50 Fun Facts About Daddy Yankee

Which children's song overtook Despacito, featuring Daddy Yankee, as the most-viewed video on YouTube in November 2020?

Baby Shark by Pinkfong took the crown after Despacito had held it for more than three years. The Puerto Rican hit had itself been the first clip on the site to pass seven billion views.

Which Canadian pop star first sang in Spanish on a 2017 remix of Daddy Yankee's Despacito?

Justin Bieber asked to join after hearing the song in a Colombian nightclub on tour, and recorded his part in Bogotá. A local musician coached him through the Spanish r sounds.

Daddy Yankee voiced the DJ of the reggaeton radio station San Juan Sounds in which 2008 video game?

Grand Theft Auto IV cast him as the Spanglish-speaking host of its Latin station, which played his own single Impacto. The playlist was filled with fellow Puerto Rican acts.

Before a stray bullet ended his sporting hopes, a teenage Daddy Yankee tried out for which Major League Baseball team?

The Seattle Mariners never got to sign him, because he was hit by a stray AK-47 round while on a break from a recording session. He spent more than a year recovering and turned to music for good.

Daddy Yankee's 2012 chart-topper Limbo was written specially for which dance-fitness brand?

Zumba Fitness had the song written for it, a sign of the brand's pull in Latin music, and Limbo went to number one on Billboard's Latin Songs chart. The video was filmed at an Otomí ceremonial centre in Mexico.

Which Puerto Rican pop singer recorded Despacito with Daddy Yankee, the 2017 hit that topped charts in 47 countries?

Luis Fonsi wrote the lyrics at his Miami home in late 2015, wanting a song with swing after two years without new music. It became the first Latin single certified Diamond in the United States.

Which ring announcer voices the intro of Daddy Yankee's album Legendaddy, hailing him as an undefeated champion?

Michael Buffer, the voice of countless title fights, introduces the rapper as a heavyweight with an unbeaten run of 32 years. The spoken intro lasts 48 seconds.

Which American pop star joined Daddy Yankee on a remix of his hit Con Calma released in April 2019?

Katy Perry recorded all her vocals in a single night in Los Angeles, where the producers had flown in from Miami. She and the rapper later performed the remix at the American Idol finale.

The cover of Daddy Yankee's 2022 album Legendaddy shows the wounded, golden-horned head of which animal?

Goat doubles as an acronym the rapper often applies to himself, short for greatest of all time. The bloodstained animal on the sleeve was read as a symbol of experience and resistance.

Despacito, featuring Daddy Yankee, was the first Spanish-language Hot 100 number one since which 1996 chart-topper?

Macarena by Los del Río had been the last, 21 years earlier. Despacito then stayed on top for 16 weeks, tying the longest reign the chart had seen.

Daddy Yankee earned his first US Dance Club Songs number one with Made for Now, a 2018 duet with which singer?

Janet Jackson released the song as her first single in two years, and it became her 20th chart-topper on that list. She performed it on The Tonight Show and at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

In 2017 Despacito made Daddy Yankee the first Latin artist to rank as the most-listened act worldwide on which service?

Spotify listeners pushed him to number one on the back of the song and its remix. He ended 2017 as the platform's sixth most-streamed artist.

Daddy Yankee signed in 2005 with which sportswear brand, which launched his DY clothing line the following year?

Reebok followed the clothes with his own shoes and sporting goods, then a Travel Trainer collection in 2007. The deal was signed a year after his breakthrough album.

Which soft drink's 2007 campaign Puertas showed Daddy Yankee returning to his youth through a series of doors?

Pepsi had signed him after his breakthrough album, one of several promotional deals its success brought. The company also backed a recycling drive he fronted in schools across Puerto Rico.

Which magazine named Daddy Yankee one of the world's 100 most influential people in 2006, citing his album sales?

Time pointed to two million copies of Barrio Fino, a $20 million label contract and a soft drink endorsement. He made the list less than two years after the album came out.

Which Puerto Rican star teamed with Daddy Yankee on the Latin trap single Vuelve, years before guesting on Legendaddy?

Bad Bunny co-wrote the dark break-up song, which reached number 11 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart. It was meant for an album the older rapper never released.

Which longtime rival joined Daddy Yankee for The Kingdom Tour, staged like a boxing match with fans voting for a winner?

Don Omar had spent a decade disputing the King of Reggaeton title with him, and the two traded musical rounds on stage. A planned run of 60 dates ended after only nine concerts.

Daddy Yankee executive-produced Neon, a series about friends chasing reggaeton stardom in Miami, for which streamer?

Netflix premiered the show in 2023, and he also turned up on screen in a cameo. The story follows three friends who leave a small Florida town to make it big.

China, the 2019 hit by Anuel AA, Daddy Yankee and Karol G, samples which Shaggy song from 2000?

It Wasn't Me supplied the hook for a song about being caught cheating at a nightclub, produced by Tainy. Its video has passed two billion views on YouTube.

Con Calma, Daddy Yankee's chart-topper in 20 countries, reworks which 1992 hit with vocals from its original singer?

Informer was a favourite of his growing up, so he insisted that Canadian rapper Snow appear on the remake. It handed Snow his first entry on Canada's own Hot 100.

Which West Coast rapper joined Daddy Yankee on Gangsta Zone, a single from the live album Barrio Fino en Directo?

Snoop Dogg shared the track, whose black-and-white video was shot around a public housing project in Carolina, Puerto Rico. His host said it showed the real way people live on the island.

Daddy Yankee shared the rap verses of Somos El Mundo, the 2010 charity single for Haiti, with which Miami rapper?

Pitbull, Taboo and he supplied the rap section of the Spanish-language remake of We Are the World, adapted by Emilio and Gloria Estefan. All proceeds went to earthquake relief.

After which 2017 hurricane did Daddy Yankee donate $100,000 to the Food Bank of Puerto Rico?

Maria devastated the island that September, and his gift paid for food for roughly 9,000 families.

Daddy Yankee won Silver and Golden Torches and Seagulls at the Viña del Mar song festival, held in which country?

Chile hosts the festival, where prizes are handed out according to the crowd's reaction. He collected all four trophies before a sold-out audience in 2013.

Which pop singer joined Daddy Yankee on the remix of Impacto, lead single from El Cartel: The Big Boss?

Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas recorded her part in April 2007, in the album's final session. Hip-hop hitmaker Scott Storch produced the track.

Which US institution chose Daddy Yankee's Gasolina in 2023 for preservation in its National Recording Registry?

The Library of Congress picked the song as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. A year earlier Rolling Stone had ranked it first among the 100 greatest reggaeton songs.

Daddy Yankee's father played percussion in which genre, which his son later fused with reggaeton on Sabor a Melao?

Salsa was the music he grew up loving, so he brought in veteran singer Andy Montañez for the Barrio Fino track. A full remix in that style followed on the album's bonus edition.

Which reggaeton singer formed the duo Los Cangris with Daddy Yankee, fell out with him in 2004 and later reconciled?

Nicky Jam had idolised him, and the split was followed by years of personal and professional struggle. They apologised to each other after meeting by chance on a flight.

In 2008 Daddy Yankee bought a share of the Criollos de Caguas, a Puerto Rican professional team in which sport?

Basketball's top Puerto Rican league, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, staged the press conference where he announced the purchase that February.

Which university's student group named Daddy Yankee Latino of the Year in 2008 for his work with young prisoners?

Harvard's Presencia Latina honoured him for founding Corazón Guerrero, a charity for young people in prison. By coincidence, the producers of his breakthrough single once worked in a dining hall there.

Which US presidential candidate did Daddy Yankee endorse in 2008, calling him a fighter for the Hispanic community?

John McCain, the Republican nominee, received his backing that August. Weeks later the rapper moderated a televised debate in a campaign to get young Puerto Ricans voting.

Which Puerto Rican duo ended years of rivalry with Daddy Yankee in 2012 and later joined him on a remix of Limbo?

Wisin & Yandel first welcomed him onto a remix of their own song Hipnotízame, six years after the three had last recorded together. In 2013 they shared stages in Puerto Rico and Colombia.

Which Dominican production duo behind the Mas Flow albums produced Daddy Yankee's breakthrough single Gasolina?

Luny Tunes, the pairing of Francisco Saldaña and Víctor Cabrera, were based in Massachusetts before their run of reggaeton hits.

Which Daddy Yankee single, promoted with an Instagram dance challenge, won him the Latin Grammy for Best Urban Song?

Dura borrowed its look and sound from the 1990s, and the challenge inspired more than 82,000 fan videos in under two months.

Which Daddy Yankee hit began as an improvised freestyle and went viral from a 16-second preview before its release?

Shaky Shaky had its vocals recorded in one take, yet it became his fourth number one on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart. Its bass line borrows from a 1992 dancehall single by Chaka Demus & Pliers.

Which American bachata star joined Daddy Yankee on the single Ven Conmigo, a top-ten hit on Billboard's Latin chart?

Prince Royce also sang on an English version called Come With Me, and the original was named Urban Song of the Year at the 2012 ASCAP Awards.

The Despacito video shows Daddy Yankee performing in which seaside neighbourhood of Old San Juan, later a tourist draw?

La Perla and a nearby bar, La Factoría, both drew fresh interest from tour operators after the clip, which was filmed in December 2016.

Gasolina by Daddy Yankee was the first reggaeton song nominated in which major category at the Latin Grammy Awards?

Record of the Year had never had a reggaeton nominee before, and the single climbed to number 32 on the US Hot 100.

Daddy Yankee's 2014 single Ora por Mí, which he called his most personal song, uses music by which German rock band?

Scorpions wrote the ballad Send Me an Angel, whose instrumental runs beneath his verses about the dark side of fame. The video was filmed at locations around San Juan.

Daddy Yankee's Gasolina video was shot at a racetrack and in the colonial quarter of which Caribbean capital?

Santo Domingo hosted the shoot in August 2004, weeks after the album came out, at the Las Américas circuit and in the Zona Colonial. The clip was unveiled on MTV's Total Request Live.

Daddy Yankee played Edgar Dinero in which 2008 film, which he also produced and based on his own youth?

Talento de Barrio broke the single-day ticket record for a Puerto Rican film at Caribbean Cinemas, previously held by Maldeamores. It was shot largely in a marginalised community in Caguas.

Recordings for which Daddy Yankee album were lost when Hurricane Irene hit Puerto Rico in 2011, delaying its release?

Prestige finally came out in September 2012, after the lost songs had been recorded again. It still opened at number one on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart.

Which Daddy Yankee tour sold about 1.9 million tickets in 2022 and grossed more than $200 million?

La Última Vuelta was billed as his farewell and closed in Miami that December. A hometown finale planned for a baseball stadium was cancelled and restaged in an arena under the name La Meta.

Daddy Yankee reached number 12 on the Hot 100 as a guest on Oye Mi Canto by which New York rapper?

N.O.R.E. made the song to represent his Latin side, and its chart peak was a high for reggaeton back then. Tego Calderón rapped on an earlier version before the video swap.

Which Daddy Yankee single led Billboard's Hot Latin chart for 13 straight weeks and gained a remix with G-Unit rappers?

Rompe also climbed to number 24 on the Hot 100, and its remix brought in Lloyd Banks and Young Buck. The video was one of the few reggaeton clips in heavy rotation on MTV.

The title of Daddy Yankee's 2025 comeback album Lamento en Baile is taken from a verse in which book of the Bible?

Psalms supplied the verse about mourning turned into dancing, which the title translates. He made the record after telling fans at his farewell shows that he had become a Christian.

Whose underground mixtapes, banned in Puerto Rico for explicit lyrics, featured a teenage Daddy Yankee in the 1990s?

DJ Playero recorded the landmark Playero 37 in a week at his home in Villa Kennedy, the same housing project where the young rapper grew up. Those tapes rank among the earliest reggaeton recordings.

Daddy Yankee's 2008 single Llamado de Emergencia fuses reggaeton with which Colombian music style?

Vallenato shaped the song as he set out to experiment with different Latin styles. In its video, a fatal car crash turns out to be a dream.

Daddy Yankee's 2007 single Ella Me Levantó blends reggaeton with which Dominican dance music?

Merengue met reggaeton in a hybrid known as merenguetón, and the single climbed to number two on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks chart. He performed it at the Latin Grammy Awards that year.

Which New York rapper, an early inspiration, did Daddy Yankee join on the 1997 track The Profecy?

Nas shared the track on the compilation Boricua Guerrero, seven years before the Puerto Rican's own mainstream breakthrough.