LOS ANGELES, CA – Culminating what has been a legendary three-decade career, reggaeton superstar Daddy Yankee announced the upcoming release of his final album, plans for a farewell tour, and his official retirement from music in a video message on Sunday night.
The Puerto Rican rapper and singer, born Ramón Ayala, shared the video on his official website and spoke to his fans directly in Spanish as he broke the news and thanked them for their support throughout his career.
“Today, I’m announcing my retirement from music by giving you my best production and my best concert tour,” Ayala said in the video. “I will say goodbye celebrating these 32 years of experience with this new collector’s item, the album ‘Legendaddy.’ I’m going to give you all the styles that have defined me, in one single album.”
His “Legendaddy” album, which will be his first in 10 years, is set to be released on Thursday, March 24 at 8 p.m. ET.
Ayala’s “La Última Vuelta” World Tour is set to begin on Aug. 10 in Portland, Oregon and will conclude on Dec. 2 in Mexico City.
Fans can purchase pre-sale tickets on March 25, with general sale tickets available on March 30.
Ayala has been widely proclaimed as the “King of Reggaeton” and is considered an influential pioneer of the genre.
While Ayala saw modest success with the release of his first two studio albums, his breakthrough came in 2004 with the release of his “Barrio Fino” album, which spawned classic hits including “Gasolina” and “Lo Que Pasó, Pasó.”
The album, which has sold around five million copies worldwide, earned Ayala a number of awards, including the Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Music Album and propelled him to international fame.
With his “Barrio Fino” album, Ayala became instrumental in catapulting reggaeton to the forefront of American mainstream pop culture.
Ayala also saw massive success in 2017, when he collaborated with Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi on their platinum-certified hit “Despacito.”
“Despacito” spent 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and is the second most-viewed YouTube video with over seven billion views. The song won four awards at the 18th Annual Latin Grammys, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
Ayala has sold approximately 30 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling Latin music artists.
He has also received numerous honors including the Icon Award at the 2018 Latin American Music Awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 Premio Lo Nuestro Awards, and he was inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2021.
With reggaeton now sitting comfortably at the top of the cultural zeitgeist and artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Ozuna, and others carrying the torch, Ayala’s extraordinary impact and unparalleled legacy are forever etched in music history.
