Randy Ortiz, the singer and reggaeton star known as part of the duo Jowell & Randy, has always had a feeling something big would happen in 2021. He can’t really explain it, but he started anticipating a seismic change a long time ago — he even called out the number …
Read More »'Your Music Is Like a Little Hot Dog Cart': J Balvin and Residente's Latin Grammys Spat, Explained
A few hours after the Latin Grammy nominations were announced on Tuesday, J Balvin resurrected an argument that he’s been making for a few years now: Reggaeton acts are often asked to perform at the awards ceremony, perhaps to boost the telecast’s ratings, but they aren’t always recognized by the …
Read More »Tainy and Yandel Riff on Reggaeton's Past and Present on 'Dynasty'
Reggaeton isn’t all that old in the grand scheme of things, yet there’s an industry-wide yearning for the halcyon days of early perreo, which was fostered in Puerto Rico’s Black communities in the Nineties and 2000s. Artists from Bad Bunny to Rauw Alejandro have offered up tributes to the sounds …
Read More »Tainy, Dalex, and Álvaro Díaz Take a Joy Ride in New 'Mera' Video
Puerto Rican producer Tainy spent all of 2019 crafting experimental urbano-pop hits with the likes of J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Selena Gomez, and others. Yet he shifts gears in his latest release, “Mera,” which is the lead single off his upcoming EP, The Kids That Grew Up On Reggaeton: Neon …
Read More »See Ozuna, Anitta Party Rio-Style in New 'Muito Calor' Video
Puerto Rican heartthrob Ozuna joins Brazil‘s leading lady of pop, Anitta, in the sweltering bilingual track “Muito Calor.” It is the eighth single off Ozuna’s upcoming album, Nibiru, rumored for release later this month. Helmed by Ozuna’s director of choice, Venezuelan filmmaker Nuno Gomes, the new clip was shot on …
Read More »Winter Is Here: Inside the Return of 'Informer' Rapper Snow
Speaking from his home in Toronto, Snow is still baffled that his reggae-hip-hop merger “Informer” topped charts and moved millions of copies over 25 years ago. “That’s a jailsong,” he says, still sounding surprised. “It’s not, ‘Baby, I love you.’ I wrote that song in jailabout informers. But people didn’t …
Read More »