Reggaeton may not be a term you are familiar with yet but this Puerto Rican mix of reggae, hip hop and dancehall beats has already taken the US and parts of Europe by storm, and is being mooted as the 'next big thing'. Hoping to provide the hybrid genre's first impact on the UK charts is Speedy, whose nasal Spanish chanting over minimal backing has been picked up and polished for this release. The effective simplicity of the original version is elaborated upon with the addition of English R&B vocals from Lumidee and an attitude-riddled rap to make it more digestibly accessible for a wider audience (and no doubt more profitable for the record company).
It is good to see dance anthem slingers Positiva branching out into new territory: this is vastly different to the usual pop-dance fare they churn out and makes a refreshing change. But whether the reggaeton explosion becomes a worldwide reality or is just an over-hyped dream in the heads of record company execs and PR folk remains to be seen.
Nonetheless, beneath the added sheen and beyond the hyperbole, Sientelo forms a steady foundation to build upon for a genre that could potentially breathe some life into the so-called 'urban' end of the musical spectrum.
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