Daddy Yankee: King of Improvisation

Raymond Ayala, Daddy Yankee's real name, was born in Puerto Rico in 1977. Today, Daddy Yankee is one of the most important reggaeton artists in Puerto Rico as well as the entire world. Although he started to sing since his early years of youth, professionally singing began for him with DJ, Playero in Puerto Rico. Daddy Yankee has also performed in other music genres such as salsa and meringue with the well-know Domingo Quiñobes and Olga Tañon. He won the Street Jam Regaae Award for five years consecutively; for that reason, he was given the name "King of Improvisation."

Daddy Yankee released four albums – No Mercy (1995), El Cartel (2000), El Cartel II (2001), Cangri.com (2002), Los Homerun (2003) – before his single “Gasolina” drove him to worldwide fame and recognition. Both Cangri.com and Los Homerun were successful albums in Puerto Rico reaching the top in sales. However, the name Daddy Yankee was worldwide known thanks to “Gasolina”, which belongs to Daddy Yankee’s sixth album Barrio Fino (2004). With “Gasolina” he not only earned a place in world musical history but also was the first reggaeton artist who won platinum for his sales. Other hits follow the success of “Gasolina”: “Lo que pasó, pasó”, “King Daddy”and “Oye mi canto”.

Daddy Yankee's life is a story of effort and achievement. Although he always wanted to join the ranks of baseball’s Major Leagues, he had an accident when he was 16 and his career didn't go that way. As a result, he turned all that frustration into something positive: music. More that ten years of musical career are the support of Daddy Yankee’s triumph. His following albums – Ahora le toca al Cangri (2005) and Barrio Fino en Directo (2006) have given Daddy Yankee much satisfaction, awards, records and recognitions. If we have the power to write our own destiny, then, Daddy Yankee knows the kind of story he wants to write: one of success.