Maidel “La Sista” Canales vividly recalls the “reggaeton fever” of the Nineties. At 16, Canales and her brother, four years her senior, formed the rap duo “Los Brothers,” performing in the streets of Loíza, Puerto Rico, during cultural festivals. “Everyone in Loíza wanted to be a reggaetonero,” says Canales, now 36.

Canales recalls the ubiquitous presence of black reggaeton artists during the genre’s early years. But today, the most recognizable faces of reggaeton and música urbana continue to lighten. Take one look at who occupies today’s Latin music charts, and it’s clear that reggaeton is now heavily dominated by light-skinned Latinos such as Bad Bunny, Karol G, Anuel AA and J Balvin. Although a handful of black artists, like Don Omar, Ozuna, and Sech have made comparable strides toward international fame, the mainstreaming of the genre has correlated with a departure from its black heritage.

“I remember on one of Bad Bunny’s videos, I commented, ‘When are you going to put a black girl in a video? It would be nice to see a black woman there,'” says Canales. “And in his next videos, I swear I saw a black woman!'”

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