Historically, reggaeton has been somewhat of a boy’s club — much like the music industry as a whole, for that matter. Women in reggaeton have been a rare breed, particularly when the genre emerged, and it’s only been in the last decade that more female visibility is forming across global Latinx communities.
A female presence in reggaeton should be the norm, though, considering that the genre is bidding for global dominance. "¿Y dónde están las mujeres?," so yells the DJ in basically every single Latin party — yet as "Despacito" became the most watched music video in 2020 and Bad Bunny broke a 64-year-old record on the Billboard 200, reggaeton presented as male-dominated.
Pero las mujeres están aquí: Panamanian songwriter Erika Ender co-authored "Despacito"; Natti Natasha and Becky G slid their way into the billion views club; and Karol G became the first female reggaeton artist to perform at Colombia's historic Estadio Atanasio Girardot. Before such feats were possible, women had to fight their way through.
In the ‘90s, male Puerto Rican DJs created "old school" reggaeton — a robust concoction of Jamaican dancehall, Panamanian reggae en Español and New York Latin rap. The hard-hitting tropical sound was styled for the clubs and, more often than not, accompanied by crass and misogynist lyrics, and collectives like the Noise and DJ Playero delivered mixtapes by the plenty.
Ivy Queen, freshly returning from New York to her native Island, became the first lady of reggaeton, bringing her provocative rap game from abroad. At the turn of the decade, La Sista contributed her invigorating bars to the genre, providing a much needed feminine balance to the scene. A few years later, Puerto Rico-New York twins Nina Sky featured in "Oye Mi Canto," a timeless banger alongside Daddy Yankee and N.O.R.E.. But it would still take a resurgence for more women to represent and be represented.
Fast forward to reggaeton’s second coming of the ‘10s where the genre spread like wildfire in Miami, Colombia, Los Angeles, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and beyond. While male domination seems inescapable in some places, a formidable slew of females boldly stepped into the forefront and would prove their lasting power: Karol G, Becky G, and Natti Natasha. Then, more established singers came into the fore: Anitta from Brazil, Cazzu from Argentina, and Farina in Colombia, as well as rising new talent like Miami-based Boriqua RaiNao. And then there are the dames of neoperreo who formulated their own digitized iteration of the style: DJ Rosa Pistola, Tomasa Del Real, and La Goony Chonga.
By no means is this a comprehensive list, but a starting point to get to know five essential women of reggaeton, who cover sonic ground from various corners of pop culture.
Listen to GRAMMY.com’s Women Essential to Reggaeton playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Pandora.
Ivy Queen: The pioneering reggaeton rapper helped put the Caribbean-rooted genre on the global map
The O.G. La Caballota. Ivy Queen is the undisputable queen of reggaeton. As the first lady to join the ranks of the legendary collective the Noise, the singer/rapper instantly impressed the room when she stepped into genre-pioneer DJ Negro’s marquesina in the mid ‘90s and began to ferociously spit what would be her first hit song, "Muchos Quieren Tumbarme."
Alluding to a boxing ring, her power-charged lyrics of female empowerment shone startlingly bright.She unappologetically provided a feminist balance to reggaeton’s hedonistic counterpart. By the turn of the new millennium, she took the genre global with dancefloor anthem "Quiero Bailar" — a flirtatious but dignified track about never confusing perreo with a possible one night stand.
"When I entered the urbano genre to sing reggaeton, there were many lyrics similar to the ones we hear now [in trap] because they denigrated women too much. So the first thing that came out of my mouth was to give respect to the ladies. That was a blessing," she told Rolling Stone.
Decades later, Her Royal Reggaeton Highness still lives up to her name, as testified in 2019’s Llego La Queen, where her linguistic prowess continues to outshine plenty of genre peers. Ivy Queen continued in Rolling Stone, "I always followed lyrical content. I am content. I don’t want to be just a cover that people see on the outside. I want women to feel identified when they listen to me."
Natti Natasha: Reggaeton gets the Dominican treatment
Natti Natasha first broke the internet when she appeared as a love bandit in 2017’s "Criminal" alongside superstar Ozuna for a sizzling duet; its captivating music video has gone on to reach over 2.3 billion viewers. A year later, the Dominican provocateur passed the billion-streaming mark, this time with another female reggaeton powerhouse in tow, Becky G, in the salacious single "Sin Pijamas."
"This type of message is usually given by men," the singer told Deezer about the aforementioned song. "I feel that it was a moment where women felt no shame, in a good way, to say what men usually say."
Claiming influences from Lauryn Hill and Ivy Queen, Natti Natasha is armed with an irresistible smoky flow, and a voice that can turn fiery in an instant. She has become one of the world’s most-watched female artists on YouTube, and the rest is herstory. The singer recently stepped into Dominican dembow, reggaeton’s more hyperactive cousin, with fellow stars El Alfa and Chimbala, for a frisky tropical fête.
Karol G: A Colombian superstar praised as the new queen of Reggaeton
Karol G (née Carolina Giraldo Navarro) is perhaps the most successful female artist to rise from reggaeton’s resurgence. Billboard heralded her as "the Next Latina Queen," her millions of fans praise her as the new queen of reggaeton, and a Univision documentary named her "the warrior of the genre."
Just as Ivy Queen shattered misogynistic boundaries in the ‘90s and aughts within reggaeton, Karol G also stood high as a female powerhouse in a heavily male-dominated space at the start of reggaeton’s second wave. Owning her sexuality over mesmerizing, sensuous vocals, the Colombian artist is an unstoppable hitmaker, releasing timeless songs from the slinky, suggestive "Mi Cama" to the boss-b**** anthem "Bichota," and the GRAMMY-nominated, violin-laden "Tusa," starring Nicki Minaj.
In 2018, the Medellín singer earned the coveted Best New Artist award at the Latin GRAMMYs. Last year, she dropped a 11x Platinum album, KG0516, which peaked at No. 1 on the US Top Latin Albums charts. "I always wanted to be the biggest in Latin America, and I thought that was the biggest I could get," she told Billboard. "But ‘Tusa’ shook me up. It came to tell me, ‘You’re ready for the world, not just Latin America.'"
Mariah Angeliq: Rising reggaeton star brings her deliciously 'toxic' Miami swagger to the game
With her insouciant vocal delivery, no short of sensuous, Mariah Angeliq is a rising star to watch in the ever-expanding música urbana scene. Proclaimed as La Princesa de Miami, the 22-year-old Cuban-Puerto Rican singer, made her big entrance next to Karol G in last year’s chart-topping smash hit "El Makinon," which earned the fiery duet a No. 1 slot on Latin Airplay.
Angeliq has performed alongside J Quiles, Luísa Sonza and Ludmilla, to name a few, but shows that she can also shine on her own in her latest bad grrl banger, "La Tóxica." With a 2020 EP out Normal, and a slew of sultry singles, the proud 305 artist is currently working on her full-length debut.**
Ms Nina: The madam of neoperreo reps bold, sex-positive rap bars
A freakier spin-off to the Caribbean club genre, neoperreo is reggeaton’s digitized, weird cousin. Emerging from the underground of Latinx parties from around the world — with key members making noise in Chile (Tomasa del Real, a.k.a. La Reina del Neoperreo), Spain (Ms Nina) and Miami (La Goony Chonga) — this community of sex positive mostly-female rappers is a defiant presence against the misogynistic wordplay of various male reggaetoneros.
Born in Córdoba, Argentina, Ms Nina, née Jorgelina Andrea, built her music project in Madrid and has been making the rounds as one of the most provocative players of the scene. In 2019, she dropped Perrando Por Fuera, Llorando Por Dentro via Mad Decent and continues to release riveting singles across streaming platforms.
"It’s good to see more women making music now," Ms Nina told Indie Mag. "There’s a growing scene for women in Spain that are making music. They’re doing it really well which inspires more women to be active in making music, because normally they say reggaeton is very machista, and when a woman says equal things she is considered a slut. That’s why I’m trying to create equality for both. Women should feel comfortable being sexy when being out and partying."