The commercial success of Latinx artists and the Latin Trap genre has significantly impacted fellow artists and Latinos.
What is Latin Trap?
Latin Trap is a subgenre of trap music originating in Puerto Rico and gaining widespread popularity within Latin America. Latin trap combines the rhythm used in Southern hip-hop, and reggaeton beats to create a diversified form of hip-hop.
“The genre has evolved significantly and has been the base for many subgenres growing globally exponentially, producing regional genres such as Latin rap, trap, hip-hop, and a newly refined version of reggaeton”
https://mn2s.com/news/booking-agency/the-birth-of-latin-trap/
The popularity of Latin Trap
For over a decade, reggaeton has been a financially successful branch of the Spanish language form of hip-hop; notable alums of this genre include Daddy Yankee. Latin trap is a diversified form of reggaeton and operates as an inclusive genre focusing on style, location, and the artist’s culture. Latin trap incorporates a ‘dembow’ rhythm which features drum machine sounds and has influenced many mainstream pop songs such as Justin Bieber hit song ‘Sorry.’
“It goes beyond trap: the music we call ‘Latin urban’ is now diversifying into many different forms,”
Horacio Rodriguez, VP of Marketing for Universal Music Latino.
Commercial success
Artists such as BadBunny are on the rise, a Latinx artist whose musical style is defined by Latin trap, including elements of Atlanta hip-hop and reggaeton beats, all delivered lyrically in Spanish. Bad Bunny was named Billboard’s artist of the year for 2022 and gained the number-one spot on the Billboard 200 chart with his album ‘Un Verano Sin Tin.’ There is no denying that Latinx artists are making their way toward the mainstream of US music and beyond. Seen within Bad Bunny’s Grammy nomination, the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for the prestige album of the year award since the organization began in 1958.
The significance of Latinx artists
The success of Bad Bunny and other Latinx artists significantly impacts local Latino culture. Bad Bunny creates significance for fellow Latinx artists and Latinos by defying cultural politics and reaching fans globally. Many Latinx artists use their lyrics to describe the way of life in their home countries, such as Puerto Rico, by maintaining the authentic trap style and cultural identity. The Latin trap artist Ozuna praised fellow Latin trap artist Annuel AA
“He represents lyrics that really define Trap, which are the raw lyrics of the streets.”
HALEY SOUSA
Latin Trap embraces self-expression and identity through the celebration of its Latin roots. Annuel AA and Bad Bunny have drawn in a significantly large fan base from different areas across the globe. Latin Trap music is known for juxtaposing hard-hitting lyrics depicting the struggles of Latino life against the high-energy beats and rhythms of the genre. By embracing the realities of urban life, the genre is pushing back against the mainstream music scene, which often overshadows the Latin American experience. This is important for fans of the artists and the genre.
The challenges of Latin Trap
The success of the Bad Bunny and Drake collaboration on the song ‘MIA’ led to comments from organizations such as Entertainment Tonight, which stated, “Drake will make you want to learn Spanish.” Although Bad Bunny himself noted that “being in the studio with [Drake] was an achievement in itself
The heavy focus on Drake as an established force in the mainstream music scene calls into question the authenticity of this type of Latin trap and the continued adjustment the genre undergoes as it increasingly enters the mainstream. Concerns have arisen as the genre and artists such as Bad Bunny gain more popularity. Record labels can profit from the increasing success of alternative artists and result in the loss of authenticity as the genre becomes gentrified and capitalized upon. Sarah Vega Noted
These discriminatory practices are how the music industry, similar to politics, continues to lump us together. These practices don’t require tastemakers to roll up their sleeves and do the work necessary to first identify then acknowledge the many different flavors that make up the Latinx community as a whole.
Sarah Vega
Despite these concerns, Latinx artists and the Latin Trap music genre are appreciated by fans globally, despite the risks as it enters the mainstream.
