Daddy Yankee Is Retiring After Nearly 30 Years In Music
Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee has been in the music industry for three decades. Throughout that time, he’s released beloved songs including “Rompe,” “Lo Que Pasó, Pasó,” and his ubiquitous hit “Gasolina.” But he’s ready to step back from the spotlight and pass on the torch to other reggaetón stars.
Daddy Yankee has been making music for three decades
Daddy Yankee first got his start in music in the 1990s when he was just a teenager. He released his debut album No Mercy in 1995, and in 1997, he teamed up with iconic American rapper Nas, whom Yankee had looked up to as an emcee.
In 2004, Yankee released his breakout album Barrio Fino, which contained the smash singles “Lo Que Pasó, Pasó” and “Gasolina.” Yankee quickly became one of the biggest reggaetón artists in Puerto Rico and throughout Latin America. As his profile would grow over the following decade, he would increasingly be credited as one of the pioneers of modern-day reggaetón.
Yankee continued his hot streak through the 2000s, releasing his most recent album, Prestige, in 2012.
Daddy Yankee is retiring from music
In March 2022, Yankee devastated fans around the world with the surprise announcement that his album Legendaddy — his first LP in a decade and his eighth overall — would be his last.
“If you came to my page, this is what I have to say: this career has been a marathon,” Yankee said in an Instagram post. “But at last I can see the goal.”
Yankee remained grateful throughout the video for all the love and success that he’s had throughout his career. Many artists who came after him followed in his footsteps, and his impact is undeniable.
“In the barrios where we grew up, the majority of us wanted to be drug dealers,” he said honestly. “Today I go into the caseríos and the majority want to be singers. That, to me, means a lot.”
Regarded by many as the King of Reggaetón, Daddy Yankee has often been credited with taking the sound far beyond the shores of Puerto Rico. “It was you who gave me the keys to open this genre and make it the biggest in the world.”
Daddy Yankee has influenced other reggaetón stars such as J Balvin
In the years since Daddy Yankee’s rise, reggaetón has become a part of mainstream music, branching far beyond the world of “Latin music.”
Younger artists who witnessed Yankee’s prime were inspired to become musicians in their own right, including Colombian reggaetón star J Balvin. “I was such a fan that I was copying his style, the way he moved onstage, his flows, his raps,” Balvin told The New York Times in 2016. Balvin has noted in the past that he was inspired to get into reggaetón seeing someone white like him dominating in the genre.
Other Puerto Rican stars to follow Daddy Yankee’s path over the years include Bad Bunny and Anuel AA, both of which Yankee himself has collaborated with.
