Thread: The language of Reggaeton

All of us have heard at least one song of reggaeton, and most certainly have an opinion about it -we love it or we hate it. But that's not the point here. I mean, I'm trying to leave my musical preferences aside and, as a professional of the languages, concentrate on the lyrics. Whether you lose yourself to the music or turn off the radio as fast as possible, have you really listened to any of the lyrics? Have you paid attention? Appart from the (too?) provocative, **** contents, the mention of violence, alcohol and drugs, the language (or mixture of languages) used deserves some analysis, in my opinion. That's what I wrote about here (in Spanish), and invite you all to read. Comments are welcome.

Great article!
Well let me start by saying I listen to all kinds of music from jazz standards to R&B, and all I can say is "as long as it makes you wanna dance"! honestly, I like Reggaeton a lot and I find some of the lyrics amusing and entertaining, just as country music is all mostly about the lyrics 'cause melodies are pretty much all the same, reggaeton is all about the rythm and, to me, that's all that matters :-) Even my 5 year old who's not interested in music or dancing at all (in spite of coming from a family of musicians!), is now singing and dancing to "ensana mi dolooor, tengo la cura de este amoooor".

Like all music, Reggaeton is an expression of culture. In this case, the culture is young, hispanic and/or caribbean, rebellious, sexual and sometimes violent and into drugs. Also, like all music, it runs the gamut from excellent poetry to trash! I enjoyed reading what you wrote.

Here is one song I actually like....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKkSBtF2Xcc

Thank you guys for reading and replying so fast!

What I most wondered when I wrote it was if this music represents us "Latinos"... (I certainly don't feel it does, but I'd like to hear what people from other countries think!)

Maybe JackMcG is right and it's the music of an age group we don't belong to... (I mean, some of us, at least... your 5-yr-old, mvictoria, certainly does! haha)

PS: the song you like JackMcG is quite good, I have to admit it.

One kind of music never represents (nor could it) all the aspects of a culture. Add to that fact that the "cultura latina" is so widespread and varied. Even within a single "latin" country the culture will vary (to varying degrees) from the rich to the poor and the young to the old. From the north to the south and east to west. So while Reggaeton can represent certain aspects and dimensions of "latin" culture (those I mentioned above), it doesn't nearly represent all of it. IMHO