With his 10-inch-looking Afro, dark shades and a baritone voice that spits out the illest rhymes, Tego Calderon is the most recognized figure in reggaeton music. First Lady of Reggaeton Ivy Queen refers to him as hermano. Seasoned veteran Daddy Yankee still looks up to him as the man who gave the quick rising music a face in both Latin and mainstream markets.
Tego’s unique blend of hip-hop beats, dancehall, and Caribbean music for his 2002 album ‘El Abayarde’ sold over 50,000 units in a week. His 2004 follow up ‘El Enemy de Los Guasibir’, a compilation of prior material, quickly became a hit. His strong, good looks made the cognac company Hennessy tap him for their ‘Never Blend In’ campaign that reached international success.
Tego has done what every artist has dreamed of in his or her career: In 2005, his two-year-old company Jiggiri Records signed with Atlantic Records making it the first distribution deal for a reggaeton artist.
“I’m really happy that they have given me the opportunity to be in charge and that’s very important for me,” said the Santurce native. “They were the only ones that were offering me what I really wanted.”
The deal with the all-powerful Atlantic wasn’t an overnight success.The artist went head-to-head with the almighty label for two years before reaching an agreement. Tego admits to being a tough negotiator, which is probably why the deal took longer. He held out forwhat he wanted and didn’t compromise for anything less. Tego was a little unsure if signing with Atlantic would be the best move for his career. He isn’t fond of contracts and prefers using the traditional handshake to close a deal.
“I’m glad it took so long because the first contract I was given, it was something that I really didn’t want. I wasn’t really sure about what I wanted. I came to understand that I didn’t just want to be an artist, I wanted to be in control.
”He plans to make his new record with Atlantic more universal, reaching everyone who’s already a fan and making ones out of those who are not already. Tego hopes that other reggaeton artists follow his trail and seek a similar deal. “That’s the right way to do it,” he says. He candidly expressed that not all record labels know what reggaeton is all about or understand its origin. He feels that this is where artists need to step up and take charge. The label’s main concern is pushing enough units to make the money, which is not such a bad thing. But when it becomes the primary focus, reggaeton will lose its distinguishing charm and quickly get lost. He fears that labels will want a reggaeton album in English, which he finds ridiculous and highly unnecessary. “That’s stupid. It’s not going to happen. If you want reggaeton in English, there’s dancehall. The thing about reggaeton is that it’s in Spanish. I think there are a lot of artists that are going to try to get the same deal. I don’t know if they are going to get it but at least they know they could.
”He’s not surprised that reggaeton has taken off so quickly in the West Coast. Already a phenomenon in Puerto Rico, it rose quickly in New York City and Miami, two cities known for being great test markets; he is glad to see that Los Angeles has widely embraced the music. He does, however, express concerns about the music’s future. He worries about reggaeton becoming over-saturated like hip-hop and losing it freshness and vitality. “There’s a lot of people doing it now. I don’t like the way it’s going. I’m glad that everybody is accepting it but for me, I’m a little scared. For artists like Daddy Yankee and me we’re going to be safe. We’re going to do well no matter what. I don’t think that this movement will last long.”
“I think they have been doing it too much and the creativity isn’t that good. Producers are making big bucks, they want to be artists too. They are not putting the same effort as they did before.”Tego would like to see more artists take control so the passion and the distinctive voice don’t get garbled and tainted in an industry that spews out artists and songs like a fast food chain. He plans to release his new album ‘The Underdog’ from Jiggiri/Atlantic in the next few months. He promised it will contain a new sound but will stick to the magic formula he had with ‘El Abayarde’.
“I’m happy with the situation I’m in, being in control and [doing] what I want to do. I have no pressure to do anything I don’t want to do. When you’re doing a new album, I have to come up with something hot because the first one was so big, so I got a lot of pressure on myself. ”But what’s important is that “there’s no pressure from the label to do this, or do that.”
www.tegocalderon.com
