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Shabba Ranks' 1990 reggae hit "Dem Bow ' has become an intrinsic gene in the DNA of reggaeton, its specific riddim appearing in almost every reggaeton track since. Hear if you can trace some of your favorite songs in this reggae classic.
Reggaeton became reggaeton in name in like 2005, but the genre had been coming into itself since at least the 80s. Before reggaeton, this sort of music had been called Underground, and Dem Bow (I know it’s so confusing), so let’s get into it.
Reggaeton’s origins are forever linked to Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Reggae music imported from Jamaica had become incredibly popular in PR in as early as the 70s. However, not all Reggae was treated as equal. Reggae had become popular amongst upper class, white PRans, the type that also listened to Rock in their spare time (Rivera, 7). Apparently, the young white PRans were collectively going through some sort of Rasta phase. Not that they respected and understood Rastafarianism, they liked the music and were enamored by the aesthetic of Rasta, i.e. green/black/gold/ red, cannabis and a seemingly chill but rebellious vibe (7).
Dancehall is a distinctive subgenre of Reggae that popped up in the 80s in Jamaican, you guessed it, dance halls. Dancehall, too, made its way to PR as Spanish Dancehall where it was favored by the lower-class youth, the type that had been already listening to American Hip-Hop (7). This division was not coincidental for Dancehall had been divisive since the beginning. Even in Jamaica and especially in PR, Dancehall was seen as more rude, crude, lewd and violent than root Reggae (6,7). The class divisions seen in PR, however, were also incredibly racialized, where the blanquitos listened to Reggae and the black/afro PRans or raperos listened to Dancehall, Hip-Hop and Underground, an emergent musical style which combined the Dem Bow Dancehall riddim with the rapping and mixing techniques associated with Hip-Hop as well as Spanish lyrics and sensibilities (7).
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J0N
Bro! This entire time I thought Dem Bow was like a Dominican word to describe the specific Reggaeton beat and ~vibe~ Never knew it was a riddim.
J0N
Reggaeton, Raquel Z. Rivera. Introduction. https://read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/1405/Reggaeton