[But when the infectious beat of reggaetón, which is derived from Jamaican dancehall and other Afro-Caribbean beats, became popular on the Spanish-speaking island, many local rappers abandoned standard hip-hop breakbeats.] Latinos are children of la rumba, ... When people play drums it gets our attention right away. When we saw that, we realized there wasn't so much interest in hip-hop here anymore. We started to incorporate the ideas we had doing hip-hop with the base of dancehall and reggae en Español. |
I am excited about the great opportunity this new radio show will give my Hispanic community, |
I'm all about breaking stereotypes. |
I'm from the crime capital / And the air smells like death that eats everything that lives / If it was up to me / I would reunite every gang in the name of the fearless people that have fallen / I am a valiant man who's just asking you to stop spilling innocent blood. |
I'm ready to contribute a lot in the genre and, you know, I feel a little responsibility over my shoulders because right now,” Daddy Yankee said. “I'm the ambassador of my movement. But, being honest with you, I'm ready to represent my people all over the world. |
I'm representing for Latinos all over the world. ... This ain't a one-hit-wonder thing. It's just the beginning. And it's a special moment for me and my culture. |
I've always dreamed of touring by myself. We're introducing reggaeton to the masses now. We've been doing this for the last 13 years, so for the Latin community this is not new. But this tour is not just for the Latin community. It's for everybody. |
In the past year we didn't have a true genre that speaks for the Latino's. Right now we have that with the reggaetone, |
It's the first time people will be able to see a reggaetone artist going on tour by himself, so it's a new experience for me, but it's not new because I've been doing this in clubs and performances all of my life, |
My Idol. |
Reggaeton means the same thing to Latino youth as hip-hop does to African-American kids. We didn't have artists to look up to before. But the young kids now, they're looking at Daddy Yankee and Tego Calderon and Ivy Queen like kids in the American 'hood look up to 50 Cent or 2Pac. I'm representing for my culture and my people. It's their music. |
That song Oye Mi Canto was the key to introduce reggaeton to the masses. It's like what Rapper's Delight (by the Sugarhill Gang) was for the hip-hop movement in the early '80s. |
The people that love us most are the women. There are so many bad things you see on the news these days, but with reggaetón, you can escape; it liberates your life. |
The shooters had mistaken me for someone else. |
The shooters had mistaken me for someone else. I entered a total rebellious phase. It completely changed me. |