Award-winning rapper and singer Daddy Yankee has been making headlines over the last few weeks. The Puerto Rican artist announced his retirement last month in a video to fans, putting an end to his career that has spanned over three decades. He said to fans, “Today, I’m announcing my retirement from music by giving you my best production and concert tour,” and went on to say “I will say goodbye celebrating these 32 years of experience with this new collector’s item, my album Legendaddy. I’m going to give you all the styles that have defined me in one single album.”
The news came as a shock to some although the songwriter is believed to have dropped hints about a possible end to his career during his Billboard interview last year. His farewell gift of a final album was also released last month, featuring collaborations with artists such as Bad Bunny, Pitbull and Lil Jon. His farewell tour, called ‘La Última Vuelta’ or One Last Round, will see the artist end his career performing across North and South America for five months. Daddy Yankee has been credited with bringing Reggaetón to a wider audience as well as carving out a path for future Latin artists. In the same Billboard interview, he explained how “Reggaetón was initially only known on the East Coast. When I released Barrio Fino, the West Coast didn’t get it. I’d go to Los Angeles or Mexico and people knew Daddy Yankee, but they didn’t know what Reggaetón was. I had to take the culture with me everywhere, so it became permanent instead of fizzling out like other genres where artists simply promote themselves.”
Speaking of Reggaetón, the Madrid Puro Reggaeton Festival which was originally meant to take place in the summer of 2020, was moved to June 24th and 25th, 2022. The line-up announcement was highly anticipated by fans of the genre, and many believed that Daddy Yankee would perform. The line-up was released and European fans in particular were crestfallen to not see him on the list. Nonetheless, over the past week, some unexpected news was announced. Firstly, the dates of the festival were abruptly changed to July 15th and 16th, which was met with outrage by many ticket holders online. However, some fans changed their tune when they realised that this was to accommodate Daddy Yankee to perform at the festival. This will mark Daddy Yankee’s last performance in Europe, which the promoters of the festival are driving home as much as possible, likely hoping that buzz will mute those angry about the change of date.
Those lucky enough to have swiped a ticket will undoubtedly have the time of their lives and will get to say their goodbyes to Daddy Yankee.
Angelina Pierce-Entertainment & Lifestyle Editor
