CFP: No Pare, Sigue Sigue: Spanish Rap & Sound Studies, Due 10/1/2018

“La Flor de Reggaeton” by Flickr user La Tabacalera de Lavapiés, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Although it may seem like Cardi B’s mid-spring 2018 single, “I Like It” introduced Bad Bunny and J. Balvin to mainstream U.S. audiences, the truth is that Spanish trap music stars have been making waves for a while. Bad Bunny, J. Balvin, Anuel AA, Ozuna…these are all artists that have been riding the Spanish radio waves. Does Cardi B’s track point to a new Latin Explosion, this time via the sounds of trap? 

At Sounding Out! we want to start a conversation at the intersection of popular music, historical context, geography, and sound studies. When we listen to trap in Spanish, what are we listening to, as well? How do U.S. relations with Spanish-speaking countries influence how we receive that music? Where is the South in Spanish trap? We want proposals that engage not just with the lyrics but also the sound and the context of the tracks.

Submit your 200 word-proposal to lms@soundingoutblog.com by September 30. If accepted, you must submit a full draft by November 1st.