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The moment reggaetón lovers feared has come! Latino living legend Daddy Yankee has announced his plans to retire from music. The 45-year-old rapper took to social media to share his decision. “This career has been a marathon,” Yankee says in a video. “I finally see the end goal. Now I’m going to enjoy with all of you what you’ve given me.”
Daddy Yankee informed that his retirement party would include one more album and a tour. The Latin music sensation, known for his smash hits “Gasolina,” “Con Calma,” “Despacito,” and many more, will release Legendaddy —set to be released on March 24 at 8 p.m. ET — and will kick off his La Ultima Vuelta tour on August 10 in Portland, Oregon.
“Today, I’m announcing my retirement from music by giving you my best production and my best concert tour,” Daddy Yankee said. “I will say goodbye celebrating these 32 years of experience with this new collector’s item, the album Legendaddy. I will give you all the styles that have defined me in one single album.”
Born Ramón Ayala in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Daddy Yankee began his career in the ’90s rapidly gaining popularity and later coining the word reggaeton to describe the new music genre emerging from the island and mixing English-language hip-hop, Latin Caribbean music, Jamaican reggae, and Spanish-language rapping and singing.
After releasing “Gasolina” in 2004, Yankee has sold around 30 million records, becoming one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. His album Barrio Fino also made history after becoming the top-selling Latin Music Album of the Decade (2000–2009).
His 2017 collabs song with Luis Fonsi, “Despacito,” became the first Spanish-language song to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1996. The video became the most-watched video on YouTube.
In 2017, Daddy Yankee became the most listened to artist worldwide on Spotify and his single “Con Calma” Ft. Snow” became the Top Latin Song of 2019 and Top 10 Most-Listened song globally.
To date, Daddy Yankee has won 110 awards and has secured over 300 nominations. We are not ready to say goodbye to one of the “Most Influential Hispanics,” and this upcoming Holiday season will be bittersweet indeed after we all witness his last tour, La Última Vuelta and his farewell album Legendaddy.