Daddy Yankee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Reggetn musician. For the norteo artist, see Ramn Ayala.
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Ayala and
the second or maternal family name is Rodrguez.

Daddy Yankee

Daddy Yankee performing in Panama City, Florida, United

States during Spring Break 2006.

Background information

Birth name

Ramn Luis Ayala Rodrguez[1]

Born

February 3, 1977 (age 39)[2]

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Genres

Reggaeton
hip hop
Latin pop

Occupation(s)

Singer
songwriter
actor

record producer
Instruments

Vocals
drums
piano

Years active

1991present[2][3][4][5]
Dream Team Killer

Labels

El Cartel
Los Cangris
Machete
Universal
Interscope Geffen A&M
Capitol Latin
Associated acts

DJ Playero
Nicky Jam
Don Omar
J Alvarez
Wisin & Yandel
Arcngel
Farruko
Luny Tunes

Website

daddyyankee.com

Ramn Ayala Rodrguez (born February 3, 1977), known by his stage name Daddy
Yankee, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Ayala was born in
Ro Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was raised in the neighborhood of Villa Kennedy
Housing Projects.[6]
Ayala aspired to be a professional baseball player, and tried out for the Seattle
Mariners Major League baseball team.[6] Before he could be officially signed, he was hit by
a stray round from anAK-47 rifle while taking a break from a studio recording session with
reggaeton mix tape icon DJ Playero.[6] Ayala spent roughly one and a half years recovering
from the wound; the bullet was never removed from his hip, and he credits the shooting
incident with allowing him to focus entirely on a music career.[6] Since then, he has sold over
18 million albums.[7]
Contents

1Musical career
o

1.119922003: Early music career

1.2200406: Barrio Fino and "Gasolina"

1.3200710: El Cartel: The Big Boss, Talento De Barrio and Mundial

1.4201113: Prestige

1.5201315: King Daddy

1.62016present:

2Film and other career projects

3Political views

4Environmentalism

5Personal life

6Discography
o

6.1Studio

6.2Compilation

6.3Live

6.4Soundtrack

7Filmography

8Awards and nominations

9See also

10References

11External links

Musical career[edit]
19922003: Early music career[edit]
Daddy Yankee first appeared on the 1992 DJ Playero's Mixtape, Playero 34, with the song
"So' Persigueme, No Te Detengas".[8][9][10] Ayala was originally going to become a
professional baseball player but he was shot in his leg while taking a break from a studio
recording session. The bullet was never removed and he credits this incident with allowing
him to pursue a musical career. He made a few songs talking about the shooting incident,
but his most "complete" song about it was "6 De Enero", released in 2012. His first official
studio project as a solo artist was No Mercy, which was released on April 2, 1995
through White Lion Records and BM Records in Puerto Rico.[2] Early in his career he
attempted to imitate the style of Vico C. He went on to emulate other artists in the genre,

including DJ Playero, DJ Nelson, and DJ Drako, taking elements from their styles in order
to develop an original style. In doing so, he eventually abandoned the traditional model of
rap and became one of the first artists to perform reggaeton.[11]
In 1997, Daddy Yankee collaborated with the rapper Nas, who was an inspiration for Ayala,
in the song "The Profecy", for the album Boricua Guerrero. He released two compilation
albums: El Cartel and El Cartel II, in 1997 and 2001, respectively. Both albums were very
famous around Puerto Rico, but were not very successful around Latin America. Between
those years, Ayala released a total of nine music videos, including "Posicin"
featuring Alberto Stylee, "Tu Cuerpo En La Cama" featuring Nicky Jam and "Muvete Y
Perrea".
In 2002, El Cangri.com became Ayala's first album with international success, receiving
coverage in the markets of New York and Miami with hits including "Latigazo", "Son Las
Doce", "Guayando" and other songs like "Enciende", which talks about different social
problems of the era, mentioning 9/11, corruption and religion. In 2003, Ayala collaborated
for the first time with the prestigious reggaeton producers Luny Tunes in the album Mas
Flow, with his commercial success song "Cgela Que Va Sin Jockey" (a.k.a. "Mtele Con
Candela"). In 2003, Daddy Yankee released a compilation album named Los Homerun-es,
which contains his first charted single ("Segurosqui"), five new songs and 12 remakes of DJ
Playero's albums songs. that was later charted, "Seguroski", being his first charted single
after six of them. Barrio Fino was released in 2004, and the album received numerous
awards, including Lo Nuestro Awards and a Latin Billboard, as well as receiving
nominations for the Latin Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards. Barrio Fino performed
well in the sales charts of the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Japan, and it is
one of the most important reggaeton albums in the history of the genre.

200406: Barrio Fino and "Gasolina"[edit]

Ayala's next album, Barrio Fino, was produced by Luny Tunes and DJ Nelson among
others and released in July 2004 by El Cartel Records andVI Music. It was the most highly
anticipated album in the reggaeton community.[12] Ayala had enjoyed Salsa music since he
was young, and this led him to include music of genres besides reggaeton in the album.
[12]
The most prominent of these cross-genre singles was "Melao", in which he performed
with Andy Montaez.[12] The album was described as his most complete, and with it he
intended to introduce combinations of reggaeton and other genres to the English-speaking
market.[12] Barrio Fino was followed up by an international tour with performances in
numerous countries including the Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Honduras, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Venezu
ela, and the United States.[12] The album has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States
alone and has sold well throughout Latin America and worldwide.[13] He also performed in
Rio Grande City, Texas before hitting the big stage in 2004. [citation needed]
In 2005, Ayala won several international awards, making him one of the most recognized
reggaeton artists within the music industry.[14] The first award of the year was Lo Nuestro
Awards within the "Album of the Year" category, which he received for Barrio Fino.[14] In this
event he performed "Gasolina" in a performance that was described as "innovative".
[14]
Barrio Fino also won the "Reggaeton Album of the Year" award in the Latin Billboard that
took place on April 28, 2005,[14] where he performed a mix of three of his songs in a duo
with P. Diddy. The album was promoted throughout Latin America, the United States, and
Europe, reaching certified gold in Japan. Due to the album's success, Ayala received
promotional contracts with radio stations and soda companies, including Pepsi.[15] His hit
single, "Gasolina", received the majority of votes cast for the second edition of Premios

Juventud, in which it received eight nominations and won seven awards.[14] Ayala also made
a live presentation during the award ceremony. "Gasolina" received nominations in the
Latin Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards.[14]
The successful single, "Gasolina", was covered by artists from different music genres. This
led to a controversy when "Los Lagos", a Mexicanbanda group, did a cover with the original
beat but changed the song's lyrics.[16] The group's label had solicited the copyright
permission to perform the single and translate it to a different music style, but did not
receive consent to change the lyrics; legal action followed. [16] Speaking for the artist, Ayala's
lawyer stated that having his song covered was an "honor, but it must be done the right
way."
On April 30, 2006, Ayala was named one of the 100 most influential people by Time, which
cited the 2 million copies of Barrio Fino sold, Ayala's $20 million contract with Interscope
Records, and his Pepsi endorsement.[17] During this period, Ayala and William Omar
Landrn (more commonly known by his artistic name Don Omar) were involved in a rivalry
within the genre, dubbed "tiraera". The rivalry received significant press coverage despite
being denied early on by both artists. It originated with a lyrical conflict between the artists
begun by Ayala's comments in a remix single, where he criticized Landron's common
usage of the nickname "King of Kings". Don Omar responded to this in a song titled "Ahora
Son Mejor", part of his album Los Rompediscotecas.

200710: El Cartel: The Big Boss, Talento De Barrio and Mundial[edit]

El Cartel: The Big Boss was released by Interscope on June 5, 2007. Ayala stated that the
album marked a return to his hip-hop roots as opposed to being considered a strictly
reggaeton album.[1] The album was produced in 2006, and included the participation
of will.i.am, Scott Storch, Tainy Tunes, Neli, and personnel from Ayala's label. Singles were
produced with Hctor Delgado, Fergie, Nicole Scherzinger and Akon.[1] The first single from
the album was titled "Impacto", and was released prior to the completion of the album. The
album was promoted by a tour throughout the United States, which continued throughout
Latin America.[1] He performed in Mexico, first in Monterrey, where 10,000 attended the
concert, and later at San Luis Potos coliseum, where the concert sold out, leaving
hundreds of fans outside the building.[18] Ayala performed in Chile as well, and established a
record for attendance in Ecuador.[19] He also performed in Bolivia, setting another record
when 50,000 fans attended his Santa Cruz de la Sierra concert.[19] This show was later
described as "the best show with the biggest attendance in history" and as "somehappy
that his album had sold more than those of Juan Luis Guerra and Juanes, and that this was
an "official proof that reggaeton's principal exponent defeated the rest of the genres".
[20]
Ayala made a guest appearance in Bounty Killer, Elephant Man and Wayne Wonder.[21]
He appeared on the 2008 Rockstar Games' videogame Grand Theft Auto IV as the DJ of
Radio San Juan Sounds, with spanglish lines. The radio includes reggaeton songs from
Ayala's colleagues, like Wisin & Yandel, Hector "El Father", Tito El Bambino and Jowell &
Randy. San Juan Sounds also featured Daddy Yankee's hit "Impacto".
In July 2008, Ayala announced th