Dancehall & Reggaeton 101

For our South African followers who are not familiar with the music genres of Dancehall and Reggaeton.

Reggaeton:
A sound that originated in Puerto Rico. Dictionary.com defines it as '...popular music that combines Reggae rythms with Hip-Hop influences and includes rapping in Spanish.'
This music has become prolific all over Latin and North America. It has become a huge industry, popular with all races, not just the Latin community.
The most popular Reggaeton artists include; Daddy Yankee, Calle 13, Don Omar and Pitbull who has successfully integrated his sound with mainstream popular music.
This genre of music can be heard in most urban dance and nightclubs in North and South America.

Dancehall:
This sound has its' origins in Jamaica in the late 1970's. South Africans are more familiar with its' most commercial artists; Sean Paul and Beenie Man.
Like Reggaeton, Dancehall has become extremely popular in the Americas and can be heard in a lot of the urban nightclubs in major cities.
With its' increase in popularity, it has caused controversy for its' homophobic and extremely sexualised lyrics. But, like Hip-Hop's controversial origins, this has only served to make Dancehall more popular with the masses.