Daddy Yankee

Daddy Yankee (Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez) is a rapper, singer, and songwriter from the US, born February 3, 1976. Dubbed the "King of Reggaeton", he is often cited as an influence by other Hispanic urban performers. After a shooting incident derailed his aspiration to become a professional baseball player, he pursued music instead. He independently released his debut studio album No Mercy in 1995, followed by El Cangri.com in 2002, which found success in the United States. Barrio Fino (2004) became the top-selling Latin music album of the 2000s; its lead single "Gasolina" was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Record of the Year and has been credited with introducing reggaeton to global audiences. His 2007 album El Cartel: The Big Boss peaked within the top 10 on the Billboard 200. In 2017, he collaborated with Latin pop singer Luis Fonsi on "Despacito", which became the first Spanish-language song to top the Billboard Hot 100 since "Macarena" in 1996. The music video became the most-viewed on YouTube from August 2017 to November 2020 and remains the most-liked music video on the platform. He became the most-listened artist worldwide on Spotify in June 2017, the first Latin artist to achieve this. As a male artist and an Aquarius born in early February, Daddy Yankee embodies the zodiac's hallmark innovation and visionary approach to his craft. Rappers and singers perform live, record albums, and collaborate across genres to reach global audiences. Daddy Yankee is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time, having sold over 30 million records worldwide. He has won five Latin Grammy Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, 14 Billboard Latin Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, eight Lo Nuestro Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, and six ASCAP Awards. He received a Puerto Rican Walk of Fame star and was named by CNN the "Most Influential Hispanic Artist" of 2009, and included in Time 100 in 2006. After announcing his retirement in March 2022 following his seventh studio album Legendaddy and its supporting tour, he retired on December 3, 2023, after his final performance on the "La Meta" tour in Puerto Rico. He later returned to music with the release of Lamento en Baile in 2025.