Yandel, De La Ghetto & Dei V Discuss The Future Of Reggaeton At Billboard Latin Music Week 2024

Yandel recruited colleagues and industry friends De La Ghetto, Dei Vi, El Coyote and Roberto Andrade for the ELYTE: The Beginning and Future of the Genre panel at Billboard Latin Music Week 2024 on Friday (October 18).

Presented by Warner Music Latina, reggaeton artists and executives talked about the booming success of urban Latin music. Below, check out some highlights.

The beginning of Reggaetón

Yandel: “Like any artist, you have someone to follow and learn from. For me, one of the top was Vico C. I liked his music style because it was commercial, led by example and had lyrical content. Then I fell in love perreo when there were twins like Baby Rasta & Gringo, Hector & Tito. I followed Yankee Dad a lot. For me, reggaeton music was love at first sight. When I got that taste and was able to write about what was happening on the streets, that's when I fell in love even more. Reggaeton music is in its moment right now.”

Roberto: “I was working in radio in Colombia in 1997. I went to Bogotá to study and work at Tropicana Estereo, which was a salsa station, and I remember between 2002 and 2005, I was a DJ and the programmer used to say 'you.' i will play this time' and it was 'Gasolina', 'Rakata' or 'Felina'. It was a reggaeton hit every hour on a program of salsa and tropical music. Then they went on a crossover and ended up with a 100% urban music station. […] I want to thank the movement that happened in Panama and planted this great seed, but it was definitely the island, Puerto Rico, that internationalized it.”

The present & the future

Dei V: “Artists like De La, Yandel and everyone who came before me opened those doors. It's a little easier for us with streaming, but if they hadn't, we wouldn't be here as blessed as we are. I'm not the only one. A lot of the guys coming out now have charged $5,000 for their first parties.”

Yandel: “I always identify with the youth. I always like to be where the youth are and what they are doing. It really gets my attention because they both respect me and I feel like they approach me with respect. For me this is a reward… that the new generation wants to record with me after so many years of hard work.”

Best Business Advice

De La Ghetto: “I always tell everyone to 'study the greats.' I studied Wisin & Yandel, Yankee, Hector y Tito, Don Omar, Zion y Lennox a lot. From my perspective, when Wisin & Yandel came out, they were the first to make a video with Jessy Terrero, the first to see themselves as American artists. In the late 90s, early 2000s, we saw American hip-hop artists as impossible to get to where they were. These people [Wisin y Yandel] they started investing in their careers, not waiting for labels, not waiting for anyone. That's where the change happened in the genre because they made the genre more expensive in the sense that they see us as the same as American artists. You have to invest in your career, your image, your clothes, your night creams. It's part of your job. Image is everything… It's a lot of work.”

Watch the full panel below: