Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor who rose to worldwide prominence in 2004 with the song "Gasolina". Dubbed the "King of Reggaeton", he is often cited as an influence by other Hispanic urban performers. He scheduled his retirement for December 2023 after completing his "La Meta" tour in Puerto Rico.
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.
Barrio Fino is the third studio album by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee, released on July 13, 2004, in the United States by VI Music and El Cartel Records and internationally by Machete Music and Polydor Records. Released two years after his previous studio album, El Cangri.com (2002), the album was recorded in Puerto Rico between 2003 and 2004. It explores themes ranging from dance, sex, romance, introspection, and protest against political corruption and violence against women. Barrio Fino was instrumental in popularizing reggaeton in the mainstream market, enhancing Daddy Yankee's career, as well as cementing his status as one of the most successful Latin artists of the 2000s. The album is reported to have sold over 8 million copies in the world.
Barrio Fino en Directo is the second live album by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee, released on December 13, 2005, by El Cartel Records and distributed by Interescope Records. The album is a live collection of songs from Daddy Yankee's previous album Barrio Fino recorded during his tour Barrio Fino World Tour at several locations including the United States, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. It was the first Daddy Yankee album to had a Parental Advisory sticker and first and only album to include a skit. It also includes a DVD featuring interviews, concerts and the making of the music videos. A re-release of the album, Tormenta Tropical, Vol. 1, was released on July 4, 2006. It includes all of the new recorded songs, and two of the live tracks from the album. The album differs from Barrio Fino en Directo because it does not include a DVD.
El Cartel: The Big Boss is the fourth studio album and eighth overall by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee. It was released on June 5, 2007, by El Cartel Records through Interscope Records and It is the third installment following El Cartel (1997) and El Cartel II (2001). It explores lyrics and themes ranging from immigration, tabloid rumors, romance, dance and protest against political corruption. The album production persecutes an aggressive sound and was focus on hardcore reggaeton and Latin urban mixed with elements of tropical rhythms, R&B and straight-up hip-hop on a few tracks. The album's theme was to solidified the artist status at the top of Latin music industry and rivals. It features guest appearances Akon, Fergie, Will.i.am, Nicole Scherzinger, Héctor el Father and contains the contributions of producers such as Scott Storch, Luny Tunes, Tainy, and Mr. Collipark.
VI Music is a Puerto Rican record label specializing in the reggaeton genre, founded by reggaeton producers Mario VI, Álex Gárgolas and Juan Vidal. The record label came to prominence after securing a joint venture with Universal Music Latino and Machete Music. Their albums include gold and platinum productions such as "The Last Don" and "King of Kings" by Don Omar, Barrio Fino by Daddy Yankee, "A la Reconquista" and "La Historia Live" by Héctor & Tito, "Los MVP" by Angel & Khriz and "Sin Límite" by Magnate & Valentino among many others. During the height of their popularity, VI Music had some of the most successful reggaeton acts signed to their label. The company has not released an album since 2009 after most of their artists left or had their contracts sold to Universal Music Latino, most notably Don Omar. Álex Gárgolas left the company and went on to discover and manage Farruko during his first international successes. Mario VI currently hosts his own radio show "La Jungla" in Puerto Rico alongside legendary radio personality El Coyote.
Monserrate and DJ Urba are reggaeton producers from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, respectively. They have been on the business for some years, but they really got a start when Daddy Yankee hired them to produce his Barrio Fino Album. Then they followed up with the Barrio Fino en Directo Album. They are aligned with Luny Tunes's Mas Flow Inc and Daddy Yankee's El Cartel Records.
Josías de la Cruz, known professionally as Nely el Arma Secreta, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton producer, introduced in the genre by Luny Tunes.
Paul Frederick Irizarry Suau,, known professionally as Echo, is a Puerto Rican record producer and songwriter.
Talento de Barrio is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name and the fifth studio album starring Puerto Rican reggaeton singer-songwriter Daddy Yankee, who also performs the songs on the album. It was released on August 12, 2008, by Machete Music and El Cartel Records, to accompany the motion picture Talento de Barrio. The album was mainly produced by reggaeton producers Eli El Musicólogo and Menes. The album production explores reggaeton with elements of tropical music such as merengue and dancehall along with EDM and electropop sounds. It receive positive reviews and was nominated for Best Urban Album at the 10th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The album was supported by four official singles: "Somos de Calle", "Pose", "Llamado de Emergencia", and "Que Tengo Que Hacer?".
King Daddy, also known as Imperio Nazza: King Daddy Edition, is a mixtape by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee, released independently on October 29, 2013 by his label El Cartel Records, a year after his sixth studio album, Prestige. King Daddy is a "hardcore reggaeton" record made for the genre's "lovers" and features collaborations with Arcángel, Divino, Farruko, J Álvarez, and Yandel. Daddy Yankee co-wrote and co-produced all 11 tracks with Benny Benni and Los de la Nazza, respectively; it is his last album produced by the latter, who left El Cartel Records in 2014.
The discography of Puerto Rican rapper, singer-songwriter and producer Daddy Yankee has released eight studio albums, two live albums, eighty-nine singles, and one soundtrack. He made his debut on DJ Playero's Playero 34 mixtape, released in 1991. He was later featured on Playero's 37 and 38 albums, before releasing his first solo record in 1995, titled No Mercy. During the rest of the 1990s, he continued working on underground reggaeton records and released his first album as producer El Cartel de Yankee in 1997. After the release of his 2001 independent album El Cartel II: Los Cangris, he released his second studio album, El Cangri.com, in June 2002. It is cited as the record that made him notorious outside his natal Puerto Rico, being his music introduced in New York City and Miami. Without any major label backing him, El Cangri.com managed to peak at number 43 on the US Top Latin Albums chart. A track from the album, "Brugal Mix", became his first Billboard chart entry by peaking at number 40 on the US Tropical Songs chart in November 2002.
Mundial ('Worldwide') is the sixth studio album and tenth overall by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee through El Cartel Records and Sony Music Latin released on April 27, 2010. The album was supported by three official singles: "Grito Mundial", "Descontrol" and "La Despedida". The production explores different music genres than his previous records such as merengue, dance pop and Latin Pop along with reggaeton. It explores lyrics and themes such as romance, sex, money and fame while the main focus is to capture music vibes of the streets of different countries globally. The album was entirely produced by Los de la Nazza and Diesel.
Nova & Jory were a reggaeton duo. Nova was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and Jory was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico. They started their career in 2003 and were signed to Loud Music at the time of their split. Their debut and only album Mucha Calidad, which after a couple setbacks and push dates, was officially released on July 12, 2011. In October 2012 they announced they had split amicably. Both artists are now pursuing independent solo careers.
Prestige is the sixth studio album and eleventh overall by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee. It was released through El Cartel Records and Capitol Latin on September 11, 2012. It was produced by Los de la Nazza and Musicólogo & Menes. The album explores music genres as of EDM, Dancepop, Latin Pop and Electropop and essential reggaeton. According to Yankee himself, "Prestige is best and most complete album". The album met with positive reviews and it receive a nomination for Best Urban Album at the 14th Annual Latin Grammy Awards and for Urban Album of the Year at the Lo Nuestro Awards of 2013.
El Imperio Nazza is a series of compilations by popular reggaeton producers Musicólogo & Menes "Los de la Nazza", distributed by El Cartel Records.
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.
The Big Boss World Tour was a concert tour by reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee to promote his album El Cartel: The Big Boss. This was his second arena tour in the United States and his first official world tour. The tour started in Agust 24, 2007 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico and was expected to end on December 8, 2007 in Cali's Estadio Pascual Guerrero. However, due to the success of his soundtrack Talento de Barrio, more dates were added and the tour extended to 2008.
The Barrio Fino World Tour was a concert tour by reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee to promote his third studio album, Barrio Fino (2004). This was his first large tour and his first arena tour in the United States becoming the first reggaeton act to do so. The tour visited Latin America and United States and consisted of three legs. In December 2005, Yankee released Barrio Fino en Directo with featured videos and songs recorded live on this tour. Also, contained a DVD with footage of the tour in Colombia, Puerto Rico, Ecuador and Dominican Republic.
The Talento de Barrio World Tour was the third concert tour by reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee to promote his album Talento de Barrio. The tour had two legs, the first in the United States and the last one in Latin America. It kick of at Viña del mar 2009 international festival and ended at Mar de Plata, Argentina on December 15, 2009.
