Puerto Rican hip-hop or Puerto Rican rap (also referred to as rap/hip-hop locally or hip-hop en Español in Spanish) is an underground subgenre of hip-hop music and conscious hip-hop that originated in Puerto Rico. At its peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was one of the most popular styles of underground music in Puerto Rico sold by the mixtape.Entrevista a algunos de los Raperos pioneros en Puerto Rico. Obtained from "The Archaeologist of Rap" Retrieved May 13, 2025 Puerto Rican hip-hop during its ascension in the late 1980s, and even during its earliest form, explored and touched on taboo and non-taboo societal themes in Puerto Rico like drug abuse, rising crime, governmental corruption, STDs, and sexual abuse. Due to its local relative niche and factors early on in the 1990s, it did not experience as much commercial success on par as other more popular Latin contemporary music such as reggaeton.https://vidahiphop.com/2022/07/17/puertorico/ Retrieved May 13, 2025
The first ever Puerto Rican hip-hop song to go on the local radio, TV, and vinyl officially was the single "Las Drogas Matan" (1987) by D-Squad (Don Figgaro) and DJ Baron Lopez.Entrevista a algunos de los Raperos pioneros de Puerto Rico 3:31 Obtained from "The Archaeologist of Rap"Retrieved May 13, 2025 However, it wasn't the first Puerto Rican hip-hop song as earlier artists had pioneered it a biennium before. Vico C is the pioneer of Puerto Rican hip-hop. He was also the first to pioneer the modern urbano genre, reggaeton, with "Bomba Para Afincar" from his hip-hop album Hispanic Soul circa 1991. Vico C set the first ever Puerto Rican hip-hop song with the making of "El Rapeo del Vikingo", recorded and distributed the same year, 1985, at 14 years old. Retrieved May 18, 2025 Inspired by Run DMC and Sugar Hill, in 1984 he formalized his career by calling himself Vico, adding the 'C' just as a novelty. Although he had already gained popularity with Viernes 13' alongside Rubén DJ, it was with La Recta Final that he became the number-one rapper in Puerto Rico.
Origins
Early influences (late 1970s-1980s)
During the early days of hip-hop in 1972, marginalized black and Afro-Caribbean communities (along with Nuyorican communities in the Bronx) started producing the hip-hop movement.https://worldhistoryedu.com/history-and-impact-of-hip-hop-music/ Retrieved May 13, 2025 What at first was a coping mechanism to their environment of marginalization and poverty, an anti-drug, anti-violence social movement began a musical revolution in the Bronx.https://worldhistoryedu.com/history-and-impact-of-hip-hop-music/ Retrieved May 14, 2025 American Artists like DJ Kool Herc, Africa Bambaataa, DJ Disco Wiz laid the groundworks of the hip-hop movement, while groups like Rock Steady Crew contribute heavily to the breakdancing movement, adding their contributions to the multicultural movement.https://history.hiphop/rock-steady-crew/ Retrieved May 14, 2025 Despite circulating beliefs saying "Puerto Ricans co-created hip-hop", old-school hip-hop and the hip-hop movement in general was an African-American movement based on African-American music in the United States inherent to the intrinsic roots of African-American people. However, it is equally important to include the indispensable contributions of Nuyoricans that played a role in the shaping of American hip-hop.Puerto Rican man keeps it real about Latinos and Hip Hop Obtained from "Est 1619." Retrieved May 16, 2025
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Bronx was a hotbed of crime with warring gangs going after each other's throats, and the Bronx itself was the battlefield of all of it. Until the gang pact Hoe Avenue peace meeting was catalyzed after the death of Afro-Nuyorican-Jewish founder of street gang/band leader, Benjamin Melendez (Also known as "Black Benjie") in honor of Black Benjie trying to stop a gang fight. Several dangerous and notorious gangs such as the Savage Skulls, the Ghetto Brothers, the Black Spades, the Tomahawks, Latin Kings, and many more came together to this single spot to arrange a truce to end all gang-on-gang violence, instead replacing the violence with dancing, rap competitions, DJing, and graffiti.https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-the-gangs-of-1970s-new-york-came-together-to-end-their-wars-618/ Retrieved May 17, 2025https://classicnystreetgangs.com/sevenimmortals.htm Retrieved May 17, 2025https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/06/03/black-benjie-ghetto-brothers-gangs-hoe-avenue-peace-treaty-south-bronx-longwood/ Retrieved May 17, 2025https://www.classicnystreetgangs.com/thetomahawks.htm Retrieved May 17, 2025https://www.stonegreasers.com/greaser/harlem_peace_treaty_1971.html Retrieved May 17, 2025https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-a-puerto-rican-jewish-gang-leader-helped-create-hip-hop-in-the-bronx/ Retrieved May 17, 2025 Afrika Bambaataa played a key role in this meeting, whom set the terms and foundation of the hip-hop movement. He was a member of the Black Spades African-American street gang.https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/25754/1/the-real-life-documentary-based-on-cult-film-the-warriors Retrieved May 17, 2025
The local underground movement (mid-1980s) Puerto Rican hip-hop began to emerge as a localized genre on the island in the late 1980s following the Hip-hop boom in the Bronx. The concept of rhyming is nothing new to the rich patrimonial musical history of Puerto Rico, native genres like Plena already had that aspect of improvisational rhyme and poesy that were already extant in Puerto Rican music. The initial movement was led by Puerto Rican hip-hop pioneer, Vico C. Although in Puerto Rico it is widely believed Rubén DJ was the first Puerto Rican Hip-hop rapper to release a Spanish language hip hop track with "La Escuela", evidence shows that in 1985, Vico C recorded the song "El Rapeo Del Vikingo" at DJ Negro's apartment in La Perla,https://www.redbull.com/cl-es/music-como-nacio-el-reggaeton Retrieved May 14, 2025 predating Rubén DJ's "La Escuela" release. La Escuela by Ruben DJ Obtained from "The Archaeologist of Rap" Retrieved from YouTube May 14, 2025Fuera de Serie con Pedro Zervigon. Entrevista con los Raperos Pioneros de Puerto Rico con boxeador Macho Camacho 3:11 Obtained from "The Archaeologist of Rap" Retrieved May 14, 2025
Vico C was the first rapper of the Puerto Rican Rap scene. Inspired by American hip-hop rapper groups Run-DMC (hardcore hip-hop) and the Sugar Hill Gang (old-school hip-hop), he sought to bring the hip-hop movement to Puerto Rico beginning as early as 14 years old selling singles by the tapes in 1985 with the help of his mentor DJ Negro. He sold them block by block at 10$ USD as clandestine mixtapes together with DJ Negro. Due to the fact DJ Negro owned a car he'd often outpace selling Vico C's mixtapes compared to Vico C himself. Vico C truly started taking off when he found hisself a manager with intricate connections (Miguel Correa, owner of Prime Records label) and produced one of his biggest hits yet, his album Dos Tiempos Bajo Un Mismo Tono.https://decibelritmico.blogspot.com/2015/03/vico-c-discografia-puerto-rico.html Retrieved May 14, 2025Entrevista a algunos raperos pioneros en Puerto Rico Obtained from "The Archaeologist of Rap" Retrieved May 14, 2025 According to Vico hisself in an interview on a local talkshow, he states that his album had sold around 50,000 to 60,000 copies in Puerto Rico alone at that time (1989).Entrevista a algunos raperos pioneros de Puerto Rico 3:51 Obtained from "The Archaeologist of Rap". Retrieved May 14, 2025 By the time 1989 came around, rap peaked with "Sida Rap" by Puerto Rican rapper Brewley MC.
Antecedence of Puerto Rican hip-hop (early 1985) In 1985, about the same time Vico C started his first songs with the help of DJ Negro, DJ Negro unsuccessfully permanently started a nightclub he named The Noise. The club had several unsuccessful shutdowns until a permanent reopening venture in the early 1990s was set by DJ Negro. Later on during The Noise's third and permanent reopening around the early 1990s, the venture became the birth place of the precursor to reggaeton, Únderground, or better known at the time as Únder. Some of The Noise's early contributors like Baby Rasta & Gringo took inspiration from Vico C.HipHop y "el género" son cosas diferentes. BabyRasta reggaeton VicoC Obtained from "RAPEALO" Retrieved May 15, 2025 The discotheque retired in 2004.
Félix Rodríguez (known as DJ Negro) was raised in La Perla in an old ranch now apartment shack. His strict father worked the shipyard in the ports of San Juan and from a young age DJ Negro was inculcated an entrepreneurial uprising. Félix Rodríguez would sell hot dogs in front of his patio porch in order to make a buck, but his professional trajectory would change the day his father bought him a DJ-style mixing console. From day one, Félix would monetize and build up his then amateur DJ skills. His father kicks him out of his house at around late 1985 after DJing for a wedding party, when he arrived home at 2 AM his father broke the news to him.Interview with MoluscoTV featuring DJ Negro, 2022 4:43 Obtained from "MoluscoTV" Retrieved May 14, 2025 Following his eviction, DJ Negro began living in an apartment in Puerta de Tierra. The apartment manager and owner owned a locale just below his apartment and upon recognizing DJ Negro he lends the locale's keys to him where DJ Negro would start hosting DJ parties.Entrevista, MoluscoTV ft. DJ Negro 5:22 Obtained from "MoluscoTV" Retrieved May 14, 2025 In his DJ parties, Félix (DJ Negro) had the idea of rap competitions.Entrevista, MoluscoTV ft. DJ Negro 5:04 Obtained from "MoluscoTV" Retrieved May 14, 2025 It would attract lots of rappers that would rap in English. In the same day that Félix began hosting rap competitions he'd run into Vico C rapping in a duo called VG Princes in 1985. His friend Glenn rapped in English while Vico C rapped in Spanish. They won the competition after it concluded and they had won 15$. Impressed by Vico C's talent, due to the fact nobody rapped in Spanish like him, he left his duo by suggestion of DJ Negro and they then would begin to work together professionally. DJ Negro would become Vico C's DJ throughout his development as a pioneering Puerto Rican rapper throughout Puerto Rican Hip-Hop in the Mid 80s."Al Día" Talk show starring Vico C, DJ Negro, Lisa M, 1989. Obtained from "The Archaeologist of Rap" Retrieved May 14, 2025
Commercial success of Puerto Rican hip-hop in the late 1980s