Music is a necessary part of many people's lives. It has the power to evoke nostalgia, sadness, chills, and plenty of other emotional responses. Specific genres resonate with people in different ways.

What makes a music genre truly popular is more layered than it seems. Is it the number of times a song gets streamed on a lazy Sunday afternoon? The way it dominates charts across continents? Or maybe ...

From reggae and soca to merengue and bouyon, here’s how these musical genres have shaped the region’s culture and influenced ...