Reggaeton: Casa de Leones, Hector 'El Father', Nigga, Wisin y Yandel, Eve

Let's get the end-of-year parties started with some dembow!

The 'Hottest reggaeton duo of 2007' award goes to Jowell y Randy, proof is "Shorty" off the excellent Casa de Leones CD (see previous article). Everything is kept quite low-brow at the start, a human beatbox groove with some delicate piano and synth touches. But in the chorus, the subtle addition of an accentuated beat makes your booty move instantly to the urban goodness. The rhythm is more dance than reggaeton, but I like it nada mas. More Jowell y Randy? Google for "Velandote" or "Primero Bailalo".

Hector El Father on the other hand, isn't exactly known for his subtility. Though "Pa' La Tumba" will definitely get a party started - a chaos of merengue beats and rapping reggaetoneros. It's quite the cacaphony, but it works on the feet. His trademark tongue-in-cheek humour is mostly in the hilariously crappy video (below) - Hector trying to keep his cool while doing a dull boysband dance, surrounded by dozens of beautiful women. That doesn't even need a parody.

"Te Quiero" by Panamanian rapper Nigga (who wisely changed his name to DJ Flex for the US market) can be quite irritating, but it's the nicest of the latest wave of romantic reggae panameño songs. I don't think I've talked about this movement yet, which is mainly characterized by one-hit wonders scoring continent-wide approval with 'soft' reggae-pop songs (also see La Factoria, Makano). Notice the slow beat, the distinctly more caribbean sound and the extreme radio-friendliness :)

Hit-of-the-moment "Sexy Movimiento" is way too much women, cars and bling for me (video), but thankfully Wisin y Yandel are not just endlessly recycling the same track on their latest Los Extraterrestres."Quisiera Saber/Control" is a bilingual duet with Eve, a welcome change in the testosterone-dominated genre. Again it's the rhythm making the difference, leaning more towards dance music than reggaeton, while the song keeps a special urban appeal. Now if they would only learn to shut the hell up during that last minute...

Keep an eye on the blog for our Best of 2007 list, with the final results of our reader poll (which is still open for voting - on your right!).

Casa de Leones - Shorty mp3 buy@iTunes buy@Amazon
Hector 'El Father' - Pa' La Tumba mp3 buy@iTunes buy@Amazon
Nigga - Te Quiero mp3 buy@Amazon
Wisin y Yandel ft. Eve - Quisiera Saber mp3 buy@iTunes buy@Amazon

Casa de Leones - Shorty

Hector 'El Father' - Pa' La Tumba