The Dominican Dembow

It is a very popular style of music in the urban youth of the Dominican Republic that arises from the Reggaetón of Puerto Rico. With artists such as Zurdo Cartiel, Los Pepe, El Alfa, Chimbala, Musicologist El Libro, Monkey Black, La Materialista, El Mayor Clásico, Mozart La Para, Milka La Dura, La Insuperable, Bulova, Liro Shaq, La Manta, Yomel el Meloso, Clon876, among others.

The dembow is a musical genre or rhythm2 originating in Jamaica3 and was developed in the mid-1980s. Although this type of music has had a boom since the mid-1990s and early 2000s, its origins date back to influences of rap and hip hop.4 In the 1990s, the reggaeton boom with "The Noise I" and "Playero 37", which were beats of reggae over, was in full swing in Puerto Rico.