I was extremely saddened to hear about Bobby Digital’s passing . As a pioneer in dancehall—and as the unintentional architect of reggaetón—his contribution to music is immeasurable. But something that struck me was the lack of coverage in mainstream media about his death.

As the producer who literally laid the foundation for reggaetón with “Dem Bow,” it’s sad that the music media that fawns over urbano failed to even mention his passing. I was truly shocked that we were the biggest pub to mention it. https://remezcla.com/music/pioneering-dancehall-producer-architect-of-reggaeton-robert-bobby-digital-dixon-has-died/

I hate to sound like some kind of “old head elitist,” but we are nothing without our history, and our job is to ensure the narrative of the genre we care about is preserved for current and future generations.

This doesn’t apply solely to media. I am also mind-blown at the fact that I have yet to see even one reggaetónero mention it. That’s like every rock musician staying silent when Chuck Berry passed away. Or basically every electronic musician ignoring Florian Schneider’s death.

It’s of course not lost on me what a fraught and complicated song Dem Bow is—full of rampant, violent homophobia—but the influence and impact of the riddim is undeniable.