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Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (Latin American Spanish: [raˈmon lwis aˈʝala roˈðɾiɣes]; born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee (Spanish: [ˈdaði ˈʝaŋki]), is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and songwriter. Dubbed the "King of Reggaeton" and "Godfather of Reggaeton" he is often cited as an influence by other Hispanic urban performers.

Daddy Yankee aspired to become a professional baseball player, but following a shooting incident, he instead pursued a music career. In 1995, he independently released his debut studio album No Mercy. His follow-up, El Cangri.com (2002), was successful in the US. His next studio album, Barrio Fino (2004), became the top-selling Latin music album of the decade of the 2000s. Its most successful single "Gasolina", was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Record of the Year. "Gasolina" has been credited with introducing reggaeton to audiences worldwide, and making the music genre a global phenomenon. His next album, El Cartel: The Big Boss (2007), peaked within the top 10 in the Billboard 200.

In 2017, he collaborated with the Latin pop singer Luis Fonsi on the single "Despacito", which became the first Spanish-language song to top the Billboard Hot 100 since "Macarena", in 1996. Its accompanying music video was the most-viewed video on YouTube from August 2017 to November 2020, and is the most liked music video on the platform. Its success led Daddy Yankee to become the most-listened artist worldwide on the streaming service Spotify in June 2017, the first Latin artist to do so. Following the release of his seventh studio album, Legendaddy, and its supporting tour, he announced his retirement from music. Although he concluded his final stage performance on the La Meta tour in Puerto Rico on December 3, 2023, he later returned to music with the release of Lamento en Baile in 2025.

Daddy Yankee is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time, having sold over 30 million records worldwide. His accolades include five Latin Grammy Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, 14 Billboard Latin Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, eight Lo Nuestro Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, and six ASCAP Awards. He also received a Puerto Rican Walk of Fame star, special awards by People en Español magazine, and the Presencia Latina at Harvard University. He was named by CNN as the "Most Influential Hispanic Artist" of 2009, and included in Time 100 in 2006.

Early life

Ayala was born in the Río Piedras district of San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Rosa Rodríguez and Ramón Ayala, who is a salsa percussion player. He was raised in the Villa Kennedy Housing Projects neighborhood. He aspired to become a professional baseball player and tried out for the Seattle Mariners of the Major League Baseball (MLB). Before he could be officially signed, he was hit by a stray round from an AK-47 rifle while taking a break from a studio recording session with reggaeton artist DJ Playero. Ayala spent over a year recovering from the wound, but the bullet was never removed from his hip. He later credited the shooting incident with allowing him to focus entirely on a music career.