Ramon "Raymond" Ayala (born on February 3, 1977 in Rio Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico), known publicly as Daddy Yankee, is a highly successful Puerto Rican reggaeton recording artist. He is sometimes referred to as El Cangri (shortened form of Cangrim??n, which in turn is a corruption of the English word congressman, and used in Puerto Rico to describe a brazenly powerful or influential person in the neighborhood). Ayala is famous for recording songs in both English and Spanish, although the latter is more prominently used.

Ayala first became involved in recording music in the early 1990s alongside DJ Playero, a pioneer of reggaeton music. He rapped as a hobby, in private parties organized by friends in his neighborhood, the Villa Kennedy housing project in San Juan. At the time he was also involved in some minor illegal activities. Read more about ...