Guaynaa

Guaynaa is a Puerto Rican reggaetonero, rapper, singer, and songwriter best known for the 2019 smash single and viral video "Rebota," a conscious (yet innovative) throwback to the Afro-Latino roots of 1990s reggaeton, complete with hard, spiky, dembow beats, and perreo dancing. He also inspired the #RebotaChallenge, a social media phenomenon that had fans of the song posting their own video takes on perreo. (Even Karol G participated.) Guaynaa (whose given name is Jean Carlos Santiago Pérez), is not a revivalist, he sees the reggaeton lineage as a fertile ground for innovation in urban Latin Music and much Latin pop.

The artist was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, not in Guaynabo as many think, given his stage name. Though he had been singing and rapping for most of his life, the music bug bit hard after he graduated from high school and was attending college. He began posting covers and originals on his Twitter account and YouTube, including his debut, 2015's "La Pista Esta Fea" b/w "Mothafoca" under the moniker Janko El Guayna. He went back to writing and studio work to hone his craft. In July of 2018, he released the video single "Pirateando," which racked up a respected two million views. In the fall, as a response to Hurricane Maria, he dropped the inspiring "Huracán María Freestyle" after the tragic storm that devastated the island. It became a staple on the nation's radio stations and circulated widely across the Caribbean, resulting in his signing to Sony. Deeply influenced by the writing of Calle 13's Residente and the business acumen and performance style of Daddy Yankee, Guaynaa got right back to work, and by December had dropped the video for "Rebota," which clocked nearly 200 million views during its first three months. It became a constant on PR radio, spreading his reputation to the rest of the United States and Latin America. Later that month he enlisted Samuel Del Valle and Joselito Hernandez to assist him on the holiday single "Navidad en Puertorri." In January, he issued the #RebotaChallenge, a video and social media trend that began to spread as far away as Europe and Asia. Guaynaa became a fixture not only on radio, but television as well. In February he dropped the single "La Stripper" and guested with Karly & Yoe on their track "Parties de Escuelas." He collaborated with Ñejo on the hit "Mi Leona" that dropped in March, and guested on "Machuqueo" for Paulino Rey, along with Brray and Chris Wandell. In April, he was invited to join Bad Bunny on-stage for a thunderous version of "Rebota." Soon after, KRZ and Guaynaa collaborated on the single "Bugalú." ~ Thom Jurek