How Urban Latin Music Became Mainstream

Urban Latin music has come a long way since the late 90s and early 2000s. Before it was all about heavy Reggaeton beats and hardcore bass. One of the first pioneers of Reggaeton music is Daddy Yankee who became prominent in the late 90s and followed a “gangster” type of style in his music. 

Nowadays, urban Latin artists no longer solely rap in their song, instead they have decided to switch things up. Today’s Latin urban music consists of catchy rap flows mixed with melodic vocals that have a Pop sound to it. The addition of Pop elements gives this Latin genre more of a catchy tune that radio stations like to hear. Latin Trap artists follow this musical strategy in order to maker their songs attract more to a general audience. In the past five years, there has been a large increase in Spanish songs that appear in the Hot 100. American record label companies now seek to collaborate with Latin artists in order to add diversity and expand out internationally.

Luis Fonsi’s 2017 hit single “Despacito” is known to be one of the most popular Latin songs that have reached American audiences in history. It was such a hit that Pop sensation, Justin Bieber, reached out to do a remix to the song. More recently, we see Latin artists like Bad Bunny and Ozuna making songs with New York rapper Cardi B, who is known to have a strong following in the music industry. Urban Latin music’s growth has encouraged the fusion of American and Latin culture through multiple music projects. The music itself is a language that different backgrounds can understand and appreciate. Now, it is starting to become common to hear English and Spanish mixed into one song and it really is broadening the audience’s minds about Latin music and culture.  Comment below and tell us your favorite Latin/English song.