El Cartel: The Big Boss [PA]

Performer: Daddy Yankee
Producer: Scott Storch; Elvis 'Mr. G' Garcia; Aliaune Thiam; Nely Los Cangris; Egy Rodriguez; Humberto 'Humby' Viana; Santana; Jose 'Gocho' Torres; Menace; William; Raymond Ayala; Tainy; Lunytunes; Daddy Yankee; Diaz Brothers
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Yanira Torres, Ana Paula Torres, Yosef Torres, Gilda Gonzales, Wifey (vocals); Jose Ruiz (trumpet); C�sar Ayala (trombone). Additional personnel: Hector el Father, Fergie , Akon, William , Nicole Scherzinger. When 2004's BARRIO FINO became one of reggaeton's best selling albums, and one of the genre's defining documents, Daddy Yankee was elevated to iconic status. That status was helped by the release of BARRIO FINO EN DIRECTO, a set of live recordings, videos, and new singles released in 2005, but fans had to wait until 2007 for a new studio album. That wait was rewarded with EL CARTEL: THE BIG BOSS, a collection that arguably tops the now-classic BARRIO FINO in ambition and appeal. At 80 minutes and 21 tracks, EL CARTEL is a sprawling achievement, offering up no shortage of skittering, head-nodding beats, lightning-quick rhymes, and colorful, genre-twisting samples. The album features numerous collaborations with U.S. pop musicians, including Fergie, Akon, will.i.am, and others, ensuring Daddy Yankee's crossover success with English-language audiences, and broadening the artist's already widespread international appeal. Over half the album's tracks sound tailor-made for the singles chart, and its wild, danceable grooves and top-tier production throughout makes it a prime candidate for the summer party album of 2007.

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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