Raymon Ayala Rodríguez (Daddy Yankee) was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 3.  He was influenced by several musicians in his family, including his father and some of his mother's relatives.  During his childhood he practiced singing and focused on lyrical improvisation. Although Ayala first aspired to join the ranks of baseball’s Major Leagues, he abandoned this goal after being involved in an incident—at age seventeen, he was caught in the crossfire of a barrio gun battle and received two bullet wounds. One bullet grazed his arm and the other, from an AK-47, hit him in the right thigh and left him with a permanent limp.

Following the incident, he became interested in the underground pop movement, which at the time was in an early organizational stage.  He also took more interest in the events that took place in the neighborhood in which he was raised, a public housing project named Villa Kennedy.  Early in his career he attempted to imitate the style of Vico C. He went on to emulate other artists in the genre, including DJ Playero, DJ Nelson, and DJ Goldy, taking elements from their styles in order to develop an original style.  In doing so, he eventually abandoned the traditional model of rap and became one of the first artists to perform reggaeton.  Ayala first recorded with DJ Playero as a featured artist in a production titled Playero 37, which was released in 1992.

His first album, titled No Mercy, was produced in 1995 when Ayala was eighteen years old.  The production did not sell well, and he continued his work within the genre for the rest of the decade, eventually forming a duo with Nicky Jam. One of the duo's songs, "Posición", was included in the soundtrack of One Tough Cop, a movie directed by Bruno Barreto, that was released in 1998. Beginning in 2000, Ayala began concentrating more on his solo career, releasing albums produced outside studios. The first production he released was titled El Cartel, featuring elements of the mixtape style.  In 2001 El Cartel II was released, a direct sequel to the previous production, and influenced by similar genres.

In 2002 El Cangri.com was released, and became the first album in Ayala's career to sell well outside Puerto Rico, mostly in the United States.  The album was produced by VI Music, an independent recording studio in Puerto Rico, and was not supported by a major label.  The most successful single from the album was "Latigazo", which received significant play on radio stations in New York and Miami. The album reached #43 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart.

Barrio Fino was released in 2004, and the album received numerous awards, including a Premio Lo Nuestro and a Latin Billboard, as well as receiving nominations for the Latin Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards. Barrio Fino performed well in the sales charts of the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Japan. On June 5, 2007, El Cartel Records released El Cartel: The Big Boss, which was ranked as the top-selling album in Latin music genres in 2007. He promoted the album with an international tour which began in the United States and continued through Latin America, breaking attendance records in Ecuador and Bolivia.

Ayala has negotiated promotional deals with several companies outside of the music industry, releasing merchandise under his name. In 2005, he became the first Latin artist to sign a deal with Reebok, in order to produce accessories, including the licensed clothing line "DY", which was released in 2006.  He also teamed up with the company to have his own shoes and sporting goods made, which were first distributed on May 23, 2006. Reebok continued the partnership with the introduction of the Travel Trainer collection in July 2007. In August 2007, Pepsi began an advertising campaign titled "Puertas", in which Ayala is depicted returning to his youth by opening a series of doors.

In 2008, Ayala participated in a campaign to promote voting in the 2008 general elections in Puerto Rico. This initiative included a concert titled "Vota o quédate callao".  On August 25, 2008, Ayala endorsed John McCain's candidacy for President of the United States, stating that McCain "has been a fighter for the Hispanic community".  As part of this campaign, Ayala moderated a debate titled “Vota o quédate callao: los candidatos responden a los jóvenes”, which was aired on October 9, 2008.

Ayala has been involved in the administration of three organizations, the first being El Cartel Records which he co-owns with Andres Hernandez. He also created the Fundación Corazón Guerrero, a charitable organization in Puerto Rico which works with young incarcerated people.  On April 26, 2008, he was presented with a "Latino of the Year Award" by the student organization Presencia Latina of Harvard College, receiving it for his work with Puerto Rican youth and creating Corazón Guerrero.  On February 6, 2008, Ayala announced in a Baloncesto Superior Nacional press conference that he had bought part of the Criollos de Caguas' ownership.

Source:  wikipedia.org/wiki/Daddy_Yankee