Thomas Gallery: Daddy Yankee

Ramón Luis Ayala Rodriguez (February 3, 1977), known artistically as Daddy Yankee,Ramón Luis Ayala Rodriguez was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was influenced by several musicians in his family, including his father and some of his mother's relatives.During his childhood he practiced singing and focused on lyrical improvisation. Although Ayala first aspired to join the ranks of baseball’s Major Leagues, he abandoned this goal after being involved in an accident—at age seventeen, he was caught in the crossfire of a barrio gun battle and received two bullet wounds. One bullet grazed his arm and the other, from an AK-47, hit him in the right thigh and left him with a permanent limp.Following the incident, he became interested in the underground rap movement, which at the time was in an early organizational stage.He also took more interest in the events that took place in the neighborhood in which he was raised, a public housing project named Villa Kennedy.Early in his career he attempted to imitate the style of Vico C. He went on to emulate other artists in the genre, including DJ Playero, DJ Nelson, and DJ Goldy, taking elements from their styles in order to develop an original style.In doing so, he eventually abandoned the traditional model of rap and became one of the first artists to perform reggaeton.Ayala first recorded with DJ Playero as a featured artist in a production titled Playero 37, which was released in 1992.Ayala married Mireddys Gonzalez when he was seventeen years old. The couple have three children: Yamilette, Jeremy and Jesairis. Throughout his career Ayala has kept most of his personal life private, rarely speaking about it in interviews.He has said that he avoids doing so because such details are the only aspect of his life that are not public and that they are like a "little treasure".He made an exception in 2006 when he spoke about his relationship with his wife and children in an interview with María Celeste Arrarás in Al Rojo Vivo.He stated that his marriage is strong because he and his wife are "friends above anything", adding that he has tried to ignore other temptations because "weakness is the reason for the downfall of several artists."He also described his "very close" communication with his children, in which he tries to offer advice against drugs and negative influences.His first daughter was born when he was seventeen years old,which he has described as confusing at first, adding that raising a daughter at that age was a hard experience.

His first album, titled No Mercy, was produced in 1995 when Ayala was eighteen years old. The production did not sell well, and he continued his work within the genre for the rest of the decade, eventually forming a duo with Nicky Jam. One of the duo's songs, "Posición", was included in the soundtrack of One Tough Cop, a movie directed by Bruno Barreto, that was released in 1998. Beginning in 2000, Ayala began concentrating more on his solo career, releasing albums produced outside studios. The first production he released was titled El Cartel, featuring elements of the mixtape style. In 2001 El Cartel II was released, a direct sequel to the previous production, and influenced by similar genres.In 2002 El Cangri.com was released, and became the first album in Ayala's career to sell well outside Puerto Rico, mostly in the United States.The album was produced by VI Music, an independent recording studio in Puerto Rico, and was not supported by a major label.The most successful single from the album was "Latigazo", which received significant play on radio stations in New York and Miami.The album reached #43 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart.Following the release of this disc, Ayala performed at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum before 12,000 fans.The following year VI Music produced Los Homerun-es.The album became the leader in sales in Puerto Rico during a year in which several other reggaeton artists released significant productions, including Luny Tune's Mas Flow, Don Omar's The Last Don, and Tego Calderón's El Abayarde.The album's success helped Ayala receive the publicity required for a crossover to the United States market, and marked the last album he released with VI music before signing a contract with Universal.

on April 30, 2006, Ayala was named one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine, which cited the 2 million copies of Barrio Fino sold, Ayala's $20 million contract with Interscope, and his Pepsi endorsement.During this period, Ayala and William Omar Landrón (more commonly known by his artistic name Don Omar) were involved in a rivalry within the genre, dubbed "tiraera". The rivalry received significant press coverage despite being denied early on by both artists. It originated with a lyrical conflict between the artists begun by Ayala's comments in a remix single, where he criticized Landron's common usage of the nickname "King of Kings".Don Omar responded to this in a song titled "Ahora Son Mejor", part of his album Los Rompediscotecas.According to Billboard magazine, El Cartel: The Big Boss was the top-selling album among all Latin music categories in 2007. At the moment of release, the album had sold 500,000 copies in the United States and 50,000 in Mexico.In an interview, Ayala said that he was happy that his album had sold more than those of Juan Luis Guerra and Juanes, and that this was an "official proof that reggaeton's principal exponent defeated the rest of the genres".Ayala made a guest appearance in an album titled "Caribbean Connection" released on June 24, 2008. The production included participation by other Latin American artists such as Wisin & Yandel, Don Omar and Héctor Delgado, along with Jamaican musicians such as Inner Circle, Bounty Killer, Elephant Man and Wayne Wonder. In July 2008, Ayala announced that as part of his work, he would produce a cover version of Thalía's song, Ten Paciencia.

Prior to the album's release, Ayala scheduled several activities, including an in-store contract signing.On February 27, 2009, he performed at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile.In this event, the artists receive awards based on the public's reaction. After performing "Rompe", "Llamado de emergencia", "Tú me dejaste caer", "Gasolina", "Limpia parabrisas" and "Lo que pasó, pasó" over the course of two hours, Ayala received the "Silver Torch", "Gold Torch" and "Silver Seagull" recognitions.On April 24, 2009, he received the Spirit of Hope Award as part of the Latin Billboard Music Awards ceremony.The recognition is given to the artists that participate in community or social efforts throughout the year. The single "Grito Mundial" was released on October 8, 2009,in order to promote his ninth album, Mundial. Despite releasing "El Ritmo No Perdona (Prende)" more than a month before, that single was not considered the first official promotional single.