Raymond Ayala (Daddy Yankee) was raised in Villa Kennedy, a public housing project in the capital of San Juan, Puerto Rico. At a very young age Raymond wanted to be a baseball player and everyone agreed that he was well on his way to the major leagues. However, one summer night the 17-year-old was involved in an accident that permanently damaged his leg. Ever since that event over a decade ago Daddy Yankee has dedicated his life to his true passion, creating music.Daddy Yankee produced his first recording coached by the talented hands of DJ Playero, one of the pioneers of Reggaetón (a musical genre born in Puerto Rico during the early ‘90s from the fusion between classic Salsa, the traditional Puerto Rican Bomba, and the urban rhythm of Hip Hop.). Audiences immediately fell in love with Yankee’s lyrical ability and creative style. Soon, he was crowned “The king of improvisationâ€. His vibrant energy has created a musical sensation that has crossed language and cultural boundaries to make Reggaetón an accepted musical genre among all kinds of people around the world.Yankee’s carefully crafted lyrics and free-style ability to interpret his musical compositions have allowed the King of Improvisation to share his views and reach the masses in a consistently successful way. From love themes to socially-saturated comments on the everyday Puerto Rican culture, his songs have remained solid hits in the club scene and are considered Reggaetón classics.With the unyielding support of his fans and his personal desire to share his vision with upcoming artists, Yankee became the founder and lead producer of Los Cangri’s Inc. and El Cartel Records. Yankee’s intense drive and meteoric rise within the music community have allowed him to collaborate with artists such as NAS (they recorded The Prophecy together), amog others. In 2002, Multiple Grammy award winner Olga Tañón invited Daddy Yankee to perform alongside her during a concert at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in Santurce, Puerto Rico. With his energy, enthusiasm and dedication to his career, Yankee has recorded over 130 tracks in as many as 70 feature Reggaetón albums.Without a doubt, his solid record sales confirm his success and popularity within Latin Music. All of his albums, “El Cartel de Yankee,†“El Cartel de Yankee II,†“El Cangri.com†and “Los Home-runes,†have received platinum status. His latest release titled “Barrio Fino†is his most complete offering to date and has remained the highest selling Latin music album for the past year. The album earned its place in history by selling over one million copies World Wide and reached the top of the Billboard Top Latin Album Charts; Thus cementing his position at the forefront of the Reggaetón genre.2003 This was a landmark year in Daddy Yankee’s career. Shortly after his album Los Home-Runes achieved record-breaking sales, his life-long dreams came true when he performed before a full house at Puerto Rico’s Roberto Clemente Coliseum. On that memorable night more than 12,000 fans went wild as they danced along to his music. The press acclaimed Yankee’s ability to bring the house down with his outstanding musical talent and energetic stage performance. The show titled Ahora Le Toca Al Cangri quickly became Yankee’s most transcendental moment to date in, placing him at the forefront of the Reggaetón music scene.2004 In July of 2004 Yankee successfully launched Barrio Fino; the most anticipated album in the history of Reggaetón music.Being a loyal Salsa fan since childhood, he used this production as an opportunity to collaborate with one of Puerto Rico’s legendary Salsa’s singers, Andy Montañez. Together they recorded the duet Melao. Barrio Fino is by far his most complete production to date. The album was not only an opportunity to make history within the Reggaetón scene, but it also became a vehicle for the introduction of the genre to other music markets including the highly competitive Anglo market.Yankee has been actively touring Latin America and The United States winning thousands of fans in each region. In Colombia he performed in front of over 60,000 screaming fans.2005 This year has been one filled with many praises and great accomplishments for Daddy Yankee. On February 24, 2005 he performed live at the Lo Nuestro Awards held at the American Airlines Auditorium in Miami, where Barrio Fino was awarded Album of the Year in the Urban Music category. That night’s live performance of his smash hit “Gasolina†was viewed by millions, garnering the program its highest ratings to date.In March, Daddy Yankee was asked to be the opening act for Usher’s Live Showtime Concert. It was yet another turning point for Daddy Yankee who, not only made his appearance as the opening act, but also performed alongside Usher during the live broadcast.In April 28, 2005 Yankee received the award for Reggaetón Album of the Year by the prestigious Billboard Latin Music Awards 2005 for his Barrio Fino production. The awards ceremony took place at the Miami Arena where Daddy Yankee ignited the audience with an explosive medley of Gasolina and Lo Que Pas,ó Pasó. During his performance of Gasolina, the famous producer and hip-hop star P. Diddy came on stage to sing along to the song’s chorus. The crowd roared and the house came down as both P. Diddy and Daddy Yankee shared the stage for this historical moment. Yankee was also nominated for an MTV Video Music Award and he also received eight nominations for the 2005 Youth Awards “Premios Juventud†(JP05).Throughout his carrier, Yankee has earned the respect and support of the Hispanic community. He is seen as a source of pride to his people, proving that with drive and determination anything is possible. This positive image earned him the honor of being chosen this year as “El Padrino de la Juventud†(The godfather of the youth) at the annual Puerto Rican day parade. Where he marched with his fellow Puerto Ricans and entertained thousands with his lyrical styling and charismatic stage presence.Daddy Yankee once again demonstrated his position as the most internationally acclaimed performer within the reggeatón genre when he visited the cities of London and Paris. His visit to London included interviews with the nation’s leading periodicals,. Yankee also made appearances in radio and television programs such as Top of the Pops where he became the first Latino artists to do a live performance of a song in Spanish. In France “El Cangri†sat down with various French radio stations; among these were Sun Radio and Hip Hop Generation. Yankee was interviewed by Sky Rock Radio where he performed five of his most requested songs.With his album Barrio Fino Daddy Yankee has brought Reggaetón into the international spotlight. Amongst its many achievements the album has reached the 9th position on the international music charts, surpassing renowned artists such as Mariah Carey. His music has been well-received in all of Europe and has reached 12th place in Switzerland, 23rd in France and 7th place in the German national charts. In Italy, his international hit Gasolina is being used in a TV Ad campaign for the new 2006 Citreon C2 Deejay. The commercial will run through the spring and summer 2005.Yankee’s success is not limited to the western hemisphere. His music is heard throughout Asia. Just two weeks after its release in Japan, the album entered the national charts in 27th place and has recently ascended to number 18.With the desire to further expand his creative horizons Daddy Yankee has been hard at work developing a movie titled straight from the Barrio during the spring and summer of 2005. The film is being shot on location in Puerto Rico and New York. The story revolves around a character named Eddie Dinero, played by Daddy Yankee, who discovers his innate talent and uses it to overcome adversity. The movie features other well known Reggaetón artists such as TNT, Glory, Maestro and Rey Pirin.Throughout his career, Yankee has shown himself to be a leader and role model within his community and music genre. It is because of this and all his other positive attributes that PepsiCo. International has chosen him as the spokesman for their newest advertising campaign, thus joining the group of famous celebrities that have become a part of this prestigious company.After an ascending career of more than 15 years within the Latin music scene and the entertainment industry, he has rightfully earned the recognition as one of the most respected and influential artists of his genre. Through his fierce dedication and the passion he has for his music it is evident that the future has many great things in store for Daddy Yankee.
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