Now that Ramon Ayala, aka Daddy Yankee, has announced his retirement from he music business, I want to wish him all the success in the world and thank him for pointing out a path within the music business. Yankee, You deserve all the success you’ve achieved for your own good and your family. However, I wonder… What is your legacy?

You are credited with the global boom of Reggeaton, since 2004 with La Gasolina. And I do not doubt it, without you there would not be neither J. Balvin, Maluma, Bad Bunny, Anuel AA, Rauw Alejandro and although he would not want to admit it, Residente. You placed “el género” on the map. But my question for you and the audience is … What is the contribution of your music? Beyond having bailed out the Latin industry from bankruptcy, which at that time was desperately looking for sources of income, after the disappearance of the compact disc, the proliferation of piracy and the indiscriminate transfer of songs in Napster.

Your song fueled a business with a death sentence. Reggaeton was an easy and cheap sound to produce. No musicians to record instruments, no experienced producers, no prestigious arrangers and composers to pay. It was more to put a programmed track of a very intense and monotonous rhythm to some lyrics that were actually as they spoke in the street, or hamlets, that what they required was that they rhyme and had good hooks, “hooks or punch lines” and an exacerbation of the power of the alpha male, surrounded by “kittens” racing cars, yachts, motorbikes, plus size clothes and lots of bling bling. Brightness in chains, sunglasses, watches etc with grandiloquent videos in the style of The Fast and the Furious. Music that entered through the eyes, with a lot of girl, little clothes, surrounding the Chief of the Tribe, that is, you, Don Omar, Wisin & Yandel, Rakim & Ken And, in short, those of the time, back at the beginning of everything.

I was already aware of the underground movement of music made in the puertorican garages, with DJ Playero, Vico C, Big Boy, The Noise and all that. For me there was nothing new in your music. A mixture of Hip Hop, Rap, Dancehall, Dembow and electronics that had been done on the island, but also in Jamaica, Panama. But behind you was a huge advertising machine. You had it all: the attitude, the legend of having been in gangs, of having come from below, of the violence suffered in the streets, everything was part of the equation. Coming from far below kept you “Real” a term that I have never been able to understand very well. I guess it refers to staying “true to the roots” or authentic. Real is the rich and the poor, the conscious and the unconscious as well.

Reggeaton for me is the first genre created by entertainers who are businessmen. As Pitbull once said. 90 percent business and 10 percent talent. To begin with, in the songs the figure has to be repeating his name as if he were in a commercial so that they remember him.
When do you hear The Beatles, Luis Miguel or Plácido Domingo sing ‘I’m so-and-so’ in the middle of their songs? It would be ridiculous.
But then it is vital to say how great and important you are. “I am the champion” I am the most macho, the hot thing, mounted on the horse, I mean, vehicle. Phallic symbol, powerful. Self-exaltation or self-proclamation denotes lack of affection.
Music in Puerto Rico is immense. I am a fervent admirer of the Island, its people, its landscapes, its flavors, its rhythms. The bomba, the plena, with its double syncopated rhythmic pattern, delicious. Boleros, salsa, jíbaro music, all of that is pure gold. Its composers: Rafael Hernández, Tite Curet Alonso, Bobby Capó, Daniel Santos, Roy Brown, Dany RIvera, Tito Auger. Each genre has its greats. interpreters. The ballads of Ednita Nazario, Yolandita Monge, Nydia Caro, Kany García. The merengue of Olga Tañón, the salsa of El Gran Combo, La Sonora Ponceña, the pop of Ricky Martin, Chayanne, the rock of La Secta Allstar, Draco Rosa, Circo, Ignacio Peña, Vivanativa the reggae of Prophetic Culture, Gomba Jahbari, the alternative of Residente, Ilé etc.
In popular music, he stands out for his voice, in the case of Freddie Mercury, or for his dance, Michael Jackson. But you? Neither one nor the other. I know you have won hundreds of awards and sold millions of dollars. But that doesn’t make you an artist. Even songwriting awards are based on sales and airplay. What merit does that have? That’s why Bad Bunny also wins Song of the Year.
You and I ran into each other a few times at these awards, I’ve been in the industry for many years. And I want to clarify that mine is not a “tiradera” to win views. My reflection is genuine and human.
I know you do social work, you are generous with different causes.
But my goal is to bring awareness. On the one hand you promote a negative masculinity that objectifies women and on the other you support education. That’s what a lot of celebrities do. It’s like Jeff Bezos, on the one hand he creates a foundation to conserve the environment, but on the other he is the largest producer of garbage in the world with Amazon.
In your work, do you have a social conscience about the urgent issues of the world? Do you promote musical education in the new generations?
Is Latin music today in an aesthetic and spiritual better place with your songs? Or was it just business, business as usual, because the record companies don’t care. As long as they hit the end-of-the-month dues and there are bonuses for the executives it doesn’t matter what kind of shitty music comes out. It’s the same as fast food. Zero nutritional value but fills the belly.
I do not pretend to have the absolute Truth. But I know a lot of people think the same way I do about Reggeaton. Considered by the industry as the sacred cow. It’s like corrupt and ineffective governments but with which nobody messes because many families live from them.
If my ideas offend you or many, I apologize, I just want to invite healthy reflection.
I repeat, I admire your discipline, your perseverance and your ability to generate business and profits. but I expect more from someone who has dedicated his life to art. Many have achieved it and 50 years after his death they are still talked about. We’ll see what happens with you.
Many hugs,
Kike Posada

 

 

 

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Kike Posada Daddy Yankee copyright Boomonline

Kike Posada
The love for music, and the desire to be an informer brought us to the world of entertainment. We have gradually built on a mission that has been goal in life: bringing Latin music to US masses. In 1999 our editor, Kike Posada, was selected “an influential personality in the realm of music for the 21st century” by The Miami Herald. He also received the ASCAP Ampt award for his support to Latin music and the prestigious Orquidea Award as a Colombian talent. He has an extensive professional experience as a journalist, radio programmer, music critic, member of NARAS and LARAS (Grammy). BOOM created the first radio program specialized in Latin alternative music in the United States, (see Billboard magazine 11/14/93.) Posada beginnings as a journalist took place in Bogota, at the Xavier University. There, he became the official voice of the station. Then became a record label executive. Managed the international market for Universal Music (formerly Polygram) Moving to the US in 1992, joined EMI-Capitol Records as South East Coast Promoter. But his dream of publishing a magazine, came true in 1996 (BOOM), and hasn’t stopped publishing ever since.