Raymond Ayala (born on February 3, 1976 in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico), known publicly as Daddy Yankee and sometimes El Cangri (Puerto Rican slang for a handsome, in-charge, and/or strong man), is a reggaeton singer.



Ayala's current fame comes from the hit song "Gasolina", from his 2004 album, "Barrio Fino". The album has sold over 1,000,000 copies in Puerto Rico alone and has also sold well in the United States and Europe. He has appeared on over 50 albums other than his own, including "Más Flow" and "Blin Blin Vol. 1".



Ayala is famous for recording songs in both English and Spanish, although the latter is more prominently used.



Ayala was first involved in music in the early 1990s alongside Playero DJ, a pioneer of reggaeton music. Ayala has performed with Nicky Jam, Luny Tunes, DJ Blass, DJ Eric, Eliel and with Nas at Madison Square Garden. He has also recorded with DJ Tony Touch and many others.



Ayala started his first American and Latin America reggaeton music tour on August 27th, 2005.



Daddy Yankee also sang on the 2005 MTV Music awards show together with other reggaeton artists from Puerto Rico including Don Omar and Tego Calderon.



Also in 2005, Ayala signed a contract with the American company Paramount Pictures for his first movie, which will be called "Talento de Barrio" (Barrio talent). Ayala says that although the movie is not autobiographical, it does represent the difficult lives of himself and others living on the streets of Latin America. Also, he mentioned that it is a pioneering work since there isn't any other Spanish-language movie that accurately presents life in the barrio. According to Ayala, the movie is going to be "real good". The movie is expected to première in theatres in February of 2006.



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Movies

2006 Talento De Barrio (his first feature film) (ft) Jose Roman


Discography


Albums

2000 El Cartel

2001 El Cartel II

2002 El Cangri.com

2003 Los Homerun-Es Vol. 1

2004 Barrio Fino

2005 Ahora Le Toca al Cangri Live (with DJ Nelson)


Singles

2004 "Gasolina" #43 US, #5 UK, #12 France, #27 Japan (2005 release)

2004 "Lo Que Pasó, Pasó" #3 Billboard Hot Latin Songs

2005 "Like You" #78 US

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