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Latin's Urban Revolution
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One of the first reggaetón/hip-hop artists to break into the mainstream was Tego Calderón, aka El Abayarde. With his heavy-accented Puerto Rican Spanish slang and a voice that was unmistakably his own, Tego broke through and gained respect not only commercially but also on the street. Top names in the rap community, even those who did not speak Spanish, were eager to work with him. They recognized that Tego was bringing something new to the table with his clever wordplay, conscious lyrics and grind. Tego has been featured in songs with some of the biggest artists in rap, such as 50 Cent, Usher, Fat Joe and Cypress Hill, to name just a few. The release of his record, El Abayarde, in 2002, broke sales records in the then underground reggaetón genre by selling an astonishing 50,000 copies in one week alone. One of the strongest forces in the movement, Tego has performed to sold out crowds practically on every single stage he has set foot, and has won the respect of fans and artists alike. In the spring of 2005, Calderon signed with Atlantic Records via a deal with his own Jiggiri Records label, becoming the first reggaetón artist to ink a global deal with a major record label. His second effort, The Underdog/El Subestimado, is due to come out in the summer of 2006 and could possibly continue to break sales records in the genre.
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