[Si] TV

Iván Bladimir Banista is a reggaetonero with all the qualities you need to make it big in the music biz. Club songs for las gatas? Check. Lyrical songs for the dudes? Check. Any Luny Tunes-produced songs? Check. In addition he's from Panama, the Central American country where reggaeton was born. Banista AKA El Roockie is out to prove that Panamanians can do it just as good as the Puerto Rocks who have popularized the genre. With his Luny Tunes-executive produced Semblante Urbano, Roockie has become the most visible artist of the Panamanian reggaeton movement. Here he talks about his crossover to the Puerto Rican music market, his native land and the recent Sean Bell verdict. 

SiTV.com: Tell me about Semblante Urbano?
Roockie: This album took me a year and a half to complete. We recorded it in Puerto Rico at Luny Tunes' studio. We also worked with Noriega, who's another ill producer. We picked the cream of the crop to work on Semblante Urbano. We also got some heat from a Panamanian producer called Predicador. We also took advantage of being on the isle and worked with De La Ghetto, Baby Rand, and many more. 

SiTV.com: How did you crossover to the Puerto Rican music scene?
Roockie: A couple of years one of my songs, "Sigue Baliendo" hit Puerto Rico. It took over for that summer. People started buzzing about me but I never went to PR. Now when I put out this new album people starting remembering that I was the "Sigue Baliendo" dude.

SiTV.com: You hooked up with the Luny Tunes, the most omnipresent production duo in reggaeton. What have you learned from them?
Roockie: They're really professional in their work. They're fully aware of what's going on musically throughout the world. It's all about sharing our cultures and mixing musical ideas-which leads to becoming a more versatile artist.

SiTV.com: Being that reggaeton started in Panama, why haven't there been more artists coming for there?
Roockie: It's happening now. Aside from me there are a lot of Panamanian artists representing our country right now. It's like we're trying to take our brand of music internationally. The movement exhilarates me to keep moving forward.

SiTV.com: You talk about social issues in your songs.
Roockie: In my music I talk about social issues and try to give my fans constructive criticism. It's all about talking about things people can relate to.

SiTV.com: Being that you're a sociopolitical artist did you hear about the Sean Bell case in New York?
Roockie: The guy who got hit like 50 times?

SiTV.com: Yes.
Roockie: Yes, I was in New York when the not guilty verdict dropped. I was watching it closely. But it's not a new thing. It's something that people, sadly, have become accustomed to. It shouldn't be like that. Rights are here for a reason...to protect everyone regardless of status or anything else. The world is going through a tough time right now and we need to practice tolerance.