| 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 |
Neoperreo is a subgenre of reggaeton with some degree of popularity in Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Chile. Among the most prominent acts of the scene are Tomasa del Real from Chile and Ms Nina from Argentina.[1] 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 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]
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 albums such as Motomami by Rosalía, and artists like Bad Gyal and La Zowi.
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".