Daddy Yankee has run out of gasolina, announces retirement from music
The reggaetón pioneer says he'll release one last album on March 24 before quitting music
Aux News Daddy Yankee
Daddy Yankee must’ve run out of gasolina, because he’s decided to retire. The reggaetón superstar uploaded a video on Youtube titled “Al fin veo la meta/ Daddy Yankee anuncia su retiro” (that translates to “at last I see the goal/ Daddy Yankee announces his retirement”).
The video is soundtracked with intense background music sure to tug at some heartstrings. It features Yankee—whose real name is Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez—thanking his fans for supporting him throughout the years, and for turning him into the most prolific reggaetón star. He credits them with making reggaetón the biggest genre in the world (his words).
He announces that before quitting music for good (that is, unless he pulls an LCD Soundsystem), he will release an album titled Legendaddy on Thursday, March 24, that will feature “all the styles that define [him] in one album.” He also describes the forthcoming album as being about “the struggle, parties, war, and romance.” In addition to Legendaddy, he’s also embarking on one last big world tour that he promises will be his best, called La Última Vuelta (The Last Turn).
Though “Gasolina” became his biggest global hit in 2004, Yankee has been doing music for 32 years, as he says in the video. He’s remained busy, too. He hadn’t released an album since 2012's Prestige, but continued making singles, including “Problema,” that he performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Good Morning America in 2021.
He also collaborated with Katy Perry on 2019's “Con Calma,” that puts a reggaetón twist on Snow’s “Informer.” That song was inescapable on the radio, and hit number one on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart. He’s also to blame for “Despacito,” his 2017 collaboration with Luis Fonsi (Justin Bieber, who seemingly had no idea what the Puerto Rican singers were even singing, was later added to it).
12 Comments
That song was inescapable on the radioAnother reason to never listen to radio.
Excellent headline, which more than makes up for the existential dread sparked by the body of the article reminding me that “Gasolina” is approaching the age of a high-school graduate.
“Legendaddy” holy shit
Wait…who?
It’s a big world out there buddy.
If that dude’s been “doing music for 32 years” he must have started in the womb. He looks like 26.
He looks incredibly young, but he’s 45 according to google.
Yeesh. I’m 50 and he looks half my age at most.
I’m about to turn 30 and he looks my age lol
Con Calma should have been a bigger hit, and I think Katy Perry kind of sandbagged it with how lazily they performed it on American Idol.
This is probably a disclosure for my therapist, but hearing the name “Daddy Yankee” makes me inexplicably angry.
My 11th grade Spanish teacher had us listen to Gasolina in class and translated part of the song just to try to teach us bits of Spanish. …She was not a good teacher.