Puerto Rican rapper and songwriter Daddy Yankee has released seven studio albums, two live albums, thirty-five singles, and one soundtrack. He made his debut on DJ Playero's Playero 34 mixtape, released in 1991.[1][2] He was later featured on Playero's 37 and 38 albums, before releasing his first solo record in 1995, titled No Mercy.[3][4] During the rest of the 1990s, he continued working on underground reggaeton records and released his first album as producer El Cartel de Yankee in 1997.[3][4] After the release of his 2001 independent album El Cartel II: Los Cangris, he released his second studio album, El Cangri.com, in June 2002. It is cited as the record that made him notorious outside his natal Puerto Rico, being his music introduced in New York City and Miami.[3][4] Without any major label backing him, El Cangri.com managed to peak at number forty-three on the US Top Latin Albums chart.[3][5]
He later released Los Homerun-es in 2003, a compilation album that featured re-recorded Playero mixtape tracks, as well as five new studio tracks, including "Segurosqui".[3] The single became his first song to chart on a Billboard chart by peaking at number thirty-two on Tropical Airplay.[6] Barrio Fino, his third studio album, was released in July 2004 and became the first reggaeton record to debut and peak at number one on the US Top Latin Albums chart. It was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.[7] Barrio Fino is cited as the album that introduced reggaeton into the mainstream market and became the best selling Latin album of the 2000s decade in the United States.[8][9] The success of its lead single "Gasolina" led to the creation of a new radio format in the United States named Latin Rhythm Airplay.[10] A follow-up live album, titled Barrio Fino en Directo, was released in December 2005 and spent fourteen weeks at number one on the US Top Latin Albums, subsequently receiving a gold certification.[11]
The rapper's fourth studio album, El Cartel: The Big Boss (2007), became his first top ten entry in the United States by peaking at number nine.[12] It later received a triple platinum (Latin) certification by the RIAA. Talento de Barrio, a soundtrack for the namesake film, was released in August 2008. Mundial, his fifth studio album, was released in April 2010. His sixth studio album Prestige was released in September 2012. A mixtape titled King Daddy was released in October 2013 and became the first digital-only album to rank within the top ten on the US Top Latin Albums chart.[13]
In 2017, Daddy Yankee was featured on "Despacito", a single by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi. The song, helped by a remix version featuring Canadian singer Justin Bieber, became a worldwide success, reaching the number one spot in forty-five countries and renewing interest in the Latin music market from recording labels in the United States.[14] Its success led Daddy Yankee to become the most listened artist worldwide on the streaming service Spotify in June 2017, being the first Latin artist to do so.[15][16]
As of October 2017, Barrio Fino and Barrio Fino en Directo remain as the seventh and thirteenth best selling Latin albums in the United States, respectively.[17]