By Andrea V. Zárate

After a round of outstanding success, the creators of “Rakata” return to the center of our attention with the CD release of Los Vaqueros (The Cowboys), which is being introduced simultaneously with a new record label that promises to launch the careers of the new generation of reggaeton artists. Based out of Puerto Rico, WY Records is a dream come true for Wisin, who describes it as the most important step of his career. Batanga spoke with him to discover reggaeton’s evolution at the hand of this urban duo.

How did you get the idea to create a record label? We decided it was time to present all the new talent who are, in one way or another, a part of our success. This is the moment to help the ‘hood’s Latin youth—all of that incredible talent that is everywhere in the world. After our success, we decided to turn to this area and create a label where you’ll find Tony Dize, who I think has a lot of potential not only in reggaeton but also in the urban market. Others with great potential are El Tío and El Gorila and Gadiel, who is Yandel’s ‘brother’ and who I also met growing up. I think it’s a company that unites brotherly talent.

How long have you been working on the creation of this company? We started working on this a year ago. After the public response to such an important call, the satisfaction is gigantic because it’s showing results in presenting us not only as singers but also as impresarios; we have been blessed.

What is the label’s concept? To launch new artists who might not have had the chance we did, and so they won’t have to suffer the obstacles that we—Wisin and Yandel as well as Daddy Yankee, that Don Omar surpassed, that all of the big stars of the reggaeton genre had to.

Of course. So tell me how all of these artists work together to achieve it. Who will distribute the label and how will this part of the business work? We’ve created a joint venture with Gustavo López, who is Machete, our label and Universal Latino, which is very happy with the way our careers have been emerging. They are very happy with the numbers in sales all around the world and that we had already surpassed a million copies. This product has been protected at the musical level and has a potential to become a hit.

Now that you’ve released Los Vaqueros as your label’s first album, tell me about it. Wow, yeah, it’s a really special record, because the record unifies the great pillars of this genre—Wisin & Yandel and Don Omar together in a track that will stay in the history of reggaeton because it is a song that unites all of the characteristics of a hit and we created it with a lot of love.

And what can you tell me about the first single? The first single is “Pegao” a song by Wisin & Yandel that has the same energy as “Rakata,” and that’s why we chose it as our first single. The second single is a song by Don Juan called “Nadie Como Tú.”

Why did you call the album Los Vaqueros? Vaquero is a more aggressive name, a name from the street. Remember that this genre was born in the ‘hood, you know, with all due respect to the public, always within certain limits, without disrespecting women and protecting our lyrics. I think this label reflects great professionalism, and I think that it will have great results, because there are some rules—there is a certain respect with the public that buys our records.

How do you discover these new talents? You said, for example, that you knew Gadiel growing up. How do you cast them, or how do you choose them? Through our Web page www.wisinyandelpr.com —they tell us what they’re looking for. There is a lot of work making demos, making music—they are all artists that are not yet known so they present themselves to WY Records and if we see that they have the right characteristics to become artists, then we decide to help them.

And are they usually Puerto Rican? No, just two weeks ago we signed a Venezuelan and we are bringing him to Puerto Rico.

And musically speaking, what do we hear when we listen to Los Vaqueros? It’s a record that has a cover that transports you because it’s in dark colors; it’s not a happy cover. You see an attitude on our faces, and it’s a really commercial record where Wisin & Yandel sing to women and where Tony Dize also presents a bolero called “Quizás,” which I think is a hit, and “Yo Te Quiero” among others. They’re all dedicated to women, with a touch of romanticism.

I see that there are 22 tracks. That’s quite a few songs… it’s a long record, right? Latin people love music, you know. Every day we do what we do with a lot of happiness. We recorded it in record time—we did it in two months, and thank God we achieved our objective.

What is the future of reggaeton? Will there be an evolution? Many, many years of hard work. I can assure you of one thing though: Reggaeton can fall, but Wisin & Yandel will stay standing.

How do you see the evolution in conjunction with the fusion among genres? Well, we are already working with some of the biggest stars. We just finished recording with David Bisbal for one of his records, and soon we will talk with Sin Bandera to record some tracks.

What message do Wisin & Yandel have for their fans? The message for the Latin public is that we hope they will continue to support the largest growing urban movement worldwide, which is reggaeton. Our objective is to bring happiness and if at any moment anyone has felt insulted by what is said about women or any other aspect of society, well we want them to understand that that’s not our intention. Our intention is to make our Latino public happy and to bring them good music so they can have fun with our product. And I think we are achieving it, I really do.

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