Los Homerun-es

Performer: Daddy Yankee
Producer: DJ Blass; DJ Urba; Eliel; Daddy Yankee
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Daddy Yankee (rap vocals); Felix "Felito Guira" Rivera (guitar, bongos); Manuel Vazquez (guitar); Erielson Lugo (bass guitar); Felix "Tamboura" Rivera (tambora). Recording information: Los Cangris Studios. Photographer: Ferdinand Rodriguez. When Daddy Yankee's BARRIO FINO broke out in a big way near the end of 2004, many assumed it was the debut for one of reggaeton's rising stars. Although Yankee spent some of his formative years in New York City, the hometown of his namesake baseball team, it wasn't until BARRIO FINO that he got wide exposure in the United States. In the wake of this success, Universal picked up his earlier release, the excellent LOS HOMERUN-ES. As he grew up amidst the NYC hip-hop scene (in fact, Nas gave him one of his earliest breaks), Daddy Yankee, not surprisingly, stresses the rap aspect of reggaeton. The infectious hook of the opening track, "Intro/Segurosqui," could fit in on a Lil Jon song (Yankee would later collaborate with the crunk king) and hints at Yankee's unrestrained live energy. Yankee exhibits a fierceness on "Flow Gangsteril," a track boasting an ever-changing background that incorporates classical and merengue, along with West Coast-rap beats. He also proves himself a proficient toaster on tracks like "No Te Canses, El Funeral," as he rolls with ease from smooth vocals to a growl. LOS HOMERUN-ES presents an energetic and innovative MC working up to the height of his powers.

Although he's neither the originator of the reggaeton style nor even the genre's first home-grown superstar, Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee was instrumental in introducing the Latin hip-hop/dancehall hybrid to a mainstream audience in the United States and abroad. Yankee (aka Raymon Ayala) began appearing on reggaeton tracks as early as 1993, but it was 2004's BARRIO FINO and its infectious single "La Gasolina" that made him a household name. He has since collaborated with up-and-coming reggaeton artists as well as hip-hop stars like Snoop Dogg and Lloyd Banks.

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