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Daddy Yankee | BARRIO FINO | V.I./Universal | Daddy Yankee has demonstrated that reggaeton can work as pop. A virtuoso vocalist who keeps his lyrics grounded in streetwise reportage (when he’s not busy romancing), Yankee’s Barrio Fino is a promising, platinum outing.
• Tego Calderón | EL ABAYARDE | Sony International | With his major label debut (over)due this spring, reggaeton’s hippest hip-hop defector may yet find an audience as big as his talent. His 2003 El Abayarde offers musical diversity, political edge, and an abundance of skill and flair.
• Ivy Queen | FLASHBACK | Univision | A fierce lyricist, Ivy Queen can hang with the best of the reggaetoneros. She may be the first female reggaeton star, but she won’t be the last. A retrospective of recent hits and career standouts, Flashback is a crucial primer on the reigning Queen of reggaeton.
• Don Omar | THE LAST DON | V.I. | Don Omar’s “Reggaeton Latino” may have just popped up on the radio, but he’s no rookie. Omar has been a favorite of the reggaeton massive for years. While The Last Don presents an album-length portrait, check out Reggaeton Latino for remixes of his best and biggest alongside some high-profile guests.
• Luny Tunes | MAS FLOW VOL. 1 and VOL. 2 | Universal Latino | The genre’s most popular and influential producers have issued several of the best reggaeton compilations. As a reggaeton introduction, you can’t beat either of the Mas Flow collections.
• DANCEHALL REGGAESPAÑOL | Sony | This currently out-of-print 1991 collection not only includes El General’s classic, “Pu Tun Tun,” it is also an essential document of this seminal period and features many of the Jamaican tracks that served as a blueprint for reggaeton.
• Pitbull | M.I.A.M.I. | TVT | He may fit better under crunk than reggaeton, but this Cuban-American rapper frequently collaborates with reggaeton artists and his Spanglish dancehall hit, “Culo,” helped pave the way for Español on urban radio. Recent releases, including a new disc of remixes (Still M.I.A.M.I.), offer a sonic portrait of Miami in which a Spanish-tinge informs the city’s famous bass music, teasing out the clave that underlies the crunk.
• Tony Touch | THE REGGAETONY ALBUM | EMI International | The legendary hip-hop DJ, who’s become a remarkably solid rapper, turned his attention to reggaeton for his latest album and produced one of the more solid and accessible releases in the genre to date.