Daddy Yankee

The Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez was born in San Juan on February 3, 1976, and began releasing music under the stage name Daddy Yankee during the mid-1990s. Although his blend of hip-hop, Latin, and Caribbean influences made him a pioneer of reggaeton, his 1995 debut album, No Mercy, went largely unnoticed, and it wasn't until 2004 that he topped the Top Latin Albums chart for the first time with Barrio Fino. The album featured his first international hit, "Gasolina," which reached number 32 in America while peaking at number 5 in the UK, number 2 in Italy, and number 12 in France. One year later, "Rompe" went platinum in the US, where the single peaked at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. Daddy Yankee revisited the Number 1 slot on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart multiple times throughout the following two decades, earning chart-topping hits with "Lovumba" (2012), "Limbo" (2013), "Shaky Shaky" (2016), "Dura" (2018), "Con Calma" (2019), "China" (2019), and others. However, nothing compared to his smash single "Despacito," which featured Luis Fonsi and Justin Bieber. Released in 2017, the song topped several charts worldwide, including the Billboard Hot 100 and the Official UK Singles Chart, and won a handful of Latin Grammy Awards. It also confirmed his status as a reggaeton icon, and Daddy Yankee remained at the top of the Latin charts with albums like 2022's Legendaddy, which reached number 8 on the Billboard 200 and Number 1 on Top Latin Albums. After Legendaddy and the record-setting La Última Vuelta World Tour, Daddy Yankee wrapped his farewell with December 2023 concerts in San Juan and publicly declared a turn to Christian faith. In 2025 he re-emerged with “Sonríele,” released via DY Records in partnership with HYBE Latin America/Zarpazo, and performed it on major stages as the launch of a spiritual, Caribbean-leaning phase. He then issued his first Christian studio album, Lamento en Baile—a 19-track set inspired by Psalm 30:11 and distributed by Virgin Music—with a single guest spot from Alex Zurdo (“ABCD”). The campaign continued with a high-profile collaboration: BZRP Music Sessions #0/66, marking a creative bridge between his new message and club-ready production, followed by a joint headline halftime performance with Bizarrap at the NFL’s first-ever game in Spain.

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