widespread dispersal of Reggaeton that the internet provides?