Latin rap

Latin rap is not a homogeneous musical style but rather a term that covers all hip hop music recorded by Latinos, as in Chicano Rap, Hip Hop Latino, and Hip Hop en espanol.

Spanglish rap

The first bilingual ("Spanglish") rappers were a group from Bronx, New York by the name of Mean Machine. They put out the very first bilingual rap song in 1981 on Sugarhill Records. The record was called "Disco Dream". The emcees were Mr. Schick, DJ Julio, Mr. Nice, and Jimmy Mac. Nuyorican DJ and producer Tony Touch also mentions (in an interview on blackmagazine.it) the track "Spanglish" by Spanish Fly & The Terrible 2, which came out in the same year on Enjoy Records. Other early Puerto Rican rap pioneers from NY include Rubie Dee and Prince Whipper Whip of the Fantastic Five, DJ Charlie Chase of the Cold Crush Brothers, Master OC and Devastating Tito of the Fearless Four.

Latin rap on the West Coast

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, most Latin Rap came from the West Coast of the United States. Cuban-American artist Mellow Man Ace was the first Latino artist to have a major bilingual single attached to his 1989 debut. Mellow Man, referred to as the "Godfather of Latin Rap" and a Hip Hop Hall of Fame inductee, brought mainstream attention to Spanglish rhyming with his platinum single "Mentirosa". The next year, fellow West Coast artist Kid Frost further brought Latinos to the rap forefront with his single "La Raza." Cypress Hill, of which Mellow Man Ace was a member before going solo, would become the first Latino rap group to reach platinum status one year after Kid Frost's debut. The group has since continued to release other gold and platinum albums. Ecuadorian born rapper Gerardo received heavy rotation on video and radio for his single "Rico, Suave", while commercially watered-down, the album enjoyed a status of being one of the first mainstream Spanglish CDs on the market.

Latin rap in the East Coast and Miami

On the East Coast, Latin artists such as the The Beatnuts emerged in the early '90s, with New Jersey native Chino XL earning recognition for his lyricism and equal controversy for his subject matter. In the late '90s, Puerto Rican rapper Big Pun became the first Latino solo artist to reach platinum sales for an LP with his debut album Capital Punishment. Other Latin artists on the East Coast would follow and receive a great deal of support from Latino consumers including rappers such as, Cuban Link and Immortal Technique. In Miami artists such as Don Dinero and Pitbull have been successful with rhymes in spanish and english.

Southwest and Chicano rap

Latin Rap (as well as its subgenre of Chicano Rap) has thrived along the West Coast, Southwest and Midwestern states with little promotion due to the large Latino populations of those regions. Texas artists such as Chingo Bling, Juan Gotti and South Park Mexican have enjoyed steady sales, and have headlined a number of successful Southwest tours. San Diego artist Lil Rob opened doors for Chicano Rap by receiving mainstream attention for his singles "Summer Nights", and "Bring Out The Freak In You". Baby Bash also had a huge impact with his singles "Suga Suga" and "Baby I'm Back". Artists Sinful of the Mexicanz, and Kemo the Blaxican have continued to improve the popularity of Spanglish Rap on the West Coast.

Urban Regional

In recent years the term "Urban Regional" was coined to refer to Spanish rap performed over beats infused with the sounds and melodies from popular Mexican music styles such as Banda, Norteno and others. Rappers such as Akwid, Jae-P, Crooked Stilo and David Rolas are among the most popular Urban Regional Latin rap artists today.

Reggaeton movement

In Panama and Puerto Rico a new style was created, inspired by hip hop: Reggaeton. While Puerto Rican rappers from the US like Big Pun made their mark in the American industry of hip hop, hip hop was merged with Latin music, and reggae into a new style in many Latin American countries. Popular reggaeton rappers include Tego Calderon, Daddy Yankee, Voltio, Calle 13, and Don Omar.

Latin rap around the world

Latin Rap has been a hit specially in countries with a large number of migrators to the United States. In Puerto Rico, for example, where many of its residents have moved to New York, Miami and Chicago, Illinois over the years, Latin rap was jumpstarted by a wave of singers that included Ruben DJ and Vico C. Ruben DJ's hit, La Escuela, (The School) and Vico C's hit, La Recta Final, (The way to the End) received considerable radio time during the late 1980s. Mexico also has a growing hip hop scene with groups such as Control Machete, Cartel De Santa, and Molotov.

It should also be noted that a number of East Coast rappers usually identified as African American have Latin ancestry as well, usually from the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico. This list includes N.O.R.E., Lloyd Banks, Kane & Abel, Joe Budden, J.R. Writer, Peedi Crakk, AZ, Juelz Santana, and Fabolous.

Noted Latino rappers and hip hop DJs

External links

LatinRapper.com - Source for Latin rap news and interviews.
Latin Hip Hop at BrownPride.com - A collection of texts and links about Latin rap.
Allmusic - Guide to Latin rap genre.
MSN- Music - Latin Rap Albums and Downloads

Hip hop genres