King Daddy, also known as Imperio Nazza: King Daddy Edition,[a] is a mixtape by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee, released independently on October 29, 2013 by his label El Cartel Records, a year after his seventh studio album, Prestige. King Daddy is a "hardcore reggaeton" record made for the genre's "lovers" and features collaborations with Arcángel, Divino, Farruko, J Álvarez, and Yandel. Daddy Yankee co-wrote and co-produced all 11 tracks with Benny Benni and Los de la Nazza, respectively; it is his last album produced by the latter, who left El Cartel Records in 2014.
King Daddy was described by Daddy Yankee as "pure reggaeton, from A to Z," with which he wanted to "create a digital revolution" by only releasing it digitally, a usual practice among novice artists but not between established ones at the time.[3] He referred to it as an album "dedicated to the Internet" with a "mystic flavor" and a "strong [one] for reggaeton lovers," and stated that "the Internet was the genre's new street" because "that [was] were [their] fans concentrate[d]."[4][5] He saw reggaeton's evolution "going backwards" and decided to make a "hardcore reggaeton album" due to the genre's fans demanding "classic sounds" and a "hundred percent raw" reggaeton record "from one of his pillars."[6]
The album's concept developed from Los de la Nazza's El Imperio Nazza and El Imperio Nazza: Gold Edition (both 2012), the first two editions from their Imperio Nazza mixtape series, for which fans asked on the Internet for Daddy Yankee to record his own.[7] Los de la Nazza members Musicólogo and Menes found "La Rompe Carros" and "Calentón" to be their favorite tracks from the album, respectively.[7] Musicólogo referred to King Daddy as the "essence of reggaeton" and a mixtape reminiscent of the past while blended with Los de la Nazza's futuristic sounds.[7]King Daddy was Daddy Yankee's last album produced by Musicólogo and Menes—after producing Talento de Barrio (2008), Mundial (2010) and Prestige (2012)—before leaving El Cartel Records in 2014 due to a contract renewal disagreement.[8][9][10] Daddy Yankee co-wrote all lyrics with Puerto Rican rapper and lyricist Benny Benni and the mixtape's guest features on their respective tracks.[1]
Release
King Daddy was released digitally on October 29, 2013 through Daddy Yankee's own label El Cartel Records.[4] In the United States, it debuted and peaked at number seven on the BillboardTop Latin Albums in the week ending November 16, 2013, with 2,000 copies sold, and charted for a total of three weeks.[11][12] Despite not reaching number one as previous Daddy Yankee records did, it became the chart's first digital-only album to debut in the top 10.[11] In December 2013, Daddy Yankee stated that its success "took [him] by surprise" and it was announced that a physical version with new tracks would be released in February 2014, although it never did.[5] The King Daddy Tour, later renamed King Daddy Euro Tour, began on May 23, 2014 in Scalea, Italy and ended on October 17, 2015 in Los Angeles, United States.[13][14] Comprising 47 shows, it visited Europe twice, while making stops in the United States, Latin America and Asia.[13][14]
A follow-up titled King Daddy II was announced in 2014.[15][16] Scheduled to be released in 2016,[17] the album was postponed and renamed El Disco Duro,[18][19] a project that eventually led to Daddy Yankee's seventh and final studio album, Legendaddy, released in 2022.[20]
Singles
"La Nueva y La Ex", the mixtape's lead single, was released on October 18, 2013 through a lyric video,[21] while its music video, directed by Christian Suau, premiered on February 6, 2014.[22] It peaked at number nine on the BillboardHot Latin Songs, where it charted for a total of 20 weeks,[23] and was ranked at number 40 on its year-end list.[24] The second single, "La Rompe Carros", was released through a music video directed by José "Javy" Ferrer on December 17, 2013.[25][26]
^Although the mixtape was also referred as Imperio Nazza: King Daddy Edition, digital stores and streaming platforms list it as simply King Daddy.[1][2]
^ abc"Daddy Yankee - King Daddy Edition [Behind the Scenes]" (in Spanish). Daddy Yankee. October 8, 2013. Retrieved July 26, 2022 – via YouTube. King Daddy's concept was born from our first two albums ... People wanted a Daddy Yankee edition
^"Musicólogo habla del por qué se fue de El Cartel Records y como surgió la idea de Rimas con Noah" [Musicólogo talks about why he left El Cartel Records and how did the Rimas idea with Noah came about] (in Spanish). October 25, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2022 – via YouTube. When Yankee offers me the second contract ... it was the same contract as the first one ... the contract didn't convince me
