Daddy Yankee

Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and songwriter born on February 3, 1976. Dubbed the "King of Reggaeton" and "Godfather of Reggaeton," he is widely cited as an influential figure by other Hispanic urban performers. Recognized as one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre, he is among the best-selling Latin music artists of all time, having sold more than 30 million records worldwide.

Ayala was born in the Río Piedras district of San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Rosa Rodríguez and salsa percussionist Ramón Ayala, and was raised in the Villa Kennedy Housing Projects neighborhood. He initially aspired to become a professional baseball player and tried out for Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners. However, before he could officially sign, he was hit in the hip by a stray bullet from an AK-47 rifle during a break from a recording session with reggaeton artist DJ Playero. The bullet was never removed, but Ayala credited the incident with shifting his full focus toward a career in music.

He made his first recorded appearance on DJ Playero's 1992 mixtape, Playero 34, and released his solo debut studio album, No Mercy, in April 1995. Early in his career, he drew elements from artists such as Vico C, DJ Playero, DJ Nelson, and Tempo, blending them with the Dembow rhythm to become one of the earliest artists to perform reggaeton. In 2000, he formed an unofficial duo called "Los Cangris" with Nicky Jam. In 2002, Daddy Yankee achieved international market success in New York City and Miami with his album El Cangri.com.

In July 2004, Daddy Yankee released his studio album Barrio Fino, produced by Luny Tunes and DJ Nelson among others. It became the top-selling Latin music album of the 2000s. Its lead single, "Gasolina," gained international popularity and is credited with introducing reggaeton to global audiences. He followed this success with the live record Barrio Fino en Directo in 2005. His next studio album, El Cartel: The Big Boss (2007), peaked within the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart. He also released the soundtrack album Talento de Barrio in 2008.

In 2017, Daddy Yankee collaborated with Latin pop singer Luis Fonsi on the single "Despacito," which became the first Spanish-language song to top the Billboard Hot 100 since 1996. Following the song's success, Daddy Yankee became the first Latin artist to be the most-listened-to artist worldwide on Spotify in June 2017. In March 2022, he announced his retirement from music following his seventh studio album Legendaddy and its supporting tour. He concluded his final stage performance on his "La Meta" tour on December 3, 2023, though he subsequently returned to music with the release of Lamento en Baile in 2025.

Over his career, Daddy Yankee has received numerous honors, including 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 was named CNN's "Most Influential Hispanic Artist" of 2009 and was included in the Time 100 list in 2006. Additionally, he has received a star on the Puerto Rican Walk of Fame, special recognitions from People en Español, and the Presencia Latina award at Harvard University.