What's this Venezuelan musical genre called?

December 11, 2012 6:20 AM

In 2009 an acquaintance introduced me to a form of music that she said was very popular in Venezuela. It featured canned music, canned beats, and half-sung/half-rapped lyrics from people who seemed to be amateurs. She was very agitated about its rise, since she thought it was junk, and I agreed. I'm trying to remember what this was called, but the name isn't coming to me. Takers?
posted by 1adam12 to Media & Arts (11 answers total)

Reggaeton
posted by Rewind at 6:23 AM on December 11, 2012

Yeah, probably reggaeton. It's not all junk, though.
posted by zug at 6:48 AM on December 11, 2012

Yup - reggaeton and for fun:

Ugh, bad reggaeton - anything Daddy Yankee, Wisin Y Yandel (that commercial, recycled beats - just awful!)
Good reggaeton - I like J-King & Maximum, Don Omar, Jayko, Trebol Clan, the reggaeton that gets you up to dance!
posted by xicana63 at 6:50 AM on December 11, 2012

I agree it's probably reggaeton, but just to offer another possibility, when I was in Costa Rica in 2008 there was another kind of music that fits this description more or less. The kids I taught called it dancehall. It had a very reggae feel to it, and it was definitely junkier and more amateur than most reggaeton I hear. I don't know though if it was also a hit in Venezuela at the time.
posted by luciernaga at 7:39 AM on December 11, 2012

Yeah it could also be cumbia.
posted by chrchr at 7:53 AM on December 11, 2012

Tecno brega?
posted by bongo_x at 10:25 AM on December 11, 2012

I don't think cumbia can be said to be "on the rise" since it's been around since like the 1500s.
posted by cmoj at 10:47 AM on December 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: You guys are going to think I'm kidding, but this is all way too good for the genre I'm thinking of.
posted by 1adam12 at 3:43 PM on December 11, 2012

Best answer: I think I know what you are talking about. It's kind of like banda music, but completely electronic and cheesy sounding, right? Like it was made on a Casio SK-1? I saw something like that on Sabado Gigante one night. The "musicians" were on the stage with actual instruments, but they did not match the music that was coming out. Like, during a tuba solo, the guys with the saxophones were acting like it was their solo.
posted by gjc at 6:21 PM on December 11, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: gjc, yes, getting closer. The version I saw was focused on the vocalists, but that's the kind of sound I'm talking about. Like the demo on a keyboard that cost $14.99 at K-mart.
posted by 1adam12 at 1:26 AM on December 12, 2012

Funk Carioca? Not Venezuelan though.
posted by dreaming in stereo at 7:56 PM on December 12, 2012