Boy Wonder | |
---|---|
Birth name | Manuel Alejandro Ruiz |
Also known as | Chosen Few , Boy Wonder CF |
Born | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
Origin | Long Island City, Queens, U.S. |
Genres | Merengue, Reggaeton, Latin pop, Urban |
Occupation(s) | Producer |
Instrument(s) | Mixer |
Years active | 2003–present |
Labels | Chosen Few Emerald Entertainment, Inc. |
Website | chosenfewurbano |
Manuel Alejandro Ruiz is a multi-platinum and award-winning music and filmmaker and producer known by his stage name Boy Wonder. Wonder is also the CEO the record label Chosen Few Emerald Entertainment, Inc. and has been recognized as one of the pioneering entertainment figures to elevate Reggaeton, and push the genre to the forefront of the music industry. Over the years, he has worked with stars like J Balvin, Farruko, Daddy Yankee, Wisin, Yandel, Pitbull and new school Latin urban artist's Jon Z and Darkiel.
Born to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Long Island City, Queens. Wonder credits his family with supplying many of his musical influences, including his mother who introduced him to legends like Michael Jackson and The Beatles and an uncle who reintroduced him to various Latin music artists over the years. During high school, his immersed himself in hip hop culture and followed rappers like Nas, The Notorious BIG, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, Fat Joe and Big Pun. Following a 1999 trip to Dominican Republic, Wonder seized an opportunity to bring all his musical influences together to cultivate a new sound that would influence an entire generation of reggaeton artists and the urban Latin music genre as a whole.
Boy Wonder began the multifaceted record label and multimedia and talent management company, Chosen Few Emerald Entertainment Inc. (CFEE) company in 1999. CFEE represented artists, producers and DJ's and released numerous documentary films. His next venture would lead to his first foray into filmmaking, partnering with Urban Box Office (UBO) to make a compilation of reggaeton tracks with a complementary documentary showcasing behind the scenes footage of the albums artists and some of reggaeton's biggest stars. The concept was a major success for Wonder and catapulted him into a new level of fame and recognition in the industry.
With the release of several successful documentaries and compilation albums, Boy Wonder was able to bring his brand of reggaeton/urban Latin music flavor to remote corners of the US and spread the riddim that would become synonymous with the genre for several decades to come.
• 2003: Chosen Few: El Documental, an award-winning, multi-platinum compilation album and documentary featuring many high-profile Reggaeton artists including Zion Y Lennox, Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Voltio and N.O.R.E. The album includes 25 exclusive tracks including the wildly successful Don Omar single, “Reggaeton Latino” remix featuring Fat Joe, N.O.R.E, and LDA. The song spent 44 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts and has been documented as the 2nd biggest crossover track in history, 2nd only to Daddy Yankee's “Gasolina”.The CD/DVD went on to win the 2004 Latin Billboard Award for Best Latin Compilation of the Year and went multi-platinum. “Reggaeton Latino” remix spent 44 weeks on the Billboard charts.
• 2005: Wonder released another compilation album with Chencho from the group Plan B, entitled El Draft. Set against the backdrop of a competition to find the next big reggaeton star, El Draft debuted at #4 Billboard's Latin music charts and became one of the first Reggaeton albums to go platinum. The album launched the careers of Rakim y Ken-Y (winners of the competition) and Jowell y Randy and the artist Fuego.
• 2006: A second documentary, Chosen Few II: El Documental, captured the rise of reggaeton's next wave of up-and-coming talent with behind the scenes footage of the Chosen Few tour and exclusive tracks featuring artists like Fat Joe, N.O.R.E, Juelz Santana, Trina, Trick Daddy and Pitbull. The album went double platinum and spent months in the Top 5 of Billboard's Latin sales chart.
• 2007: Wonder worked with Grammy Award-winning artist Alejandro Sanz on the remix of “A la Primera Persona,” featuring Reychesta.The track was released on Sanz's Special Edition of “El Tren de los Momentos.”
• 2008: The third documentary, Chosen Few III: The Movie was released. This film included never-before seen depictions of the converging worlds of hip-hop and Latin urban music and features artists like LDA, Fuego, Getto Music and Reychesta “Secret Weapon” along with appearances by Rick Ross, Jowell y Randy, Fat Joe, Tempo, Barrington Levy, Hector El Father, Cassidy, Twista, Joel Ortiz, Lumidee, Toby Love, Plan B, Nejo from Nejo y Dalmata, Jim Jones, Trick Daddy, Trina and more. It also included the track “Hustlin Time,” featuring Hip-hop sensation Rick Ross.
Wonder co-produced his then artist, Fuego who scored a smash hit "Mi Alma Se Muere", which was the lead single from the album. The remix of "Mi Alma Se Muere" featuring Pitbull and Omega "El Fuerte" was released later that year, and the remix peaked at No. 22 with over 24 weeks on the Top 100 Billboards Tropical.
• 2010: Boy Wonder executive produced Fuego's debut album “La Musica Del Futuro”. The album included "Super Estrella" featuring Omega and "Que Buena Tu Ta" featuring Deevani, which combines Indian rhythms and Latin Mambo beats and peaked at No.2 on the Top 100 Billboard Tropical charts for 12 weeks.
• 2012: "Chosen Few Urbano - "El Journey" is a documentary project with accompanying soundtrack that explores the United States and international Urbano movement. "Chosen Few Urbano" features Urbano artists from around the world including Fuego, Omega "El Fuerte", Cosculluela, Chino & Nacho, J Balvin, Flex, Jowell y Randy, Dyland y Lenny, Alex Kayza, De La Ghetto, Arcangel, Farruko, La Gente de Zona, NY Mets baseball player Jose Reyes, Villanosam, Fito Blanko, Black Point, and Sensato del Patio.
As CFEE looks toward the future, a few upcoming projects are primed to showcase the label's evolution, bringing in more diversity, conscious lyrics and eclectic vibes.
Darkiel is a dynamic performer that caught the attention of Boy Wonder and was signed to CFEE in 2019. After gaining notoriety for his performance in “Nicky Jam: El Ganadaor” Darkiel is poised to be one of the breakout starts in this new crop of CFEE talent. His recent single “Cuanto Vale” has amassed more than 12 million views on YouTube and in April 2021 he released a new single “Me Matas”.
Jon Z: Signed in 2015, Jon-Z is one of CFEE most exciting young performers. Hard-working and committed to evolving his craft, Jon- Z will release a new album in Summer 2021 that will feature his eclectic visual and musical style and trap-inspired music. His newest album "Perdona La Espera" is a catchy blend of rhythms featuring Farruko, Natti Natasha and several other up and coming artists.
Chosen Few: Fe: Is the new installment of the Chosen Few series aims to tell a more conscience story of today's reggaeton scene. Wonder describes the concept behind the new project as motivational, spiritual, and tapping into something more positive against the backdrop of a changed world. In a recent interview Wonder reflected on the project by saying “You get a little older, a little wiser and you see how the world changes and you want to do something a little different. I am fortunate enough to have the artists and the relationships to support me.”
Additional Nominations Include:
Luny Tunes are an American reggaeton production duo consisting of Francisco Saldaña (Luny) and Víctor Cabrera (Tunes) who have been known for creating unique musical rhythms for some of the most popular reggaeton artists since the early 2000s.
Efraín David Fines Nevares, known professionally as Tito "El Bambino", is a Puerto Rican reggaeton rapper, singer and songwriter who rose to fame as part of the duo Héctor & Tito. In 2010, his song "El Amor", written with Joan Ortiz Espada, was awarded Latin Song of the Year by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). He was awarded Songwriter of the Year at the 2011 ASCAP.
Julio Voltio is a Puerto Rican former reggaeton artist. A pioneer of the reggaeton genre, Voltio retired from music in 2014 and dedicated himself to preaching Christianity.
Da Hitman Presents Reggaetón Latino is a 2005 compilation album by Don Omar. It was nominated for Billboard Latin Music Award for Reggaeton Album of the Year. The album sold 32,000 copies in its first week. and the album sold over 200 000 copies.
Jowell & Randy are a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo composed of Joel Muñoz Martínez and Randy Ortiz Acevedo. The duo have been active since the early-2000s and have become one of the most popular acts in reggaeton. They have released three studio albums, five mixtapes and twenty-three singles as of June 2017. They were also members of the short-lived group Casa de Leones alongside J King & Maximan and Guelo Star. They became the first reggaeton acts to perform in the Principality of Monaco and the first reggaeton duo to do so in Australia.
Ñejo & Dálmata, also known as Ñejo y Dálmata, are a reggaeton duo from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Ñejo was born June 20, 1975 & Dálmata was born February 27, 1979. They had worked together in collaborations with other reggaeton artists before they released their duo album Broke & Famous in 2007 which peaked at 8 on the 'Billboard Latin Rhythms Albums Chart" and at 9 on the "Top Heatseekers Chart", as well as a number of their singles also charting on Billboard.
The compilation album Chosen Few II: El Documental, consists of two discs with 17 tracks each, produced by EMI Televisa Music and released in 2006.
José Fernando Cosculluela Suárez, known professionally as Cosculluela, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2018, he was caught up in a controversy after fellow rapper Anuel AA released a diss track.
Miguel Ángel Durán Jr. known by his stage name as Fuego ("fire"), is an American singer, songwriter and founder of Fireboy Inc./Sauce Gang. He is currently signed to Lionfish Entertainment.
Andrés Felipe Robledo Londoño, better known as Reykon "El Líder" "Pel mazo", is a reggaeton performer from Colombia. He is considered one of the biggest proponents of Latin America's reggaeton music genre. He is from Envigado, Antioquia.
Los Cazadores: Primera Busqueda is a compilation album released by Sony BMG on February 22, 2005. The album features several artists from the reggaetón genre, such as Tito "El Bambino", Tego Calderón, Yaga & Mackie, Zion & Lennox, Nicky Jam, Ivy Queen, Notch, La Jomar, Pedro Prez, Gammy, Rey Pirin, Guanabanas, Andy Boy, Maicol & Manuel and Dominic.
R.K.M & Ken-Y is a reggaeton duo formed in 2003 by José Nieves (R.K.M) and Kenny Vázquez (Ken-Y). The artists are renowned in the Latin music world for being the first to successfully fuse mainstream pop music with the reggaeton street rhythms of Puerto Rico and expose the style to a wide international audience. The sound introduced by R.K.M & Ken-Y would go on to inspire the pop reggaeton songs of successful acts such as CNCO, J Balvin, and Maluma. The duo had a very successful career with the Spanish-speaking audience of Latin America, the United States, and Spain until their separation in 2013. In June 2017, the duo announced their official return by Pina Records. In mid-2021 the Duo confirmed that they are on hiatus and are currently working on their solo projects.
American singer Nicky Jam has released six studio albums, three compilation albums, one EP, one mixtape, and 30 singles as a lead artist.
Rafy Mercenario is a Puerto Rican reggaeton producer. He has produced hits for several artists including R.K.M & Ken-Y, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and Ivy Queen.
Los de la Nazza are a Puerto Rican urban music duo formed in 2005 by Eliezer "Musicólogo" García and Eduardo "Menes" López. The duo achieved significant popularity in the Latin urban music field during the late 2000s and early 2010s as producers of Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee, combining elements of reggaeton music with electronica influences. Musicólogo is Daddy Yankee's cousin.
Omar David Hernández Colón, known as Darkiel, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton artist and actor, born in Lares. He is better known for his role in the Netflix biographical series of Nicky Jam called Nicky Jam: El Ganador.
Carlos Isaías Morales Williams, better known as Sech, is a Panamanian singer. He is from the Río Abajo township of Panama City and is best known for his single "Otro Trago", which was nominated for Best Urban Song and Best Urban Fusion/Performance at the 2019 Latin Grammy Awards. He has collaborated with numerous Latin artists including Maluma, Anitta, Nicky Jam, Daddy Yankee, and Bad Bunny. He released his debut studio album Sueños in April 2019 and his second album 1 of 1 was released on May 21, 2020.
Carlos Ariel Peralta Mendoza, known by his stage name Maffio, is a Dominican Urban/Pop/Tropical producer, composer, songwriter and artist.
Urbano music or Latin urban is a transnational umbrella category including many different genres and styles. As an umbrella term it includes a wide and diverse set of genres and styles such as dancehall, dembow, urban champeta, funk carioca, Latin hip hop and reggaeton. The commercial breakthrough of this music took place in 2017 with artists from Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Puerto Rico, the United States, Venezuela and even non-Spanish-speaking nations, such as Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken.
José Ángel Torres Castro, better known as Gocho, is a Puerto Rican songwriter, singer and record producer, nicknamed "El Lápiz de Platino". In 2003, with his first hit as a producer, "Dale Don Dale" with Don Omar, Gocho was a forerunner in the commercial reggaeton movement.