El Cartel: The Big Boss

El Cartel: The Big Boss
Studio album by Daddy Yankee
Released June 5, 2007
Recorded 2006-2007
The Hit Factory, Miami, Florida
Genre Reggaeton, hip hop
Length 77:49
Label El Cartel, Interscope
Producer Scott Storch, Akon, Mr. Collipark, Luny Tunes, Humby, will.i.am, Just Blaze, Tainy, Nely, Musicólogo, Menes, Echo, Diesel, Diaz Brothers
Daddy Yankee chronology

Barrio Fino
(2004)		 El Cartel: The Big Boss
(2007)		 Talento de Barrio
(2008)
Singles from El Cartel: The Big Boss
  1. "Impacto"
    Released: April 12, 2007
  2. "Ella Me Levantó"
    Released: October 2007

El Cartel: The Big Boss is the fourth studio album and eighth overall by Puerto Rican recording artist Daddy Yankee. It was released on June 5, 2007 by El Cartel Records through Interscope Records.[1] The album features contributions from Scott Storch, will.i.am, Luny Tunes, Tainy, Akon, and Mr. Collipark among others, and was nominated for a Lo Nuestro Award for Urban Album of the Year.[2]

Production

Daddy Yankee said that he wanted people to see his style as an MC and return to his hip-hop roots.[3] He collaborated with producers Scott Storch and will.i.am to combine, as he put it, "the force and our creative minds to create a new sound."[3] He also collaborated with Akon on a track called, "Bring It On", as track he considered as a follow-up to his lead single.[4][5] Another song from the album that is characterized as a "catchy club banger" entitled, "Impacto" was produced by Scott Storch and features The Black Eyed Peas member, Fergie.[6] He also recorded a song with Pussycat Dolls' lead vocalist, Nicole Scherzinger, which he described as a "crazy dancehall, Caribbean song."[4]

Reception

Commercial reception

The album debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 and at number one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, selling 82,000 copies in its first week, making it the highest reggaeton album to sell in its first week.[7] On March 26, 2009, the album received a Latin album triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping 600,000 copies.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [9]
Entertainment Weekly C[10]
PopMatters [11]
The New York Times (favorable)[12]
Stylus Magazine C+[13]
The Washington Post (favorable)[14]

Allmusic gave the album a positive review and said the album consists of "potential hits".[9] Rhapsody said, "he once again proves himself the reigning king of reggaeton" and proclaimed that "he's also doing more with hip-hop in the mainland idiom than a lot of artists."[15]

Andrew Casillas of Stylus Magazine compared the album to Daddy Yankee's previous efforts and said, "while the front-loaded standard reggaetón tracks aren’t short on hit potential, they’re lacking in the sort of charisma that has made Daddy Yankee famous." He then added that "the closing third of the album is quite encouraging."[13]

Promotion

During the promotion of the album, Daddy Yankee performed at Madison Square Garden.[16] The album was supported by The Big Boss Tour, which started its U.S. leg at the Chicago Allstate Arena on August 31 through October 17, 2007 at the Toyota Center in Houston.[17]

Singles

"Impacto" was released as the lead single from the album on April 12, 2007. Simultaneously, the remix version, featuring Fergie was released as a second single. The videos of the two version were released in the Universal Studios. "Mensaje De Estado" was released as the first promotional recording off the album; a short music video then followed. The third official single, "Ella Me Levanto" was also released. On October 2007 was released the official video. The video was recorded in the Dominican Republic.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Jefe"  Raymond Ayala, Leo VazquezDiaz Brothers 3:58
2. "En Sus Marcas Listos Fuera"  Ayala, VazquezTainy, Musicólogo, Menes 3:27
3. "Cambio"  AyalaScott Storch 3:11
4. "Fuera de Control"  AyalaLuny Tunes, Tainy 3:03
5. "Impacto"  AyalaScott Storch, Tainy 3:05
6. "Ella Me Levantó"  AyalaMr. G., Nely, Tainy 3:29
7. "A lo Clásico"  Ayala, Vazquez, Jose TorresScott Storch, Nely, Tainy 3:54
8. "Bring It On" (featuring Akon)Ayala, Thiam Aliaune, Frederick TiptonAkon 3:43
9. "Who's Your Daddy?"  Ayala, William Adamswill.i.am 3:28
10. "El Celular"  Ayala, VazquezNely 2:48
11. "Ven Dámelo"  Ayala, Torres, VazquezNely, Tainy 3:45
12. "Papi Lover" (featuring Nicole Scherzinger)Ayala, Nicole Scherzinger, Kara DioGuardiJust Blaze, Echo & Diesel 3:40
13. "Qué Pasó!"  Ayala, Jason BoydScott Storch 4:11
14. "Mensaje de Estado"  AyalaMr. Collipark, Los Vegaz 4:06
15. "Tensión" (featuring Héctor "El Father")Ayala, VazquezNely 3:21
16. "Soy Lo Que Soy"  Ayala, VazquezNely 4:11
17. "Coraza Divina" (additional voices by Hector "El Father")AyalaEgy Rodriguez 3:55
18. "Plane to PR" (featuring will.i.am)Ayala, Adamswill.i.am 4:07
19. "Me Quedaría"  AyalaHumby 4:20
20. "Todos Quieren a Raymond"  AyalaEgy Rodriguez 4:42
21. "Impacto (Remix)" (featuring Fergie)Ayala, Adams, Stacy FergusonScott Storch, Tainy 3:25

Credits and personnel

Production
  • Executive Producer: Raymond Ayala
  • Musical Producer: Daddy Yankee
  • Co-Producer: Jose "Gocho" Torres
  • Creative Director: Carlos R. Pérez
Interscope Team
  • A&R: Joe "3H" Weinberger, HHH Artists
  • Marketing: Christian Clancy
  • Marketing Director: Andrew Flad
  • Marketing Coordinator: Justin Dreyfuss
  • Mix Engineer: Dylan "3-D" Dresdow
  • Production Coordinator: Les Scurry
  • Publicity: Dennis Dennehy
  • Video: Randy Sosin/David Saslow
  • New Media: Ravid Yosef
  • Legal: Damian Elahi
  • A&R Coordinator: archie Schonfeld, HHH Artists
  • International: Don Robinson
El Cartel Records
  • Project Manager: Mireddys Gonzalez
  • Legal & Business Affairs: Edwin Prado
  • Manager: Nomar Ayala
  • Project Coordinator: Lorna Robles
  • Public Relations: Mayna Nevárez
  • Tour Manager: Milton Gonzalez
  • Stage Manager: Pedro Jimenez
Elastic People Team
  • Art Direction/Design: Carlos R. Pérez
  • Graphic Design: Kiley del Valle
  • Interactive Designer: Balind Sieber
  • Project Coordination: Eric Vazquez
  • Controller: Joanna Egozcue
  • Photography by: Mateo Garcia
  • Producer: Alejandro Navia
  • Stylist: O'Neal McKinght

Charts

Peak positions

Charts (2007) Peak
position
Mexican Albums Chart[18] 5
Spanish Albums Chart[19] 65
Swiss Albums Chart[20] 52
U.S. Billboard 200[21] 9
U.S. Billboard Digital Albums[22] 9
U.S. Billboard Top Latin Albums[23] 1
U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums[24] 1

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Mexico (AMPROFON)[25] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[8] 3× Platinum (Latin) 300,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ El Cartel: The Big Boss by Daddy Yankee itunes.apple.com. Apple, Inc. Retrieved 11-18-2010.
  2. ↑ "Nominees for Premio Lo Nuestro 2008 Announced". People (Time, Inc). December 13, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 (Posted: May 22, 2007) The Boss is Back: Daddy Yankee Returns to his Roots latinrapper.com. Retrieved 11-18-2010.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Daddy Yankee's Spanglish Rapping Proves To Akon He's The Big Boss vh1.com. Retrieved 11-18-2010.
  5. ↑ Daddy Yankee ft. Akon - Bring It On djbooth.net. The DJ Booth, LLC. Retrieved 11-19-2010.
  6. ↑ Daddy Yankee ft. Fergie - Impacto (Remix) djbooth.net. DJ Booth, LLC. Retrieved 11-19-2010.
  7. ↑ Katie Hasty, "T-Pain Soars To No. 1 Ahead Of Rihanna, McCartney", Billboard.com, June 13, 2007.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "American album certifications – Daddy Yankee – The Big Boss". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click Type, then select Latin, then click SEARCH
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Jason Birchmeier, ((( El Cartel: The Big Boss > Review ))) Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 11-18-2010.
  10. ↑ (Posted: May 25, 2007) Neil Drumming, El Cartel: The Big Boss | Music | EW.com Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11-19-2010.
  11. ↑ (Posted: July 23, 2007) Christopher Catania, Daddy Yankee: El Cartel: The Big Boss < PopMatters popmatter.com. PopMatters Media, Inc. Retrieved 11-19-2010.
  12. ↑ (Posted: June 4, 2007) Jon Pareles, CRITICS' CHOICE: NEW CDS nytimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 11-19-2010.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Andrew Casillas, Daddy Yankee - El Cartel: The Big Boss - Review stylusmagazine.com. Retrieved 11-19-2010.
  14. ↑ (Posted: June 5, 2007) Dan Charnas, Daddy Yankee, Undisputed 'Boss' Of Reggaeton washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 11-19-2010.
  15. ↑ Rachel Devitt, El Cartel: The Big Boss by Daddy Yankee - Rhapsody Music rhapsody.com. All Music Guide, LLC. Retrieved 11-19-2010.
  16. ↑ (Posted: October 5, 2007) Kelefa Senneh, MUSIC REVIEW; Still Dancing as Reggaet�n Endures query.nytimes.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 11-19-2010.
  17. ↑ Daddy Yankee Reveals U.S. Tour Plans Billboard. Nielson Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 11-19-2010.
  18. ↑ mexicancharts.com - Daddy Yankee - El Cartel: The Big Boss Hung Medien. Retrieved 11-18-2010.
  19. ↑ spanishcharts.com - Daddy Yankee - El Cartel: The Big Boss Hung Medien. Retrieved 11-18-2010.
  20. ↑ Daddy Yankee - El Cartel: The Big Boss - swisscharts.com Hung Medien. Retrieved 11-18-2010.
  21. ↑ Daddy Yankee Album & Song Chart History Billboard 200 for Daddy Yankee. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 11-18-2010.
  22. ↑ Daddy Yankee Album & Song Chart History Digital Albums for Daddy Yankee. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 11-18-2010.
  23. ↑ Daddy Yankee Album & Song Chart History Top Latin Albums for Daddy Yankee. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 11-18-2010.
  24. ↑ Daddy Yankee Album & Song Chart History Top Rap Albums for Daddy Yankee. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 11-18-2010.
  25. ↑ "Certificaciones – Daddy Yankee" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas.