Puerto Rican reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee told Efe this Friday of his take after announcing his retirement and new album: “fight and sacrifice“, virtues that have made this genre of music the most listened to in the world.
After a 32-year career, a time when government, high society and the media “they underestimated”, As the artist Efe recalled, reggaeton now has “the world at its feet” as the most supportive.
18 photos For 30 years, the “Big Boss” has been making the world happy with his music.“I take sacrifice, struggle and cultural learning worldwide. The genre made me want to visit the world, the five continents,” said Raymond Ayala, the artist’s first name, a day after the release of his latest album, “Legendaddy“.
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The album features 19 songs and collaborations with urban Puerto Rican artists such as Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro and Myke Towers, as well as Panamanian Sech and Cuban-American Pitbull and artists Natti Natasha and Becky G.
Bad Bunny, who collaborates with Daddy Yankee on the song “X last time”, is currently the most listened to artist worldwide according to digital music platforms and is considered by many to be the successor to the veteran reggaeton player.
Reggaeton has the world at your feet
“Now reggaeton has the world at their feet. I dreamed of that. Ever since I was a kid, I had this vision in my head that rhythm is cultural and a lifestyle‘ hinted Daddy Yankee, who described himself as reggaeton’s ‘maximum leader’.
“I have encountered so many obstacles in life, which has motivated me to open so many doors that were closed to me. I was always a kid who never walked, I always walked forward, with the button always on ‘drive’ (forward),” he said.
Faced with all these obstacles, he explained that “I wanted to show all these people what the genre is, reggaeton and the potential” of the musical rhythm, which according to music platforms is currently the most widespread in the world.
“Today in the sun I see these things and it fills me with emotion and pride. It is a personal gratification of what has become worldwidel,” Daddy Yankee pointed out.
“By living it from the ground up, not establishing anything and creating what hasn’t already been created, that’s very big to me,” said Daddy Yankee, a witness to music’s transition from recording to cassette tapes in the ’90s to CDs to music apps.
Top leaders from the start
When Daddy Yankee started his career, there were no music platforms, a tool that new urban artists used to download and reach their songs.monetize‘ or get money from them.
Likewise, Daddy Yankee claims to be the creator of the word reggaeton, which he included in one of the versions created by Puerto Rican music producer DJ Playero, with whom the renowned urban performer began his musical career in the public living (popular neighborhood) Villa Kennedy in Santurce ( San Juan).
And because from the early days of reggaeton to the moment he’s spent three decades staying current and being one of the most listened to urban artists, Daddy Yankee is considered the “GOAT” (The best of all time in English).
“I was from scratch as nothing existed. Name it and make it viral until you put your stamp on it with a song like “Despacito,” and in the most epic and important moments of naming a culture, Daddy Yankee was there‘ he stressed.
The song “Despacito”, performed by Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi, has a music video that eventually became the most listened to on YouTube, highlighting the urban genre as the one with the most support in the world.
He worked “day after day” on the new album
According to Daddy Yankee, he spent a year “day in and day out” on the Legendaddy album, which he said was the “best” thing he’d done apart from his other soloists like “El Cartel,” ” El Cartel: The Big Boss”, “Barrio Fino”, “Prestige” and others.
“The album defines everything on an album that’s been Daddy Yankee and my sound over the years. That’s why people were so impressed, because it has all the styles that I’ve known,” he said.
“I wanted to touch on all the fundamentals that have influenced our genre‘ presented Daddy to Yankee, who accepted that despite the fact that he’d released his last album, he’s still been recording songs as he prepares to wrap up his next world tour in August.