Music shifts like tides of the waves, living through cultural trends and speaking for it in ways written form can’t. A recently observed phenomenon of collaborations between Latino artists and American singers/rappers is on the rise and it’s creating a shift; the kind that merges two audiences into one. Is this new phenomena an indication for the future of musical artists’ collaborations?
The explosion of Luis Fonsi’s Despacito, Spanish for “slowly,” featuring Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber became Billboard’s Hot 100 with a mostly-Spanish song since the “Macarena,” according to Billboard.com. From appearances, artists saw this success as an indication to follow suit.
Latino singers with Spanish features have been released on a more-than-usual notice since then. Some interesting examples are Maluma’s collaboration with French Montana in the reggaeton-pop jam GPS, Cardi B’s unreleased sneak peak with Ozuna La Modelo and Demi Lovato’s feature on Luis Fonsi’s Echame La Culpa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsHdFnOj23I
Seeing that a large portion of the featuring artists’ fan base may not understand the content of the song, there may some underlying significance that goes beyond the obvious. In J Balvin and Willy William’s Mi Gente featuring the prominent Beyonce, captions and subtitles are presented in a fashion that would make a Spanish-learner follow along with the lyrics easily. This demonstrates a true movement toward accepting the prominence that Latino culture has on American society.
The perfect blend of reggaeton’s urban, underground cultural roots with hip hop resonates effortlessly. In Flo Rida’s Hola featuring Maluma, Flo Rida says, “I don’t speak your language but hey mama, I don’t need translation.” The song speaks for the movement hip hop artists are taking. The artists that are opening themselves up to the Caribbean sound that notorious reggaeton artists like Daddy Yankee and Maluma have cultivated are creating a new territory for themselves in the world of music.
Overall, this new trend is a practical strategy for artists to expand their audiences and unite fans from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The merging between the naturally romantic language with American society creates a new depth and multiplicity in the appearance of artists that are part of these new collaborations.
Alejandra Solorio can be reached at [email protected] or @alesolorio8 on Twitter.
