Daddy Yankee announces retirement after Legendaddy album and final tour

Daddy Yankee, the Puerto Rican reggaeton icon, released a video on Sunday night announcing his retirement from music. Daddy Yankee will close out his career, which spanned three decades, with his final album, ‘Legendaddy’, and one last tour. 

In the video, the ‘Gasolina’ singer tells fans in Spanish “This career has been a marathon. I finally see the end-goal. Now I’m going to enjoy with all of you in what you’ve given me. People say I made this genre global, but it is you who gave me the keys to open the doors and make this genre the biggest in the world”, and adds “In the barrios, where we grew up, most of us wanted to be drug dealers. Today, I go to barrios and caserios, and the majority want to be artists, and that means a lot to me”. 

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Speaking of his upcoming album, Daddy Yankee said that it’s his best production to date and is a celebration of his 32 years as an artist. It culminates in his first studio album in 10 years, which is going to include all the styles that define the Puerto Rican star. 

Daddy Yankee, whose real name is Ramón Ayala, shared a link of how to pre-book the upcoming album, on his website. He also gave some details of the final tour, aptly named La Ultima Vuelta. The US leg will start in Portland, Oregon on August 10 and end in New York on September 20. Then, Daddy Yankee will move through Latin America, with performances in Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, among others. 

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He began making music in the mid-nineties and got his big break with Barrio Fino, the 2004 album. The smash-hit ‘Gasolina’ is part of this album and brought reggaeton to major audiences all over the world.