walking upstream…
Justin Quiles
photo: tony dandrades · cc by 3.0 ↗Justin Quiles
sourcesRemezcla — "Justin Quiles Graduates From Reggaeton's Go-To Songwriter to Solo Star" (on his brother's hip-hop/PR mix shaping his sound) · Miami New Times — interview with Justin Quiles on his reggaeton generation and peers · Billboard — "How Justin Quiles Scored a Hit in 'Loco'" (on the song's dembow/soca/Afrobeats fusion and studio origin)
Justin Quiles is a Connecticut-born, Puerto Rico-raised reggaetonero who spent years as one of the genre's most in-demand ghostwriters — penning hits for J Balvin, Maluma, and Karol G — before breaking through as a solo star with dembow-driven, chorus-first party anthems. His 2020 run of "Jeans," "Ponte Pa' Mí," and the Daddy Yankee/El Alfa collaboration "Pam" cemented him as a hitmaker in his own right, and 2021's "Loco" became a global crossover smash.
the sound in question
2020
PamJustin Quiles
walk the tributaries ↓
El General1990s · Reggae en Español / Dancehall
Quiles has named El General — alongside salsa and hip-hop — as one of the formative sounds from his older brother's cassette collection growing up in Aguadilla; the reggae-en-español dembow riddim El General popularized predates reggaeton itself and underlies the genre Quiles works in.
listen: upstream & heresource: Wikipedia — Justin Quiles (bio, discography, cites El General/Wisin y Yandel/Tego Calderón/Don Omar as childhood influences) ↗
1991
MuéveloEl General
2021
LocoJustin Quiles
listen forListen for the insistent, ricocheting kick-snare "dem bow" pattern driving the tropical fusion of "Loco" — that same clipped riddim, stripped to its bones, is what El General rode on "Muévelo" three decades earlier.
Wisin & Yandel2000s · Reggaeton / Latin pop
Quiles repeatedly cites Wisin y Yandel as part of the trio of reggaeton names (with Tego Calderón and Don Omar) his brother's music shaped his ear with before he wrote his first song at 13 — the duo's chart-topping run set the template for sung-hook, radio-ready reggaeton Quiles writes in.
listen: upstream & here
2005
RakataWisin & Yandel
2020
JeansJustin Quiles
listen forThe simple, chantable title hook riding a perreo groove on "Jeans" follows the same pop-reggaeton blueprint Wisin & Yandel established with "Rakata" — a sung chorus built to be shouted back at a party rather than rapped.
Don Omar2000s · Reggaeton / Latin hip hop / Urban pop
Don Omar is the third name Quiles consistently names from his childhood reggaeton diet — the 2000s crossover era when the genre's biggest stars balanced street credibility with radio-pop hooks, a balance Quiles has chased in his own solo material.
listen: upstream & heresource: Wikipedia — Justin Quiles (bio, discography, cites El General/Wisin y Yandel/Tego Calderón/Don Omar as childhood influences) ↗
2003
Dale Don DaleDon Omar
2020
Ponte Pa' MíJustin Quiles
listen forThe flirtatious, sun-drenched sensuality of "Ponte Pa' Mí" sits in the same lane as Don Omar's crossover party anthems like "Dale Don Dale" — melody-forward reggaeton built for mainstream radio as much as the club.