Proyecto Uno

Before bachata was blowing up and DJs could fade Aventura into Xtreme, the cutting edge sound of Dominican music belonged to Proyecto Uno.

At the start of the '90s, Proyecto Uno's founder, Nelson Zapata was a high school student in New York City. At this early age, he began mixing house music, freestyle and hip hop with the merengue of his native Dominican Republic. The blend proved to be both innovative and influential, with groups like Los Ilegales and Zona 7 using the New York group's vibrant Caribbean style as a foundation for their own takes on dance music.

Club bangers like Brinca and El Tiburon soon had dance floors shaking, but Proyecto Uno, comprised of Zapata, Magic Juan, Erik Boog, Johnny Salgado and Erik Morales, was always more than a just dance outfit. By shamelessly dropping salsa and syrupy ballads into their music, they would delight fans across the U.S. and Latin America.

Without the underground but universal influence of Proyecto Uno's first two albums, Todo El Mundo and In Da House, reggaeton might never have become the phenomenon that it is today. In fact, the current incarnation of the group now includes the Dominican reggaetonero Spragga. It's this adapt-to-the-times fluidity that keeps Proyecto Uno fresh and active today. While some might dismiss them for being old-timers in a young man's game, Zapata's energy and charisma remains intact.

Fans of Daddy Yankee and Don Omar who have yelled out "No pares, sigue sigue" during the apex of a party are witnesses – whether they know it or not – to Proyecto Uno's influence on modern Latino music.