Officio Birthday Star: Daddy Yankee

 

   Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1977), known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, and was raised in the Villa Kennedy Housing Projects neighborhood^. Daddy Yankee is the artist who coined the word Reggaeton in 1994 to describe the new music genre that was emerging from Puerto Rico that synthesized hip-hop, Latin Caribbean music, and reggae rhythms with Spanish rapping and singing. He is known as the "King of Reggaetón" by music critics and fans alike.  

In 2004, Daddy Yankee released his international hit single "Gasolina", which is credited with introducing Reggaeton to audiences worldwide, and making the music genre a global phenomenon. Since then, he has sold around 20 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. 

Daddy Yankee's album Barrio Fino made history when it became the top-selling Latin music album of the decade between 2000–2009.
In 2017, Daddy Yankee, in collaboration with Latin pop singer Luis Fonsi, released the hit single "Despacito". It became the first Spanish-language song to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 since "Macarena" in 1996 and topped the chart for 16 weeks, tying with "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men as the longest-reigning number-one single in the chart's history.  The song also became the longest-reigning number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart with 52 weeks and the longest-reigning foreign language number one in the United Kingdom with 11 weeks

As of 2017, Daddy Yankee has won 82 awards from 270 nominations since his rise to international fame in 2004. He has won 5 Latin Grammy Awards, 2 Billboard Music Awards, 14 Billboard Latin Music Awards, 2 Latin American Music Awards, 8 Lo Nuestro Awards, an MTV Video Music Award and 6 ASCAP Awards. He also received a Puerto Rican Walk of Fame Star, special awards by People en Español magazine, and the Presencia Latina at Harvard University. He was named by CNN as the "Most Influential Hispanic Artist" of 2009, and included in Time 100 in 2006. 

The Puerto Rican rapper, songwriter and producer Daddy Yankee has released six studio albums, two live albums, sixty-seven singles, and one soundtrack.  His fourth studio album El Cartel: The Big Boss (2007) became his first top ten entry in the United States by peaking at number nine and earned a triple platinum (Latin) certification by the RIAA. 

During his career, Daddy Yankee hit 67 entries on the US Hot Latin Songs chart, from which six peaked at number one, 18 reached the top five, and 28 ranked within the top 10. He is the sixth artist with most top 10 singles on Hot Latin Songs, as well as the one with most entries. On the Billboard Hot 100, he charted 13 titles, including a number-one peak and five top 40 singles.

 

Courtesy: Wikipedia