Reggaeton
Indie music giant Concord said on Friday it has acquired parts of the music publishing and recorded music catalog of reggaetón superstar Daddy Yankee.
The deal encompasses certain rights to Daddy Yankee songs including “Con Calma,” his rights as a featured artist on “Despacito” and “Gasolina,” whose “unforgettable hook” and “revolutionary” beat landed it in Billboard’s Top 50 Latin songs of all time. The deal also includes certain name, image and likeness rights, according to a press release from Concord.
Concord declined to comment on price. However, earlier this month in a KBRA report about Concord’s asset backed security, the bond rating agency wrote that Concord acquired the catalog of “a highly successful Latin Music artist and songwriter” in 2024 and that those works were valued at $217.3 million.
Trending on Billboard
How much does Daddy Yankee stand to benefit from the deal? The Latin hitmaker, whose Barrio Fino was the first reggaetón album to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart in 2004, sold this portion of his catalog several years ago to a fund that asked not to be named. That fund sold the assets to Concord, so the artist will not get a cut of this sale of his works.
But Billboard reported in July that Daddy Yankee still owns part of his publishing catalog, which is administered worldwide by Sony Music Publishing and partly by Spirit Music in the United States. From 2021 to 2023, Daddy Yankee’s works averaged 375,333 album consumption units, with 346,000 album consumption units so far this year, according to Luminate.
CRAZY FOR CATALOGS
Catalogs are an important revenue driver for Concord, and the company’s CEO Bob Valentine said this week that through various marketing, distribution, film and commercial licensing agreements, the company regularly generates 5-15% more revenue from the assets it acquires than the prior owner.
“We can then create value for the artist, for our shareholders, for our debt holders, for our pension holders—all the people who are somehow invested in that effort,” Valentine said, speaking at the Mondo.NYC conference in Brooklyn. “The two things we talk about [with artists] is how are we going to protect your legacy and how are we going to make it live.”
Concord’s ownership — the Michigan State Retirement Systems own 93% — and how it has recently financed acquisitions, through asset backed securities, make it a uniquely long-term focused catalog acquirer that aims to hold these assets for 30-40 years.
The company also employs around 750 people worldwide, and it operates a label, music publishing division and one of the most significant theatrical companies with the catalogs of Rodgers & Hammerstein Theatricals, The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, and more.
However in some circles, Concord is better known for the 1.3 million songs it has acquired, including some of its biggest money-making assets like John Fogerty’s Credence Clearwater Revival publishing catalog and Phil Collins’ rights to Genesis songs.
Speaking at the Mondo.NYC conference, Concord described these works “as music and genres that fit so perfectly with an era that to own them … means you own that segment of someone’s nostalgia.” Anyone who ever makes a movie about the Vietnam War will likely call Concord to license CCR’s songs, Valentine says.
But Concord also owns the Latin label Fania Records and Mexican record label Musart Records, and several of the Latin artists it represents through its publishing division were nominated for Latin Grammy’s this year: Daymé Arocena’s nomination for Song of the Year for “A Fuego Lento,” writers Julian Bernal and Sammy Soso’s nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album for Orquídeas performed by Kali Uchis, and Camilo Lara’s nomination for Best Cumbia/Vallenato Album for Se Agradece performed by Los Ángeles Azules.
CALL HIM DADDY
Daddy Yankee’s catalog will be managed out of Concord’s recently expanded Miami office, the company said.
“Since he burst onto the scene, Daddy Yankee has been at the forefront of not only reggaeton, but pop music generally,” Valentine said in a statement. “We were incredibly excited by this opportunity to work alongside Daddy Yankee to continue building on his remarkable legacy and significance. His real and lasting cultural impact is clear, and Concord is thrilled to be a part of his story.”
Concord financed the acquisition of Daddy Yankee’s works by issuing a third round of asset backed security notes that were priced this week that bring its total ABS to $2.6 billion. Daddy Yankee’s catalog will be contributed to the ABS’s collateral pool, according to the KBRA report. Concord has used previous ABS notes to acquire Round Hill Music Royalty Fund in 2023 and Mojo Music and Media in 2022.
This type of financing makes sense for Concord because of its scale — which exceeds most banks’ normal financing abilities — and because it affords them a fixed, low interest rate.
“The benefit of an ABS market is we take out a loan and the interest rate is fixed for 5 years,” Valentine said. “It doesn’t change. Suddenly you’re financing with these fixed rates of return that are lower because of our scale and that changes the dynamic of the valuation pretty dramatically.”
This is part of a new column Billboard is launching in which we will unpack one financial issue a week for an artist in the news. Thanks for reading, and if you have suggestions or tips, email me at ediltsmarshall@billboard.com.
When today’s reggaetón stars refer to the genre’s OGs, names like Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Wisin and Yandel always come up. During Latin Music Week, Yandel will star on his own panel, which, like his upcoming album (out Oct. 10 on Warner Music Latin), is titled Elyte and will feature new and legendary reggaetón names across 19 tracks.
At 47 years old — and now on his 11th solo set — Yandel is not only comfortable in his role as a solo act, but also as a leader and mentor to a new generation and a bridge between reggaetón’s past and future.
What does being a reggaetón OG mean to you?
Trending on Billboard
I feel blessed to be here and still be relevant. It’s any artist’s dream. I’m a real OG, a real musical gangster. I know how to traffic my music and lead my business. It’s been 25 years of killing it. I’m someone who respects new generations and collaborates with new artists. I think that’s what keeps me relevant.
How do you see reggaetón today versus 20 years ago?
The evolution of reggaetón has been a complex process, both musically and culturally. Reggaetón came up in the ’90s as a mix of reggae in Spanish, dancehall and hip-hop. In its beginnings, it was cruder, born from the parties and experiences in the streets of Puerto Rico. It has adapted, and in recent years it has integrated other genres like pop, trap, electronica and smoother rhythms like pop and ballads, which have allowed it to be more versatile and accessible to a global audience. It’s gone from being a marginalized genre to dominating global charts.
What’s your role in the genre today?
I’ll continue to explore different sounds, but keep faithful to reggaetón while incorporating trap, pop and dembow. On Elyte, I’ll display a versatility that maybe wasn’t there last year. And I’ll continue to grow on the business side, continue to be relevant and a bridge between classic and modern reggaetón. You know, keep being a legend. Captain Yandel.
This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Two decades ago, while hip-hop maintained its cultural dominance, reggaetón began to carve out a niche in the global music scene, and Fat Joe — deeply connected to his Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage and known for his unmistakable New York swagger — bridged the two genres. As both have evolved, so has he: His involvement in Don Omar’s 2005 “Reggaetón Latino (Chosen Few Remix),” alongside N.O.R.E. and LDA, marked a pivotal moment in bringing reggaetón and rap closer together.
Since then, he has consistently fused Latin influences with hip-hop, from his 2019 salsa-infused track “Yes” with Cardi B and Anuel AA (which samples Héctor Lavoe and Willie Colón’s “Aguanile”) to the more recent single “Paradise” with Anitta and DJ Khaled. Fat Joe spoke with Billboard ahead of his conversation with N.O.R.E. during Latin Music Week about the intersection of hip-hop and reggaetón.
Trending on Billboard
How has your Latin heritage influenced your music?
Man, I just love making music for everybody. But every time we can tap the Latino market — because I’m Puerto Rican and Cuban, my wife’s Colombian — we do it for everybody. And you know, nobody knows how to celebrate like Latinos. It’s about time we teamed up with Anitta from Brazil and then DJ Khaled [with “Paradise,” which premiered at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards] and make a Latino national anthem.
Since “Reggaetón Latino,” how have you seen the relationship between these two styles evolve?
I’m just proud of reggaetón and everywhere [those artists have] gone because when we started out, they were the little guys. Now they’re killing the whole game — Don Omar, Tego Calderón, Daddy Yankee, Wisin & Yandel, all the guys who pioneered the game and brought it over to America and then the world.
In your view, how have hip-hop and reggaetón supported or influenced each other’s wider cultural acceptance over the years?
Hip-hop is the blueprint. It’s the foundation of everything. Reggaetón came after and just took it to another level in the Latino space and the global space. Even people who aren’t Latinos love reggaetón, but hip-hop is always the blueprint. It started everything when you talk about the flow, the music, the fashion… It just runs neck and neck.
This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Tony Dize has inked a record deal with Rimas Music, and will make his highly-awaited comeback with new music, Billboard can exclusively announce today (Sept. 24). With a trajectory that spans over 20 years, the Puerto Rican artist born Tony Feliciano Rivera gained popularity as “La Melodía de la Calle” (the melody of the streets) thanks to his smooth vocals that backed his signature romantic reggaetón sound.
Rimas — home to Bad Bunny, Arcángel, and Eladio Carrión, to name a few — will not only “revive his classic reggaeton sound but also propel his music into the future, pushing the boundaries of Latin music,” according to a press release.
“This is a very important moment for Rimas and for Tony Dize,” said Junior Carabaño, co-founder of Rimas, in a statement. “Tony’s signing is a testament to our ongoing mission to work with artists who have not only shaped the culture but continue to drive it forward. Over the past year, we’ve been committed to making this partnership a reality, and it’s an honor that Tony has trusted us for this new chapter in his career. Together, we aim to take his timeless sound to new heights and reach even broader audiences worldwide. We can’t wait to make history together.”
Trending on Billboard
On the Billboard charts, Tony secured nine entries on the Hot Latin Songs chart including “El Doctorado” at No. 8 in 2010. The song also reached No. 1 on Latin Rhythm Airplay for two weeks that same year. In 2014, he peaked at No. 2 on the latter chart with “Prometo Olvidarte.”
He additionally secured his first and only entry on the Billboard 200 chart with his debut album, La Melodía de la Calle, in 2008. He reached No. 1 on Latin Rhythm Albums in 2009 with La Melodía de La Calle (Updated); and in 2015, his set La Melodía de La Calle, 3rd Season, debuted at No. 1 on both Top Latin Albums and Latin Rhythm Albums charts.
Most recently, he was a featured artist on Bad Bunny’s “La Corriente,” part of his Una Verano Sin Ti album. The infectious collab earned Dize his only entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2022, and on both Global charts: No. 17 on the Billboard Global 200 and No. 20 on the Global Excl. U.S.
On the heels of the signing, the “Permitame” singer will release his new single “Quisiera,” accompanied by a conceptual video directed by Nuno Gomes.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty
Clearly Donald Trump isn’t tapped into Reggaeton culture. During a rally he referred to Nicky Jam as a “hot” woman.
As spotted on Raw Story, the presidential nominee is trying his best to gather support from the Latino community. On Friday, Sept. 13, he hosted a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the World Market Center. The politician announced that the “Baby” singer would be endorsing him but made it clear he had no idea who he was. “Do you know Nicky?” he asked rhetorically. “She’s hot,” he added asking “Where’s Nicky?” as he looked for the star to join him at the podium. Upon walking up Donald Trump realized he is not a she and said, “Oh, look, I’m glad he came up.”
The moment was super awkward, but Nicky Jam still tried to make the best out of the situation. “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. President. People that come from where I come from, they don’t meet the president. So I’m lucky,” he said. “We need you. We need you back, right? We need you to be the president.” As expected the clip soon went viral, and Nicky Jam was faced with incessant ridicule online. “Trump thought you were a girl! He didn’t even take the time to look you up, and you’re here kissing his toes,” one user wrote.
He tried to make fun of the moment with an Instagram post where he referred to himself as a “hot” woman and several laughing emojis in the caption. It seems the joke was no longer funny to him as Nicky has since deleted this post and his endorsement of Donald Trump for president. You can view the rally footage below.
Over his nearly 20-year career, Arcángel has become one of reggaetón’s most influential and enduring artists, landing 10 No. 1s on the Billboard charts and collaborating with superstars like Daddy Yankee, Romeo Santos and Bad Bunny. So it came as something of a shock when, in an interview with the famed Puerto Rican radio host Molusco late last year, he called the genre “musically poor.”
“If we compare it to any other genre, it’s much more complex to make another genre than to make reggaetón,” Arcángel tells Billboard today, explaining his controversial comments. “We don’t need a real instrument. It’s not the same where musicians are needed and you must know how to write real music. I am not criticizing it; I am just telling you the truth.”
But as he looks forward to a year packed with potential new projects — a new album, a book and a docuseries are all on the table — he readily admits that it’s reggaetón, uniquely, that got him here: “This genre has made me rich. I don’t think that another genre would have given me everything that I have today.”
Trending on Billboard
Growing up, the artist born Austin Agustín Santos lived in New York with his father and Puerto Rico with his mother, Carmen Rosa Santos, who was once a member of the all-girl merengue group Las Chicas del Can. Music surrounded him, including the emerging reggaetón scene of the ’90s, even if he says that the burgeoning genre wasn’t his favorite — at least, until one CD changed his mind.
“When I was still in school, they gave me a CD called Planet Reggae, and when I heard Tego Calderón, I fell in love with urban music from Puerto Rico,” the 38-year-old says. “That’s when I thought, ‘Wow, I like this. I respect this. This is the future,’ and it motivated me to move to Puerto Rico and want to sing reggaetón.”
Arcángel finished high school and only had one job — dressing up as Elmo to entertain pediatric cancer patients at a local hospital — before he dedicated himself to music. In 2004, he formed the underground duo Arcángel & De la Ghetto and signed with Baby Records (owned by Puerto Rican artist Zion of Zion & Lennox). Two years later, he launched his own label, Flow Factory, where he released his debut solo studio album, El Fenómeno, in 2008 after going solo the year prior. (He and De la Ghetto, now a star in his own right, remain friendly and appeared together on Bad Bunny’s “Acho PR” in October of last year.) Today, he credits el bajo mundo (the streets) for jump-starting his career.
“I didn’t invest any money in music. I gave my music away for free at first. I put it on Myspace,” he explains. “I’m a guy who came from the streets, and I didn’t make commercial music. I don’t owe my success or my status to radio impact.”
But while he downplays the importance of record sales and radio airplay (“When I sing in front of thousands of people, and thousands of people repeat my lyrics, that’s much more powerful”), such success did soon come. Arcángel scored his first Billboard hit in 2006 with his feature on Jowell & Randy’s “Agresivo,” which peaked at No. 27 on the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart. But the song that really changed his career, he says, was his romantic 2008 track “Por Amar a Ciegas,” co-produced by Luny Tunes, Tainy and Noriega.
“I was already popular in the urban scene, but that song gave me a respect that went beyond just being a reggaetón singer or rapper,” he says. “It made a lot of people, not [just] fans of urban music, listen to me.”
[embedded content]
Slim and small in stature but with a powerful, raspy voice, Arcángel is perhaps best known for his strong-willed personality and unapologetic self-confidence — qualities that have both helped and hurt him over his career.
In 2012, he signed a record and management deal with producer Rafael “Raphy” Pina’s Pina Records, where he was co-managed by Pina and Omar “Omi” Rivera (the latter, founder of Omi Management, still manages him). While there, he released Sentimiento, Elegancia y Maldad, which conquered the Top Latin Albums chart in 2013 — still his only No. 1 album — and became his first entry on the Billboard 200.
But in 2018, Arcángel parted ways with Pina due to personal issues, negotiating himself out of his longtime contract. His career stagnated for a year — until he signed a deal with the then-emerging label Rimas Entertainment in 2019.
“We had two options: We go with a traditional major label, or we try it out with [Rimas’] Noah Assad and Jonathan ‘Jomy’ Miranda, who are visionaries, who are modern, who are creative,” Rivera says. “Besides, the era of physical was also changing to digital, and they had a lot of knowledge in that area. It was a risky decision at that time because it involved money, but on the other hand it gave us peace of mind because we knew that they would adapt to what we wanted to present in the project.”
Rimas helped Arcángel get back on track, including with a pair of No. 3-peaking singles on Hot Latin Songs: 2019’s “Sigues con Él” with Sech and 2022’s “La Jumpa” with Bad Bunny. He’s now released five studio albums with the label, including Sr. Santos — a tribute to his late brother Justin Santos, who died at age 21 in a 2021 car accident — which debuted at No. 3 on Top Latin Albums in 2022. He’s also become a major supporter of Latin music’s next-gen stars, teaming up with Feid, Peso Pluma, Bizarrap, Eladio Carrión, Young Miko, Grupo Frontera and more.
But huge hits and vibrant collaborations alone aren’t what’s kept Arcángel relevant for this long.
“Arca took risks at very crucial stages of the movement,” Rivera says. “He’s very peculiar and unique. He’s not afraid to speak his heart out. This whole industry is so complicated because you must please so many people, but by being himself, he has been able to earn the respect he has today.”
“I’ve fallen a couple of times and had to learn new tricks,” Arcángel admits. “I’ve won more when I lose than when I win, and I still managed to do what can truly make a human being happy: live off what you really like.”
This story appears in Billboard‘s Rumbazo special issue, dated Sept. 14, 2024.
Billboard Latin Music Week is returning to Miami Beach on Oct. 14-18, with confirmed superstars including Gloria Estefan, Alejandro Sanz and Peso Pluma, among many others. For tickets and more details, visit Billboardlatinmusicweek.com.
On a balmy May evening in 2023, the Glasshouse — a neon-lit venue six stories above the Hudson River in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood — buzzed with excitement. A music-industry crowd of hundreds had gathered for a private Telemundo Upfront event and its featured performance by Nicky Jam. And from the moment the seminal reggaetón star stepped onstage, clad in his signature baseball cap and an athletic Amiri ensemble beneath a wool trench coat, he showcased why he’s not just part of the genre’s history but also a vital architect of its present and future.
As Nicky sang 2003’s “Yo No Soy Tu Marido,” a bold attendee leapt onstage to dance alongside him. “Oh, ella quiere perrear!” (“She wants to twerk!”) he exclaimed, happily engaging with his unexpected partner as she enthusiastically began to grind on him. For about two hours, Nicky commanded the spotlight with that kind of effortless swagger, cycling through his expansive catalog of hits, from his 2014 international breakout smash, “Travesuras,” to the pulsating beats of “Hasta El Amanecer,” to the pop-reggaetón banger “El Perdón,” to the groundbreaking collaborative track “Te Boté (Remix).”
Trending on Billboard
Two decades into his career, Nicky is still vital onstage — which made it all the more shocking when, last October, he told his more than 40 million Instagram followers that he was “retiring soon.” He paired his social media announcement with footage from his 2018 Netflix bio-series, Nicky Jam: El Ganador, which chronicled how he’d recovered from a turbulent past marked by drug addiction (and a stint in prison) to become one of Latin music’s most illustrious figures. “I’m not going to be a singer for the rest of my life,” he tells Billboard today over Zoom from his Miami home. “I think I’ll probably retire soon… Well, not retire. Singers never retire. You just tone it down.”
Nicky Jam will headline Rumbazo on Sept. 13 at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center. For more information, go to rumbazofest.com.
Offstage, the 43-year-old born Nick Rivera Caminero certainly doesn’t look like he’s slowing down. He’s channeled his creativity into a burgeoning business empire, running a chic Miami restaurant, La Industria Bakery & Cafe, and a few boutique hotels in Colombian cities including Cartagena, Guatapé and Medellín. “I have another hotel in Tierra Bomba that we’re almost finishing. It’s on an island resort [in Colombia] that I bought,” he mentions casually, then adds with a grin: “I’ll probably come out with weed too.”
In addition to these ventures, he’s recently launched his own lines of vape products (NickyJam x fume) and energy drinks (Athon) and even dipped his toes into the media world as host of The Rockstar Show (which streams on his official YouTube channel as well as all podcast platforms), where he’s interviewed Latin music stars including Karol G, Rauw Alejandro and Tainy (not to mention Billboard’s own chief content officer of Latin/Español, Leila Cobo). “We’re coming out with the third season right now,” Nicky says. And he also just signed his first full management client, up-and-coming Bronx rapper Axel Leon. (Nicky is also part of the management team for Manuel Turizo.)
However, for the moment, Nicky continues to find music creatively fruitful. The artist has been open about his battles with addiction, but when speaking with Billboard, he also reveals that he’s grappled with anxiety and depression for the past two years. That emotional turbulence — and the sleepless nights that came with it — inspired his sixth studio album, one of his most personal to date. Insomnio, out Sept. 6, delves into his personal reflections and nocturnal musings, while musically blending the sounds of Afrobeats, soul, trap and reggaetón.
For the project, he enlisted a range of talent from all over the world including Jamaican dancehall veteran Sean Paul, Puerto Rican trap star Eladio Carrión, Italian DJ-producer Benny Benassi, Argentine rapper Trueno and Colombian reggaetón star Ryan Castro. “It’s crazy to collaborate with a person you grew up listening to on the stoops of your neighborhood, the cars blasting his music in your city,” says Trueno, who guests on the classically reggaetón single “Cangrinaje.” “It’s like being able to transcend the line from being an admirer to being able to collaborate with that influence. Nicky Jam, without a doubt, was one of those visions that has stayed with me.”
“Having a track with Nicky for his latest album is very special to me because I watched him perform in nightclubs in Medellín,” says Castro, who’s listened to Nicky since he was a kid. “Seeing him overcome everything he went through in life and achieve what he has is the ultimate inspiration for me. Nicky is a star, and since I met him, we’ve developed a great friendship. I feel like he’s one of our own in Colombia.”
KSUBI shirt, Amiri pants and Louis Vuitton glasses.
Devin Christopher
Before his resurgence in the mid-2000s, however, Nicky faced significant struggles on his native island. “In Puerto Rico, I wasn’t booking any shows. Nobody wanted to deal with me — I had a bunch of problems on the streets, I was into drugs, I was a mess. Back in Puerto Rico at that time, I was the embarrassment of reggaetón music,” Nicky told the podcast Drink Champs last year. “But in Colombia, I was a legend,” he added, noting that Colombians appreciated both his hits and the songs that weren’t popular back home.
When Nicky moved to Colombia in 2007, he experienced a rebirth. “He arrives from Puerto Rico to Colombia con una mano atrás y otra adelante,” says his longtime manager Juan Diego Medina, using the Colombian expression for arriving with nothing. “In Colombia, he went through an entire musical process. He says that he learned to be human there, in the city [of Medellín] and country.” (In July, the two amicably parted ways after 13 years but remain close friends.)
“Moving to Colombia gave me the mojo to do the music,” Nicky says. “I got to Colombia in a moment when I desperately needed to work. They were listening to my old songs; they said they were classics. It changed my way of thinking and my way of writing music. I just sat down and I said, ‘If I make a No. 1 hit in this country, that would mean a lot of views on YouTube.’ With 45 million people [back then in Colombia], I was motivated. So I did a No. 1 national hit in Colombia, then four, five more. I became the new Colombian sound.”
In Colombia, Nicky embraced local culture while leveraging then-emerging digital platforms to reach a wider audience. “He had his whole trajectory in Puerto Rico and went to Colombia to try to reinvent himself, to find that audience that would give him a second opportunity,” says Stephanie Carvajal, artist relations and development, Latin lead at YouTube. “What allowed him to break beyond was a platform like YouTube. Nicky Jam was one of the pioneers in understanding and harnessing the power of YouTube to extend his music to audiences worldwide.”
Released in February 2015, “El Perdón,” Nicky’s game-changing collaboration with Enrique Iglesias, was a pivotal moment in reggaetón’s evolution from crude barrio genre to global juggernaut. “Nicky Jam was blowing up in Colombia, and Enrique had just put out ‘Bailando,’ ” recalls industry veteran Gerardo Mejía, who had worked closely with the Spanish pop superstar at Interscope Records and remained in close contact with him. “I said to Enrique, ‘Bro, you got to do something with Nicky.’ Nicky sent us ‘El Perdón.’ I said, ‘Wow, this is a hit.’ We saw how the [reggaetón] crossover began to happen through Enrique’s pop strength. All reggaetón started becoming more [mainstream] — it wasn’t so street anymore.”
But Iglesias’ pop-oriented style initially gave Nicky pause when he first heard it. “I felt the song was too pop-ish,” he admits. “I was worried about my street community. My urban community. I thought they were going to criticize me, so I put out the song without him. Then the record label, Sony, was like, ‘Yo, bro, we need you to put Enrique back on that track because it will be the best move you would do.’ We did the video and the version with Enrique, and that became a global hit.”
Louis Vuitton glasses, Gucci belt, Amiri pants and Palm Angels shoes.
Devin Christopher
Almost a decade later, Nicky Jam is one of YouTube’s most watched Latin artists of all time, boasting seven videos in the platform’s Billion Views Club. On the Billboard charts, “El Perdón” began a run of nine entries on the Hot 100 for him, and two of his albums, 2017’s Fénix and 2019’s Intimo, charted on the Billboard 200.
His Insomnio singles have also fared well: The 2023 Feid collaboration “69” climbed to No. 41 on Hot Latin Songs, No. 37 on Latin Airplay, No. 18 on Latin Digital Song Sales and No. 10 on Latin Rhythm Airplay; “Calor,” with Beéle, reached No. 20 on Latin Airplay and No. 6 on Latin Rhythm Airplay; and the title track, released in August, soared to No. 9 on Tropical Airplay.
And as he prepares for Insomnio’s release and contemplates what might come after, Nicky is well aware of his influence. “I came out exactly at that moment where everything happened,” he says. “For some weird reason, me being an old-school singer, I started what’s going on right now. I’m lucky to say I’m from the old school. I did a lot of hits back in the days, but when it came to the new stuff and the new movement, I’m one of the creators and pioneers of that moment, too.”
Insomnio is an evocative title. What inspired it, and how does it relate to the music’s themes?
I’ve been having two crazy years. I was struggling with anxiety and depression. A lot of the problems from the past were catching up to me. It led me to drink a lot. I had problems with drugs in the past, but never with alcohol. Alcohol is something legal that you find anywhere you go. I started drinking a lot, and it took me to a dark spot where I was feeling like it wasn’t the Nicky people are used to. I was partying too much, going out and I wasn’t sleeping. The crazy thing is sometimes, out of bad things, good things come. I did badass songs for this album during this dark moment. The reason why the album is called Insomnio is because most of the songs [were written, recorded and] take place at night.
How did the nocturnal songwriting process influence the album’s overall tone and message?
Remember, music is the art of expression, and I’m expressing myself. I’ve always been that type of person who’s very transparent. I never hide who I am or what I do. If you listen to “3 a.m. y yo en la cyber truck, pensando cuando contigo me daba los shot” [from “La Cyber” featuring Luar La L], “Exótica” [with lyrics] like “ver el sol caer,” most of the songs talk about me in full self-destruction mode, partying and not giving a f–k about life and just going crazy. If you listen to “Insomnio,” the merengue song, it’s a very sad song [lyrically].
Louis Vuitton glasses, Gucci belt, Amiri pants.
Devin Christopher
Merengue is usually joyful, but “Insomnio” takes a darker turn. How did you balance its upbeat rhythm with its somber themes?
If you listen to “El Perdón,” it’s a sad song. But you put that beat [on it], it automatically becomes a happy song. I think that’s part of my magic. I can make a sad song sound happy. That’s part of my creation mode. I really like that people can sing a sad song not even known as a sad song. That’s magic! If I were to sing that with low, dark chords, you automatically would have been like, “Damn, this motherf–ker is sad as f–k.” The reality is I was sad when I wrote that song, but in the production moment, I said, “I am not going to make this a sad song, I want this upbeat.”
Every album has its own unique creation journey. How would you differentiate Insomnio from Infinity, Intimo or Fénix in terms of the creative process?
I’m going to be honest with you. Fénix is an album that you can realize is Nicky Jam in his prime, doing his comeback and very happy about life. It was a different moment in my life. These other two albums, it was just working. I was touring so much and I just did music and put the [album] name after. These other two albums have no meaning for me. Insomnio has more meaning than any of these albums because I’m telling the people how I felt in one of my darkest moments.
On Insomnio, you navigate between trap, merengue, reggaetón, Afrobeats and electronic music. Can you talk about exploring a wide spectrum of genres?
I’m not this guy that stays in one corner. I could sing R&B, hip-hop, trap, reggaetón, merengue, whatever. The merengue thing is something I’ve never done. That’s why I wanted to do it. That’s funny because I’m half Dominican. Merengue right now is doing really good. Karol G came out with a merengue, Manuel Turizo, and a couple of others. I wanted a part of it. But the whole trap song thing was because Eladio Carrión sent me the [beat]. Then the Afrobeats is something that’s really going on right now. Quería cubrir todas las partes — I wanted to have every corner block. That’s what I did with the album.
Alongside your music, you’ve ventured into business, investing and launching restaurants and hotels. How do these fit into your long-term plans?
I’m not going to be a singer the rest of my life. I’m 43 years old. In a [few] years, I’ll be 50. A 50-year-old reggaetón artist; I don’t know if that looks so good. Daddy Yankee retired at 47, 48. I think I’ll probably retire soon, too. Not now, but probably in seven to 10 years. Well, not retire. The word “retire” for a singer does not make any sense. Daddy Yankee said he retired, and he came out with a song [“Loveo”] a couple of months ago.
There are a lot of new kids, and you’re not going to compete when you’re almost 50 with a 20-year-old that has that brand-new sound, that new vibe that kids like. The reality is this is young people’s music. I’m not saying older people don’t listen to it, but if you see the list of the people, you’re going to see that it’s mostly the youth that listen to this music. You can’t compete with that. So I prepared myself businesswise.
When people say, “OK, Nicky, you’re too old for this,” I’ll be like, “All right, but I’m rich, baby. I got businesses that take care of me and [I] still live the lifestyle.” That’s what you want, to capitalize so many businesses that you don’t even have to perform and do music to live the lifestyle. I worked hard for it. That’s why I do businesses on the side, where I could profit enough that I can keep living that good life.
Faith by Luis hat.
Devin Christopher
How do your restaurant, La Industria Bakery & Café, and your hotels reflect your personal interests?
La Industria is mostly a brunch place. You get your pancakes and French toast. It’s that type of vibe. Here in Miami, I used to go to a lot of these spots, but I recognized there wasn’t a Spanish one. So I came out with the bakery, and it’s been a boon. It has my DNA everywhere. I was born and raised in Massachusetts, but I lived in Puerto Rico most of my life. At the end of the day, it’s a sweet pancake spot — but the bestseller is a hamburger called La Boricua. Everybody goes and gets that hamburger. They love it. You have a knife right through the middle.
You recently signed a management deal with hip-hop artist Axel Leon. What qualities do you look for in artists you mentor?
They got to be talented, disciplined, versatile and have a lot of charisma. That charisma goes crazy with the people. Just with that, you could conquer the world in the music industry. Talent is something, but if you have charisma and you’re hungry to work…
What led you to start The Rockstar Show?
I was in pandemic [mode]. Bored. I wasn’t doing anything. I was in my house and I said, “I got to work.” So I got a studio and I started interviewing artists. It started with a couple of interviews. From there, we went to The Rockstar Show. We’re coming out with the third season right now.
You took The Rockstar Show to Billboard Latin Music Week in 2023, and during your onstage interview with Ivy Queen you started beatboxing. What was that about?
I’m from the old school. Back in the day, we were MCs and we did everything. We’d rap, beatbox and dance. I used to breakdance. I used to [freestyle] battle in the corners like they do in the Red Bull Batalla. I’m very good. Believe me, ain’t nobody f–king with me.
As you continue diversifying your career, are there any other new avenues you’re looking to still explore?
Mostly hospitality, hotels. That’s what I’m really doing. I’ve done acting [in movies like 2017’s xXx: Return of Xander Cage and 2020’s Bad Boys for Life], I’ve done music, I’ve done it all.
Everything I do is to inspire people. Yes, it’s business, but at the end of the day, I come from a black hole most people don’t come out of. A lot of people that were raised with me, they’re dead right now. I’m not talking about one or two, I’m talking about hundreds of them. There’s a chance. There’s hope. If I did it, you could do it. That’s my philosophy.
This story appears in Billboard‘s Rumbazo special issue, dated Sept. 14, 2024.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
Reggaeton icon Don Omar revealed that he received a cancer diagnosis, breaking the news via social media to his fans before sharing that he was “cancer-free” after surgery hours later.
On Monday (June 17), the reggaeton star Don Omar shocked the public when he posted a photo of his wrist, which bore a wristband from a specialty care hospital in Orlando, Florida. The caption, originally in Spanish, said: “Today yes, but tomorrow I won’t have cancer. Good intentions are well received. See you soon,” with the hashtag #f—cancer at the end. There were no further details revealed by the Puerto Rican artist at that time.
The news prompted many to send their well-wishes and other messages of support to Don Omar through social media, including former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres who wrote, “DON! God does not abandon us … ever. God is good … Always. Strength and faith.” The 17-time Billboard Latin Music Award winner went back on social media Tuesday (June 18), to share that he had undergone surgery and was officially cancer-free.
In the caption of the Instagram post where Don Omar is holding up a peace sign while looking at the camera, he wrote: “I woke up today cancer-free and grateful,” he said. “Thank you for your good wishes, prayers and thousands of messages. My surgery was a success now to recover.”
Don Omar is hailed as one of the first to propel reggaeton into a global phenomenon with his first album, The Last Don, in 2003, which featured two of his biggest hits, “Dile” and “Dale Don Dale.” He also appeared in The Fast & Furious movie series as Rico Santos.
The 46-year-old was set to embark on the second part of his Back to Reggatón Tour, with the next date to be in Oakland, California, at the Oakland Arena on Aug. 7. The tour, which will roll through other new cities such as Tampa and San Diego, is set to conclude on the East Coast with a date at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Sept. 14 and the finale at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, Sept.15. It comes on the heels of his recent album, Forever King, which was released last year.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday (May 29) that a sprawling copyright lawsuit can move forward with accusations that nearly 2,000 reggaeton songs — including hits by Bad Bunny, Karol G and dozens of others — all infringed a single 1989 song that allegedly spawned the so-called “dem bow” rhythm.
The huge infringement case, filed by Cleveland “Clevie” Browne and the heirs of Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson, claims that their 1989 song, “Fish Market,” was the source of dem bow — the boom-ch-boom-chick, boom-ch-boom-chick percussion featured in nearly every reggaeton song.
Demanding that the case be dismissed, Bad Bunny’s lawyers argued last year that Steely & Clevie’s massive case “seeks to monopolize practically the entire reggaetón musical genre for themselves” by claiming copyright control over “unprotectable” musical elements.
Trending on Billboard
But in the lawsuit’s first key decision, Judge André Birotte Jr. denied that motion on Wednesday, ruling that it was too early in the case to make those kinds of complex rulings and that Steely & Clevie had made a strong enough argument to move forward: “It is premature at this stage to find that the musical elements alleged are insufficiently original or indeed unprotectable.”
Notably, the judge also hinted that he might not be particularly receptive to such arguments when it’s time to rule on them. At one point, he warned that he “rejects” the idea that the massive success of a particular song could be used as a “double-edged sword” that would also void its copyrights.
“The court recognizes the practice of musical borrowing, and in doing so, cannot merely conclude that because the reggaeton genre (or artists) have purportedly borrowed significantly from attributes of plaintiffs’ work that those attributes are now in effect commonplace elements,” Judge Birotte wrote.
First filed in 2021 against just a handful of defendants, Steely & Clevie’s lawsuit has steadily grown to cover more and more artists and songs. In the latest iteration, the duo’s lawyers name more than 150 artists, also including Pitbull, Drake, Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi and Justin Bieber, plus units of all three major music companies.
Steely & Clevie’s lawyers claim that over 1,800 reggaetón songs featuring iterations of the dem bow rhythm were, at root, illegally copied from “Fish Market” — and that their clients deserve monetary compensation for them. Potentially damages are difficult to calculate, but could easily reach into the billions if the case is successful.
In Wednesday’s decision, Judge Birotte also rejected other arguments from the defendants beyond the core question of whether dem bow could be protected by copyright law.
For instance, in a June filing, attorneys for Daddy Yankee and the major labels argued that the case was so massive that it had become procedurally unfair. They called it a “shotgun pleading,” filled with so many vague accusations that it was “impossible for defendants to determine what each is alleged to have done.”
But in Wednesday’s decision, Judge Birotte said he was “unconvinced” by that argument — and that Steely & Clevie’s 228-page complaint had sufficiently laid out the case to satisfy procedural requirements.
Following Wednesday’s ruling, the case will proceed toward discovery, where both sides will exchange evidence, take depositions and seek expert testimony on complex questions relating to musicology. If the judge does not decide the case after discovery, the two sides will head to trial.
Neither side in the case immediately returned requests for comment.
Fueled by ambition, determination and hard work, Ryan Castro represents the new generation of urbano hitmakers. His highly-anticipated debut album, El Cantante del Ghetto, is not only a reflection of the qualities that have catapulted Castro to the top of the charts, but it also serves as a mirror that showcases the culture of his […]