Neoperreo

Neoperreo is a subgenre of reggaeton with some degree of popularity in Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Chile.^[1] Among the most prominent acts of the scene are Tomasa del Real from Chile and Ms Nina from Argentina.^[1][2] Within the United States, neoperreo is more popular in Los Angeles than in Miami, where traditional reggaeton prevails.^[1] Red Bull Music has been significant patron of neoperreo artists.^[1][2]

Neoperreo
Other names	Neo-perreo
Stylistic origins	Reggaeton, hyperpop, witch house, trap, moombahton, hip-hop, Latin pop
Cultural origins	Late 2010s, Latin America and Spain
Typical instruments	Electronic instruments Voice

Origins and characteristics

Neoperreo emerged alongside the emergence of mainstream reggaeton,;^[3][4] neoperreo is characterized by darker qualities and distances itself from popular pop artists.^[5] In addition, it has been characterized with a strong presence of queer and female artists, as well as lyrics that usually relate to subverting or re-appropriating general stereotypes—especially those relating to sexuality.^[6][7][8] The term was made through the form of hashtag by Tomasa del Real and Ms Nina, pioneering figures of the sub genre.^[9][10][11]

Neoperreo is also characterized by its eclectic character. Besides the aforementioned influences, neoperreo usually takes elements from electronic music. In particular, during the beginning of the movement, various artists utilized the sound of witch house.^[12][13][14]

Development

 

The singer Tomasa del Real performing at a concert en Santiago, Chile in July 2019.

Neoperreo has links with dembow and classical reggaeton from the 2000s,^[15] especially with artists like Ivy Queen whose lyrics contain feminism and demands of sexual autonomy have been considered a precedent.^[16][17][18] 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.

Despite its underground origins, in the last few years the popularity of neoperreo has grown significantly, influencing popular songs such as Motomami by Rosalía, and artists like Bad Gyal and La Zowi.

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,^[19] Paul Marmota, DJ Florentino,Bad Gyal, DJ sustancia, 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

1. "NeoPerreo Rising: How a Sub-Genre of Reggaeton Is Taking a New Generation Into a Different Kind of Beat". Billboard. from the original on 2020-05-09. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
2. "¿Qué es el "Neoperreo" y quién lo representa?". from the original on 2020-03-01. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
3. Carbonell, Ofélia (26 November 2019). "El no-tan-neo-perreo en perspectiva: ¿cómo se diferencia aún hoy del reggaeton?". Beatburguer. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
4. Arbona-Ruiz, Marisa (25 December 2017). "The 'Despacito' effect: The year Latino music broke the charts". NBC News. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
5. Cepeda, Eduardo. "Urbano Reached Critical Mass in 2018. Now Can It Be Normalized?". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
6. Salvado, Marina Arias. "Neoperreo, ¿Cambiando las reglas de(l) género?La escena transnacional online del "reggaeton del futuro"". Dialnet.
7. Gomá, Marina (January 2022). "A Queer Migrant Gaze: Re-signifying Spanish National Identity with Electro-pop and Reggaetón". Actes du Colloque Étudiant / Art et Politique : Les Enjeux de la Localité dans les Pratiques. Academia. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
8. Hernandez, Jillian. "Healing Perreo: DJ Sad Boy's Queer Femme Ministry". University of California Press. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
9. Exposito, Suzy (20 February 2020). "Ms Nina Embarks on a Manhunt in New 'Caprichosa' Video". Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone. from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
10. "Qué es el neo-perreo y 5 canciones para entenderlo". Cultura Colectiva. 22 January 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
11. Lopez, Julyssa (12 June 2018). "The who's who of neoperreo, reggaeton's freakiest offshoot". Fader. The Fader.
12. Bad Gyal (7 November 2016). "BAD GYAL - D WAY U DO ME PROD PLATA". Youtube. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
13. LIZZ aka DJ LIZZ (7 October 2016). "LIZZ - CHACAL (OFFICIAL VIDEO)". Youtube. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
14. Mor-discos (18 September 2020). "Rosa Pistola - Tributo a La Mulata (Primavera Labels, 2020)". Gladys Palmera. Radio Glayds Palmera. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
15. Furlan, Naimi. ""Hasta abajo": Neoperreo y experiencias corpóreas mediatizadas en Instagram". RDU (in Spanish). Repositorio Digital UNC. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
16. Pulgar, E.R. (14 August 2022). "Breaking Through: Isabella Lovestory". RA. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
17. Herwees, Tasbeeh (2 January 2019). "La Goony Chonga found her voice when she started rapping in Spanish". The Fader. Fader. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
18. Trujillo, Daniela Pomés (10 August 2020). "Las herederas de Ivy Queen". Cartel Urbano (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 March 2024.
19. Trujillo, Jenifer Daniela Chavarro (7 March 2019). "Neo-Perreo: cuando el reggaetón promueve otra forma de mover el culo". Shock. Retrieved 12 March 2024.