Short answers, pulled from the story.
Reggaeton originated in the summer of 1995 within the Residencial Luis Llorens Torres housing project in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The genre emerged from carports and public housing complexes where young artists used second-hand recording equipment to create cassettes.
The dembow beat was created by producers DJ Playero, DJ Nelson, and DJ Eric in the early 2000s. This rhythmic foundation with a distinctive 3+3+2 pattern was first highlighted by Shabba Ranks in his 1991 song Dem Bow.
Daddy Yankee's album Barrio Fino released in 2004 brought reggaeton to the mainstream. The album included the hit single Gasolina which opened the door for reggaeton to reach international audiences.
The music video for Despacito by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee reached one billion views in less than three months in 2017. The song became the most viewed YouTube video of all time from January 2018 to November 2020.
Villano Antillano broke the record as the first transwoman to hit number 50 on Spotify with her collaboration with producer Bizarrap. She is a trans-femme rap and reggaeton artist from Puerto Rico who has spoken about the barriers she faced as a queer artist.