Egypt Goes Reggaeton

Wilman de Jesus. Ever heard of him? Apparently no one else has either. The only biography available on him resides on his website—along with a description solely in German? Interesting. And yet, Wilman’s funky video and cover of “Walk Like An Egyptian” has over 10,000 hits on the public video site Youtube. Much of the reason for the lack of information on Wilman likely has to do with the fact that he is a fairly new artist—his cover is very recent, released in 2006, and my guess is no one has taken the time to type up a biography for him in English. His public anxiously awaits.

However, what is important about Wilman de Jesus’ remake is not his necessarily is background, but rather his musical style. As soon as his cover starts—you know what I am talking about. Wilman continues the tradition of The Bangles and Hakim while blending it with the ‘Reggaeton’ subgenre. Reggaeton is a from of urban music which became popular in Latin America during the early 1990s. Originating in Panama, the subgenre blends Jamaican, reggae, and dancehall with sounds from Latin America such as bomba, plena, salsa, merengue, and Latin pop. Hip hop, R&B, and electronica all have a great deal of influence as well.

But why would Wilman de Jesus decide to record “Walk Like An Egyptian?” There seems to be no link to his heritage, and it is hard to imagine him loving The Bangles and all their 80s glory. Maybe Hakim and Cleopatra did it for him with their remix Arab overtones? Doubt it. My guess is, once again, that Wilman was attracted to the song due to its fun factor. Essentially, that’s what Reggaeton is all about, and if you watch the video at the end of this post, this fun is incredibly apparent throughout the entire piece. In fact, fun seems to be the only goal. Hooray for bicycles in pools! Talk about fun.

Somehow, even with all these added layers, Wilman seems to hold true to the tradition of “Walk Like An Egyptian.” His track is certainly more reggae and aggressive, even though is has been dubbed the “Kairo (Cairo) Mix.” The beat is also noticeably sped up, even from the version produced by Hakim and Cleopatra. Very clear in the synthesized Spanish-tinged instrumentals, “hey!” is repeated over and over, as the drum machine drives the beat and complicated sounds present in the background. Both the bass and the accompaniment are very Western in musical nature. The Spanish rap at 1:45 is an interesting addition, that somehow, seems to fit, and essentially, is the Spanish version of Hakim’s Arab verse in his remake. If I had to compare Wilman de Jesus’ “Walk Like An Egyptian” to another song, it would “Gasolina” by Daddy Yankee, another track that follows the Reggaeton subgenre.

Below is Wilman de Jesus’ video for “Walk Like An Egyptian.” Prepare yourself. Its non-stop fun, which may or may not be a good thing depending on who you ask.