The tribute to songs from Barrio Fino, the caserío concept album that swung the door wide open for reggaeton, was particularly impactful.ĭaddy Yankee’s third studio album Barrio Fino landed like a genre-cleansing limpia for Spanish-language music.

It’s not often we’re given the opportunity to see The Big Boss follow his performance of a current hit with an entirely different show made up of 15-year-old anthems, especially ones that defined a generation. “Without Daddy Yankee, reggaeton wouldn’t exist in the world in the way that it has,” he said, moments after the group (which included Ozuna, Zion y Lennox, Yandel, and De La Ghetto) literally bowed down to reggaeton’s reigning monarch. As the performance closed, J Balvin echoed this statement.

Then came the lifetime achievement award and tribute performance, in which El Cangri led reggaeton’s vanguard and current generation through a five-song medley highlighting some of his biggest moments, like Barrio Fino‘s “Lo Que Pasó, Pasó” and “Gasolina.” “This is the first time that they’re doing a tribute to an urbano artist at Premios Lo Nuestro, and it’s something that marks the genre’s history,” he told Univision during a rehearsal for this year’s ceremony. For his first performance of the night, Yankee emerged from a giant Baby Yankee head – because why not? And as he delivered a flawless rendition of his latest single “Con Calma,” flanked by dozens of backup dancers, the devoted audience made up of the music industry elite danced in bound devotion. This time around, he returned as reggaeton royalty, with everyone aiming to hop on the magic of the dembow riddim that was once so shunned at Spanish-language music awards. The first time Yankee performed at Premios Lo Nuestro in 2005, he was something of an oddity – a young, iced-out reggaeton star delivering the gospel of perreo via flying Lambo. Last night’s stunning display at Premios Lo Nuestro confirms it. Through Tu Pum Pum: The Story of Reggaeton, a column by Eduardo Cepeda, we’ll explore reggaeton’s history, sociopolitical struggles, and its impact as a global force in music and culture.ĭaddy Yankee is his own best opener. As an afro-diasporic movement, Panama, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and New York are all pivotal landscapes in the style’s musical evolution. R eggaeton began organically as a transformation of dancehall, hip-hop, and reggae en español.

Zion y lennox age