After Converting to Christianity, Daddy Yankee Lays Out His Plan to ‘Revolutionize and Reinvent’ Pop Culture

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At immoderate constituent during the past turbulent months, arsenic helium searched for intent and faced the pressures of a precise nationalist divorcement that engulfed some his idiosyncratic and nonrecreational life, the euphony stopped for Raymond Ayala.

“For the archetypal clip successful my life, the muse unopen down,” says the antheral agelong known arsenic Daddy Yankee. “That had ne'er happened to maine before. Ever.”

It wasn’t expected to beryllium similar this. In 2022, Daddy Yankee — that uncommon creator who has garnered some immense commercialized occurrence and respect from artists and the manufacture alike — amazed the satellite erstwhile helium announced his status from music. He released what was expected to beryllium his past workplace album, Legendaddy, and performed what was acceptable to beryllium his past tour, grossing $197.8 million and selling 1.9 million tickets, past the second-highest-grossing Latin circuit successful Billboard Boxscore history. But Ayala was spent.

Then, connected Dec. 3, 2023, astatine the tour’s last day astatine Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot successful San Juan, helium made yet different shocking revelation: “Tonight, I recognize, and I’m not ashamed to archer the full world, that Jesus lives successful maine and I unrecorded for him,” helium told the 15,000 fans that packed his hometown venue. “A communicative ends and a caller communicative begins.”

Daddy Yankee volition beryllium for his archetypal nationalist interrogation successful 3 years connected Oct. 22 arsenic portion of Billboard Latin Music Week. For tickets, spell to billboardlatinmusicweek.com.

Ayala instantly started spreading the connection of the Lord, successful euphony and successful deed. He released songs brimming with positivity, traveled connected missions to Africa, made impromptu appearances successful churches successful Puerto Rico and different Latin countries and saw firsthand the absorption to his caller marque of “music with a purpose,” culminating with a Latin Grammy triumph for champion municipality opus for “Bonita” (Pretty), a non-album azygous released successful 2023.

But successful December 2024, Ayala’s woman of astir 30 years filed for divorce, and an initially amicable divided turned sour amid a spate of ineligible disputes implicit his galore businesses and assets, including his past catalog negotiations. Making euphony became adjacent much difficult.

“But it was portion of the process to get astatine a full dependency connected God,” Ayala present says. “He said, ‘Even if your muse is gone, remember, I americium your muse. I americium your inspiration.’ Today, I’m making euphony and I’m gathering a caller catalog.”

I’m chatting with Ayala successful a backstage eating country astatine a Brooklyn edifice — his archetypal interrogation with the property since helium announced his conversion to Christianity — implicit beverage and fruit. He is 49 years old, but his trim physique (later, he’ll spell to the gym with pal J Balvin) and youthful, unlined look show nary of the travails of an creator who grew up successful Puerto Rico’s lodging projects and whose euphony vocation was jump-started by a gunshot to the limb that ended a promising shot run.

As Daddy Yankee, Ayala is wide recognized arsenic the antheral who catapulted reggaetón from underground genre to planetary movement, successful ample portion acknowledgment to his 2004 smash, “Gasolina,” and the relentless drawstring of planetary hits that followed. Today, helium has 105 entries — including 7 No. 1s — connected the Hot Latin Songs chart, among them “Despacito” alongside Luis Fonsi and his astir recent, “Sonríele” (Smile), which is presently charting. At the clip of publication, Daddy Yankee was the No. 37 astir listened-to creator connected Spotify contempt the information that helium has released lone a fewer singles successful the past 2 years.

That is simply a testament to the powerfulness of the sanction and the man. “Without Daddy Yankee, determination would beryllium nary J Balvin,” Balvin says. “He was, and continues to be, the root of inspiration that has truthful propelled maine to elevate municipality euphony to a planetary level.”