The Spanish-speaking artist put reggaeton music on the map worldwide
Reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee (45) is putting an end to his music career. He has announced his retirement in a farewell video to his fans, but will come with a final album first Legendaddy and a tour. “My career has been a marathon, and now the finish line is in sight,” he says in the video.
The artist, whose real name is Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, grew up in Puerto Rico. Also known as the ‘king of reggaeton’, he is one of the most famous Latin artists in the world. He started his singing career as a young teenager and released his first album in 1995. In 2004 he finally broke through with the song gasolina† With his danceable Spanish songs, he put the reggaeton genre on the map worldwide.
His most successful song despacitowhich he co-created with Luis Fonsi, became a worldwide summer hit in 2017 and broke a record of more than seven billion viewers on YouTube.
On social media, many fans reacted sadly to the artist’s decision. FunX DJ Fernando Halman also regrets his resignation, but it doesn’t mean the end of reggaeton, he says. “Colombian artists such as Maluma and J Balvin have been inspired by him. He has truly been one of the champions of reggaeton.”
In his farewell video, Yankee says he wanted to inspire children with his music. “In the neighborhood where I grew up, most wanted to become drug dealers. When I go to those neighborhoods now, most young people want to become singers. That means a lot to me.”
