Daddy Yankee Is Alive

ORIGIN
Daddy Yankee is an award-winning Puerto Rican singer/songwriter, rapper, and music producer. Dubbed the “King of Reggaeton”, he’s known for songs like “Gasolina”, “Rompe” and “Despacito” with Luis Fonsi. His discography includes the studio albums Barrio Fino (2004) and El Cartel: The Big Boss (2007). Yankee was born Ramon Luis Ayala Rodriguez on February 3, 1977, in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. His parents are Rosa Rodriguez and Ramon Ayala. He has two brothers, Nomar and Melvin. Yankee holds an associate’s degree in accounting. He initially wanted to play baseball and even tried out for the Seattle Mariners. His dreams ended after he was injured in the crossfire between gangs.

CAREER
Daddy Yankee began rapping/rhyming at age 13. A couple of years later he was featured on DJ Playero’s Mixtape, Playero 37 (1992). His debut studio album, No Mercy, was released in April 1995 by White Lion Records. The production was handled by DJ Playero and Nico Canada. Yankee founded his own independent label ‘El Cartel Records’ in 1997. He followed up with the compilation albums El Cartel (1997) and El Cartel II (2001). His second full-length album, El Cangri.com, arrived in June 2002. It spawned 6 singles and peaked at #13 on the Latin Pop Albums chart. Production was handled by DJ Blass. Yankee’s third album, Barrio Fino, was released in July 2004 to commercial success. It was led by the hit single “Gasolina” which sold more than one million copies in the US alone. Other songs from the project include “Like You” and “No Me Dejes Solo” featuring Wisin & Yandel. He was named to Time magazine’s list of ‘100 most influential people who are shaping the world’ in 2006.

Yankee has worked with several record labels including Machete Music, Interscope Records, Sony Music, and Capitol Latin. His fourth album, El Cartel: The Big Boss, was released in June 2007. It charted at #9 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Billboard Top Rap Albums chart. It was supported by the singles “Impacto” and “Ella Me Levanto”. The album also featured American artists Akon, Nicole Scherzinger, will.i.am, and Fergie. Yankee’s other projects include Mundial (2010) and Prestige (2012). He was honored with the ‘Industry Leader Award’ at the 2016 Latin Billboard Awards. In 2017, he worked on the singles “La Rompe Corazones” with Ozuna, “Vuelve” with Bad Bunny, and “Boom Boom” with RedOne, French Montana, and Dinah Jane.

Yankee collaborated with Luis Fonsi on the monster hit “Despacito”, released in January 2017. The song topped charts in several countries and won multiple Latin Grammy Awards, including ‘song of the year’ and ‘record of the year’. The official video is one of the most-watched on YouTube with 4.7+ billion views and counting. Yankee is currently working on his seventh album, El Disco Duro. In addition to music, he’s acted in films Vampiros (2004) and Talento de Barrio (2008).

PERSONAL
Daddy Yankee’s height is 5ft 7in and he’s of Puerto Rican descent. His personal net worth is estimated at $40 million. He helped with the rebuilding efforts in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Yankee married ‘Mirredys Gonzalez’ in 1994. He has three children, Yamilette, Jesairis, and Jeremy. Other aspects of his personal life are kept private.

Daddy Yankee Bio, Net Worth, Height