Final 12 months, Dangerous Bunny’s “Un Verano Sin Ti” turned the first non-English language album to high the Billboard 200. The Puerto Rican Latin entice and reggaetonero additionally turned the most streamed artist on Spotify for the third consecutive 12 months. Latin music income exceeded $1 billion for the first time final 12 months, permitting reggaetón, música Mexicana, and different Latin music genres to succeed in world success. By any and all metrics, Latin music has formally taken over. However the origins of these genres stay up for debate, significantly in the case of urbano music and its connections to American hip-hop.

“De La Calle,” a brand new docuseries on Paramount+, explores that and extra. For over a decade, award-winning journalist Nick Barili (the present’s creator, govt producer, and host) — who was born in Argentina however grew up in the San Francisco Bay Space — has wished to create a documentary that tells a broader story of Latin music, its wealthy variety, its connection to American rap music, and the way it’s advanced over the years.

Launched on Nov. 7, the eight-episode collection takes viewers from numerous cities throughout the US, Panama, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, and Mexico to discover the assorted evolution behind some of Latin music’s hottest and profitable genres.

“I have been pitching totally different variations of this for years. This actually began off as a documentary concept that I wished to do again in 2013,” Barili tells POPSUGAR, including that he was listening to LA radio exhibits and realizing that no Latine hip-hop artists had been being performed on the stations. “At that time, loads of the Latine rappers I grew up listening to had been out of the scene, and there wasn’t a brand new era being performed on the West Coast, and I used to be like, ‘How is that this attainable?’ We’re clearly an enormous half of the viewers — that is why loads of our hosts are Latine-based in LA. However I used to be, like, there isn’t any rappers which are of Latine descent.”

All through the docuseries, Barili shares somewhat bit about his personal love story with hip-hop and the way it all started after immigrating from Argentina to the Bay Space when he was simply eight along with his mom; they had been escaping political warfare. Regardless of not initially figuring out English, a younger Barili discovered consolation listening to the lyrics of Latine hip-hop artists like Massive Pun, Fats Joe, N.O.R.E, and Jim Jones, amongst others. It was the music de la calle that allowed Barili to really feel seen, and it legitimized his existence being undocumented in a rustic that always associates the streets with every little thing unhealthy fairly than acknowledging the magnificence and the artwork that is usually created from wrestle.

“Some issues have the energy to alter you. In a second, a beat, a verse, a tune can begin you down a path in changing into who you might be,” Barili says in the opening of the season’s first episode. “Hip-hop has carried out all of that for me. Serving to me really feel at dwelling when dwelling was a spot far-off.”

Listening to hip-hop allowed Barili to navigate life, and over the years, he is famous its affect on Latin music genres like reggaetón, Latin entice, and past. It is for that reason he selected to have “De La Calle” start in New York earlier than touring to cities all through Latin America.

“I feel with a collection like this, the start line is at all times going to be up for debate . . . Rather a lot of individuals can argue about the place issues began however for me, I began in New York as a result of that is the place I first heard hip-hop from and that is the place it originated — in The Bronx,” he says. “I feel it was vital to start out in New York. The hook is it’s important to perceive issues in New York as a result of then you may join every little thing again to one thing that is tangible to individuals. Additionally, by the years, the contributions of Latinos to hip-hop haven’t been at the forefront of the conversations, as a result of they weren’t the greatest stars in the starting however they had been contributors. As somebody who grew up on hip-hop, the place I’d hear individuals simply erase Latinos contributions to hip-hop, I at all times felt like any person’s gotta inform that story.”

The primary episode introduces viewers to some of hip-hop’s early pioneers, from rappers like Mr. Schick and Fats Joe to hip-hop photographer Joe Conzo, DJ Charlie Chase (the first Latino to play breakdance beats in hip-hop), and graffiti artist Girl Pink. The episode highlights that whereas Latines might not have been the headliners in the early wave of hip-hop, they had been the truth is, there from the starting.

One factor Barili needs audiences to know is that the collection is in no way introduced in chronological kind. As a substitute, he invitations viewers to discover how hip-hop y la musica de la calle has influenced and formed the genres that had been birthed in these numerous cities.

“From a storytelling perspective, I shifted somewhat bit from a straight-up documentary to a docuseries journey present, and I feel the profit of doing that’s that it isn’t essentially chronological. We’re studying about totally different locations and the historical past of connecting dots,” he says.

On the subject of Latin music, Panama is commonly both ignored of the dialog or not given the credit score it deserves. For these causes, in the second episode, Barili takes viewers to the nation to discover how reggae en Español originated and the way it finally influenced the creation of reggaetón in Puerto Rico. In Panama, Barili talks to everybody from legends like Renato to multi-platinum-selling artist Sech, who has made it his mission to carry the highlight to Río Abajo, a neighborhood in his hometown of Panama Metropolis the place loads of Panama’s urbano sounds had been born.

Episode three takes place in Puerto Rico, and for viewers in search of an episode on the island’s reggaetón — anticipate much more than simply that. Barili does not solely discover the historical past behind the style but in addition explores some of the Afro-diasporic music, like bomba y plena, which has influenced a lot of the sound popping out of the island in the present day. He talks to artists together with Residente from Calle 13, Nicky Jam, RaiNao, Villano Antillano, and extra about the state of reggaetón music in the present day whereas addressing its origins and the island’s political relationship with the US.

In episode 4, we observe Barili as he heads to Cuba, the place we learn the way American hip-hop influenced some of the underground rap that was shaped on the island, and the way it turned a supply of energy and resistance for Cubans there. Episode 5 travels by Spain, a rustic that Barili acknowledges holds a darkish historical past for a lot of Latines.

Barili talks to artists like Mala Rodriguez and Nathy Peluso about how American hip-hop made its solution to Spain and influenced a rap scene that exploded after the finish of the fascist dictatorship a number of a long time in the past.

“In case you’re taking a look at the impression of Spanish-speaking rap outdoors of the US, Spain was one of the earliest,” Barili says. “Rap came visiting to Spain by some of the US army bases in Spain. After the dictatorship ended, it first transitioned into punk rock after which hip-hop form of turned the subsequent factor of rise up in going in opposition to the authorities and going in opposition to a really oppressive regime that that they had.”

After Spain, Barili travels to Colombia the place he speaks with artists like Goyo from ChocQuibTown about how how Afro-Latines influenced the sounds of currulao, chirimia and salsa, in addition to the music that was being created method earlier than reggaetón made its method there. In Argentina, Barili returns to his roots to discover the rap scene, finally making his solution to Mexico the place the youth is fusing conventional musica Mexicana with rap and reggaetón, making a sound that is completely their very own.

Barili was additionally very intentional about all the episodes — with the exception of New York — being in Spanish.

“It was vital for me to do these interviews in Spanish as a result of loads of occasions that is what’s greatest for the artist. I’ve seen artists for too lengthy who converse Spanish attempting to talk English and they’re expressing themselves in such a restricted method as a result of they’re spending a lot time attempting to assume of that one phrase and they also’re not capable of absolutely categorical themselves,” he says. “For me, it was actually vital for 2 causes. One, for artists to have the ability to be comfy in no matter language they wish to converse in. After which two, I feel as a tradition for a very long time Latin American tradition needed to accommodate to US tradition, whether or not it is artists coming right here and having to do songs in English to cross over or whether or not it is having to do interviews in English. I feel it is vital that we’re at a stage now the place if you wish to hearken to our music you gotta be taught our language too.”

Barili’s mission is for viewers to know the wealthy historical past of the Latin diaspora and perceive how, in the finish, we’re much more related than we understand.

“Actually, the most vital half is to have the ability to inform the tales of our communities. Some individuals now are desirous about our superstars . . . Folks neglect that it has been 20 to 40 years of individuals laying the basis brick by brick in order that the subsequent era can now take off,” he says. “I feel it is vital to make use of that highlight and return and acknowledge the individuals who did not have industrial success and who did not have fame however really had vital contributions to assist construct these actions that are actually promoting out stadiums. My function for this collection was: let’s take this highlight and ensure we shine it on the communities and the individuals who come from the streets, who had been capable of set paths for in the present day’s Latin music being this world motion.”