who created reggaeton

Reggaeton was created as an underground phenomenon in the late 1980s in Puerto Rico and Panama. The genre evolved from Jamaican dancehall, Spanish-language reggae (reggae en español) from Panama, and hip hop from the United States. Key pioneers include Puerto Rican artists Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, Ivy Queen, Héctor el Father, DJ Playero, and DJ Nelson, as well as Panamanian artists like El General who helped lay the foundation by translating reggae rhythms into Spanish and creating early hits. Though Panama had the early reggae en español scene in the 1980s with artists like El General and Renato, reggaeton as a genre flourished mostly in Puerto Rico in the 1990s and early 2000s with the addition of hip-hop, plena, and other influences, culminating in the international breakout hits by artists like Daddy Yankee around 2004 with "Gasolina." The genre was initially underground and even persecuted but spread rapidly through bootleg recordings and the underground scene, eventually becoming one of the most popular global genres.