Daddy Yankee: Riding the Reggaeton Train

Let's be real here. Reggaeton is a serious movement in the hip hop world, and Daddy Yankee was right there in Puerto Rico when it started getting some legs. But Ramon Ayala, if he's going by his real name, didn't always have his sights on making it big in this unique blend of Latin beats, hip hop, dancehall, and reggae. Daddy Yankee actually wanted to become a baseball player. What happened? Long story short is, he supposedly hurt his leg so bad getting caught in a cross fire and getting shot that he couldn't play serious ball again.

But couldn't you consider that fate intervening and sending Daddy Yankee on the right path? Perhaps. It was after the gun shot incident that Daddy Yankee took interest in Reggaeton, listening to such pioneers as Vico C, DJ Goldy, and DJ Playero.

It was with DJ Playero that Daddy Yankee actually got his first real recording. It was called Playero 37 and was released in 1992. Some Daddy Yankee lyrics got featured in the recording, and set him up for the solo success that followed.

Who's Your Daddy?

That solo success, mind you, didn't come with the first solo Daddy Yankee album, which came out in 1995 and was called "No Mercy." Why? We can't say for sure, but luckily for him, Daddy Yankee didn't give up. He continued working on his Reggaeton sound. He took on a partner, an artist by the name of Nicky Jam. The one big Daddy Yankee song that came out of this duo was "Posicion."

But it would be his 2002 Daddy Yankee album, called "El Cangri.com" that would actually get Daddy Yankee some airtime outside of Puerto Rico. Latin audiences in big cities like Miami and New York ate up Daddy Yankee songs like "Latigazo," shooting the record to as high as 43 on Latin charts. His following album, "Los Homerunes," got even more play.

Where could Daddy Yankee go but up now? Exactly. The 2004 Daddy Yankee record was called "Barrio Fino," which sold a half million copies in the United States alone. He could tour across Latin America, and you can understand why he had such wide appeal if you listen to Daddy Yankee on this album, with its salsa and other Latin music influences. By the year 2005, he was winning awards for top Reggaeton album and performing with P. Diddy. The top Daddy Yankee song off it was "Gasolina."

The Big Boss

But perhaps-actually, no doubt-Daddy Yankee's biggest album came in 2007, with the release of the Daddy Yankee record "El Cartel: The Big Boss." Daddy Yankee has said he used the album to get back more to hip hop and away from the Reggaeton sound that has made him famous.

The result? A record that's four times over platinum and hit the top ten in the U.S. charts. Daddy Yankee songs like "Impacto," "Who's Your Daddy?," and "Fiel Amiga" delivered to audiences worldwide.

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