Neoperreo is a subgenre of

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

with some degree of popularity in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Among the most prominent acts of the scene are Tomasa del Real from Chile and Ms Nina from

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Within the United States, neoperreo is more popular in

than in Miami, where traditional reggaeton prevails.

Origins and characteristics

Neoperreo emerged alongside the emergence of mainstream

; neoperreo is characterized by darker qualities and distances itself from popular pop artists. In addition, it has been characterized with a strong presence of

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

and female artists, as well as lyrics that usually relate to subverting or re-appropriating general stereotypes—especially those relating to

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

. The term was made through the form of hashtag by Tomasa del Real and Ms Nina, pioneering figures of the sub genre. Neoperreo is also characterized by its eclectic character. Besides the aforementioned influences, neoperreo usually takes elements from

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

. In particular, during the beginning of the movement, various artists utilized the sound of witch house.

Development

Neoperreo has links with

dembow The dembow beat or dembow riddim is a musical rhythm best known for its use as the core percussion element in reggaeton music, having taken its name from the 1990 dancehall song " Dem Bow" by Shabba Ranks. The rhythm, first developed by Jamaican ...

and classical reggaeton from the 2000s, especially with artists like

Ivy Queen Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez (born March 4, 1972), known professionally as Ivy Queen, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actress. She is considered one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre, commonly referred to as the Queen of Reggae ...

whose lyrics contain feminism and demands of sexual autonomy have been considered a precedent. The reggaeton of this age is considered by these artists to be close to the street spirit of gender, like a corporal dimension and unlike popular music. In this sense Del Real has indicated that in neoperreo "twerking has been converted into a social lubricant" that was being lost with new iterations of the genre. Their lyrics accentuate antiracism, feminism, and including parts from reggaeton from a prismatic perspective, stabilizing alliances and creating safe spaces for "the freaks, the weirdos, the misfits." For each of them, some analysts have attributed the subgenre to be "a revolution" in reggaeton, contributing to a paradigm of change at the time of gender relationships from a feminist and queer lens that places emphasis on sexual liberty. Very recently, it has developed into a genre linked to ''deconstructed club'', that revisits languages of classic reggaeton from an experimental and abrasive lens, mixed with elements of other genres. Artists doing this include Safety Trance, Kamixlo, Kelman Duran, Dinamarca, or in a popular form Arca, in songs on her albums '' Kick I'' and ''

Kick II ''Kick II'' (stylized as ''KICK ii; pronounced “kick two”'') is the fifth studio album by Venezuelan record producer and singer Arca (musician), Arca. The album was scheduled to be released on 3 December 2021, but released early on 30 Novembe ...

''. Despite its underground origins, in the last few years the popularity of neoperreo has grown significantly, influencing popular albums such as ''

Motomami ''Motomami'' is the third studio album by Spanish singer Rosalía. It was released on 18 March 2022 through Columbia Records. Rosalía enlisted producers Noah Goldstein, Michael Uzowuru, Dylan Wiggins and Pharrell Williams as well as longtime ...

'' by

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish Pop music, pop and flamenco singer. She has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. After being enthral ...

, and artists like

Bad Gyal Alba Farelo Solé (born 7 March 1997), known professionally as Bad Gyal, is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Bad Gyal has developed a strong cult following ever since her musical career began in 2016, with an interpretation of Rihanna's "Work ( ...

and La Zowi. Red Bull Music has been a patron of neoperreo artists.

Artists and aesthetics

Besides Tomasa del Real and Ms Nina, other figures usually cited as a part of the subgenre are La Goony Chonga, Bea Pelea, Paul Marmota, DJ Florentino, Bad Gyal, DJ Ssustancia, Lizz and Isabella Lovestory. The internet has been considered fundamental to the spread of the subgenre, and artists frequently have made use of an aesthetic that combines futuristic elements or net art with other aesthetics associated more with cultura de barrio and the origins of reggaeton. Deny Kotasek is one of the artists that has fused house music with reggaeton, rap, hip hop in his song "Bienvenida al Club".

References

{{Amerisalsa Reggaeton