Daddy Yankee: Who Said Gasolina?

Who has not heard about such a magnificent star called Daddy Yankee?  Today, he is, without a doubt, the greatest icon of the Puerto Rican reggaeton since everything he has achieved has not been achieved by any other reggaeton artist.  For instance, Daddy Yankee constitutes the first reggaeton singer in staging an international arena tour and receiving a platinum status.  Daddy Yankee, whose real name is Raymond Ayala, is a very energetic person who expands his fan base every single day.  In 2004, he released his first album called Barrio Fino, which allowed him to get to be a worldwide known artist.

When he was a teenager, Daddy Yankee dreamed to play in the baseball Major Leagues; however, when he was 16, he was hit by a bullet in one of his legs.  For this reason, he decided to devote to music.  Thus, dubbed “the king of improvisation”, Daddy Yankee released four independent albums called El Cartel de Yankee, El Cangri.com, El Cartel de Yankee 2 and Los Homerunes, from which El Cangri.com was the most successful one in Puerto Rico.  Nevertheless, nobody imagined what was about to happen in 2004: Daddy Yankee revolutionized the reggaeton industry with his worldwide-listened singles “Gasolina”, “Lo Que Paso Paso” and “Oye Mi Canto.”

In 2005, Yankee, being the first reggaeton artist in being nominated for an MTV Video Music Award with “Gasolina”, he performed in great arenas in cities like Miami, New York, Colombia, Ecuador, Los Angeles and Chicago.  In addition, in April of that same year, Daddy Yankee was given the “Reggaeton Album of the Year” prize, conferred by the Latin Billboard Awards.  Likewise, five months later, he broke the record of winning the biggest amount of prizes at Premios Juventud receiving 7 of them.  Moreover, in November, for “Best Urban Music Album”, he was given a Latin Grammy.

Furthermore, with his live album named Barrio Fino en Directo, he sold more than one million copies, and amazingly, only in the United States.  This album, which, after 15 weeks of being released, was certified platinum, comprises songs that have been #1, including “Rompe”, and the follow-up called “Machucando.”  It is amazing how both of these songs debuted in what is called the top five of Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart.  Thus, what Daddy Yankee’s fans can only do is to continue enjoying his unique music and style that will provide him with more and more success.