Reggaeton is a modern style of popular and electronic music that originated in Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puerto Rican musicians. It has evolved from dancehall, with elements of hip hop, Latin American, and Caribbean music. Vocals include toasting/rapping and singing, typically in Spanish.
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 retired on December 3, 2023, after completing his final stage performance on his "La Meta" tour in Puerto Rico.
Luny Tunes is 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.
Talento de Barrio is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name and the fifth studio album starring Puerto Rican reggaeton musician 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. It received 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 seventh 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.
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.
The discography of Puerto Rican rapper, singer-songwriter and producer Daddy Yankee has released eight studio albums, two live albums, 112 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.
El Imperio Nazza is a series of compilations by popular reggaeton producers Musicólogo & Menes "Los de la Nazza", distributed by El Cartel Records.
Musicólogo & Menes, also known as Los de la Nazza, is 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 on August 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.
"Rumbatón" is a song by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee and the lead single from his eighth and final studio album, Legendaddy. Described by him as "the album's flagship", the song was released on March 24, 2022, simultaneously with the record and alongside a music video directed by Dominican filmmaker Marlon Peña, which depics a newlywed couple joining a street party in Puerto Rico. It uses the chorus from the track "Báilame" (2006) by Puerto Rican duo Trébol Clan. It was written by Daddy Yankee, Dominican producer and Luny Tunes member Luny and Puerto Rican producers Eliel and Ovimael "OMB" Maldonado. Puerto Rican rapper and lyricist Wise, producer DJ Joe and Trébol Clan members Periquito and Berto received songwriting credits for "Báilame". It was produced by Daddy Yankee and longtime collaborator Luny.
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.
