Latin trap is slowly infiltrating the general Trap/Hip-Hop Game
- Beyonce got on the ‘Mi Gente’ by J Balvin Remix
- Cardi B remixed her chart topping song with this Bodak Yellow Latin Trap Remix and has a new song, La Modelo, with Ozuna in which she also sings in English and Spanish. La Modelo came out last week, on Dec. 19, 2017, and already has over 30 million views!
- Quavo got on the “Ahora Me Llama” track with Bad Bunny and Karol G.
- Bad Bunny has also done songs with Nicki Minaj, Becky G and did a remix of Major Lazer’s ‘Know No Better‘
- Maluma’s new track GPS features French Montana and has mad trap vibes down to that creaky door sound on the beat.
- Ozuna and Nicky Jam got on the ‘rockstar’ by Post Malone remix.
I listen to a lot of rap and hip-hop in the States and as soon as I got exposed to Reggaeton and Latino Urbano, I got hooked. The style and themes are similar and it’s very danceable. I’ve always loved the Latin beat that characterizes Reggaeton. Latino Urbano is the more generic category that Reggaeton, Latin rap, Latin hip-hop and Latin Trap can be categorized under.
In this post I’m focusing on the new genre of Latin trap and how it’s still intertwined with Reggaeton but has new sounds that I think are going to continue to become more popular worldwide.
Here’s a Reggaeton beat-
Specifically the beats are Dembow Perreo, Classic Dembow and Rich Dembow in that order. You can tell a song is Reggaeton if it has a beat like this.
Latin Trap (or “el trap”) on the other hand sounds like….
… this banger by Bad Bunny, one of Latin Trap’s most famous artists, and Daddy Yankee, Reggaeton legend-
Latin Trap= Trap + Reggaeton (and other Latin Music Influences)
Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico in the late 1990s but has become one of the most popular genres in Latin America and other Spanish speaking countries.
Trap is a genre that originated in the South of the United States from hip-hop. Some trap artists are Future, Travis Scott, T.I., 2 Chainz, Migos, Waka Flocka, Gucci Mane, Cardi B… the list goes on and on and the distinction between hip-hop and trap isn’t always clear. Just as reggaeton arists perform Latin trap and vice versa, hip-hop artists do specifically trap songs and others that are more R&B/hip-hop.
Here’s an example of American trap music-
So what is Latin Trap?
Latin trap is a relatively new genre that’s growing more popular rapidly. It deals with a lot of the same themes as American trap- poverty, drugs, sex, women, money, etc.
Here’s a really cool video of Noriel and Bryant Meyers talking about what Latin Trap is to them, how they’re creating new cleaner, more romantic songs not just to be able to be played on the radio but because the genre is evolving, and what Latin Trap is inspired by/who it is supported by.
According to this interview of Bad Bunny, Ozuna, De La Ghetto and Messiah, Latin Trap started with this song from 2007 feat. Arcangel and De La Ghetto, later, Dominican Trap artist Messiah really merged the genre with elements of American trap. Finally, with the release of La Ocasion (which features 4 Latin Trap stars in the original version and 9 in the remix) from early 2016, Latin Trap has really popped off in the last (almost) 2 years.
Many reggaeton artists have switched their styles to Latin Trap or are at least featured on Latin Trap songs.
The artists that run the Reggaeton/Latino Urbano game– Don Omar, Daddy Yankee, Farruko, Nicky Jam, Ozuna, Wisin y Yandel, Maluma, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Zion y Lennox, Pitbull, De La Ghetto, Arcangel, Tito “El Bambino”, Noriel, Brytiago, Bryant Meyers, and sooooo many more. These are just the super popular ones according to my exposure here in Antioquia, Colombia.
There are so many Reggaeton singers past and current that contribute to the Latin Trap movement but artists like Bad Bunny, Bryant Meyers, Maluma, Anuel AA, Brytiago, Noriel, Arcangel, De La Ghetto, ñengo Flow, Ozuna, Farruko, and Messiah are really bringing Latin Trap to the forefront of the Latin music game… and I predict to the forefront of the Trap game in general soon… as soon as English trap listeners get over the fact that Latin Trap is (usually) in Spanish.
There’s a Squad of Latin Trap Artists
So many Latin Trap songs have 5+ artists on them, some rapping and some singing. The artists that I listed above that are really repping the Latin Trap game come together in seemingly every possible combination of groups of themselves to create new hits. I really have to listen hard or look up the song to figure out how many artists are on each song. Latin trap is my current favorite genre. It has so many shared characteristics with American Trap and Hip-hop but it still has the Latin style and I get to practice my Spanish listening/singing it 🙂
Here are some songs with a bunch of Reggaeton/Latin Trap artists on it-
All in all, this is just the beginning for Latin Trap. It really popped off in 2016 and we’re already seeing Latin Trap’s main artists team up with the greats of rap like Queen Bey, Nicki, Cardi, Quavo, French and Post. I’m excited to see the collabs 2018 brings us and excited for the continuing success of some of my favorite artists!
Here are some great articles on Latin Trap that helped me write this article!
If you’re really interested or a big fan like me, here’s a panel of Bad Bunny, Farruko, Bryant Meyers, Noriel, Messiah and more talking about what Latin Trap is- https://www.billboard.com/video/the-latin-trap-session-billboard-latin-music-conference-2017-7775281
