Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez[a] (born February 3, 1976),[2][8][9] known professionally as Daddy Yankee (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈdædiˈjæŋki]), 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",[4] 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.[10]
Ayala was born in Río Piedras and was raised in the Villa Kennedy Housing Projects neighborhood.[11] He aspired to be a professional baseball player and tried out for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball.[11] Before he could be officially signed, he was hit by a stray round from an AK-47 rifle while taking a break from a studio recording session with reggaeton artist DJ Playero.[11] Ayala spent roughly a year and a half recovering from the wound; the bullet was never removed from his hip, and he credits the shooting incident with allowing him to focus entirely on a music career.[11]
In 2004, Daddy Yankee released his international hit single "Gasolina", which is credited with introducing reggaeton to audiences worldwide, and making the music genre a global phenomenon.[12] Since then, he has sold around 30 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists.[10][13] Daddy Yankee's album Barrio Fino made history when it became the top-selling Latin music album of the decade between 2000 and 2009.[14][15]
In 2017, Daddy Yankee, in collaboration with Latin pop singer Luis Fonsi, released the hit single "Despacito". It became the first Spanish-language song to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 since "Macarena" in 1996.[16] The single gained global success. The video for "Despacito" on YouTube received its billionth view on April 20, 2017, and became the most-watched video on the platform. Its success led Daddy Yankee to become the most-listened artist worldwide on the streaming service Spotify in June 2017, the first Latin artist to do so.[17][18] In March 2022, Daddy Yankee announced that he would be retiring from music after the release of his seventh studio album Legendaddy and its supporting tour.[19]
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