Last month, Madrid, Spain, played host to a celebration of the resurgent reggaeton scene and the Perreo phenomenon sweeping the Spanish-speaking world as part of Boiler Room x Ballantine's True Music. In the past couple of years, reggaeton and Spanish language music has seen a huge surge in global popularity, dominating in clubs, music venues and radio playlists. However, J. Balvin and Bad Bunny are only the beginning.
Reggaeton hasn't always enjoyed universal respect or acclaim and has in the past been dismissed and excluded from the mainstream (with one or two notable exceptions, of course), often criticised for overtly sexual lyrics by more conservative quarters of the world. Perreo, the club sound birthed out of Puerto Rico, has been rejuvenated in the digital world, and Madrid is a bountiful source of the riotous South American sound. In 2019, the experimental and adventurous subgenre is getting a lot of love and has been finding international success in both the mainstream and the underground. Boiler Room: Madrid ran the full spectrum of what reggaeton and Perreo can mean: bass-heavy instrumentals, melodious vocals, reload-worthy bars and boundless, defiant positivity.
Before we get to the main Boiler Room x Ballantine's True Music event, Boiler Room and Ballantine's also held a two-part forum featuring Eno Williams of London Afro-funk band Ibibio Sound Machine, Leonora Garcia from Sony Music Spain, NTS DJ Felix Hall and Spanish journalist Núria Net, followed by Mixpak DJ Florentino, Chica Gang's Flaca, Chilean reggaeton artist Tomasa Del Real and Spanish DJ and promoter Topanga Kiddo. In it they discussed the boundaries between cultural appreciation and appropriation, how reggaeton had developed, how it was being received around the world, and how the subculture varied throughout the Spanish-speaking world. After which we watched the Boiler Room x Ballantine's True Music documentary, profiling some of the key players in the blossoming Perreo scene.
The main Boiler Room event featured artists and selectors from across the Spanish-speaking world, including Perreo front-runners Chica Gang, Los Santos (formerly PXXR GVNG), architect and 808 Mafia member Steve Lean, Spanish-born reggaeton selector Clara!, French DJ and producer King Doudou (fka Douster), Madrid rapper and Los Santos member Kaydy Chain, and DMV rapper and one of the most exciting names in 2019 rap: Rico Nasty. It was a wildly eclectic night and a well-balanced primer for 2019 reggaeton in all its many vibrant forms.
Here's what went down...
