Daddy Yankee has run out of gasolina, announces retirement from music

Daddy Yankee must’ve run out of gasolina, because he’s decided to retire. The reggaetón superstar uploaded a video on Youtube titled “Al fin veo la meta/ Daddy Yankee anuncia su retiro” (that translates to “at last I see the goal/ Daddy Yankee announces his retirement”).

The video is soundtracked with intense background music sure to tug at some heartstrings. It features Yankee—whose real name is Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez—thanking his fans for supporting him throughout the years, and for turning him into the most prolific reggaetón star. He credits them with making reggaetón the biggest genre in the world (his words).

He announces that before quitting music for good (that is, unless he pulls an LCD Soundsystem), he will release an album titled Legendaddy on Thursday, March 24, that will feature “all the styles that define [him] in one album.” He also describes the forthcoming album as being about “the struggle, parties, war, and romance.” In addition to Legendaddy, he’s also embarking on one last big world tour that he promises will be his best, called La Última Vuelta (The Last Turn).

Though “Gasolina” became his biggest global hit in 2004, Yankee has been doing music for 32 years, as he says in the video. He’s remained busy, too. He hadn’t released an album since 2012's Prestige, but continued making singles, including “Problema,” that he performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Good Morning America in 2021.

He also collaborated with Katy Perry on 2019's “Con Calma,” that puts a reggaetón twist on Snow’s “Informer.” That song was inescapable on the radio, and hit number one on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart. He’s also to blame for “Despacito,” his 2017 collaboration with Luis Fonsi (Justin Bieber, who seemingly had no idea what the Puerto Rican singers were even singing, was later added to it).