Latin music icon Daddy Yankee has been named the new global ambassador for 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
The World Baseball Classic is the ultimate collection of premier international baseball talent, so what better stage to unite the global impact that Daddy Yankee has had as an artist to the worldwide reach of this premier international tournament. As a passionate baseball fan, Daddy Yankee looks to use the unique opportunity that the tournament brings to help showcase and connect cultures that embrace the game of baseball.
As a culture creator, game changer, and groundbreaker, Daddy Yankee has consistently inspired, impacted, and influenced generations of creators. An indisputable icon, he remains one of the most influential personalities of all time, bringing reggaeton worldwide for the first time. After changing the face of Latin music forever, he leaves on the highest note possible in 2022 with his twelfth full-length offering and final album, LEGENDADDY, brought to life with his farewell tour, LA ÚLTIMA VUELTA (The Last Round). “La Última Vuelta” wrapped as his biggest ever with $198M in grosssales. La Última Vuelta World Tour finished as the second-biggest tour by a Latin artist in Boxscore history over 88 shows in 2022.
As part of the special role in this year’s tournament, “Chispa,” produced by Daddy Yankee and award-winning producing duo Play-N-Skilz, will serve as the World Baseball Classic anthem and be featured across WBC & MLB social platforms and content, in-park activations and presentations and throughout broadcast coverage of the WBC. DaddyYankee is also expected to attend several games played at loanDeportpark in Miami throughout the tournament, including throwing out the first pitch on SundayMarch 12 before the Venezuela vs. Puerto Rico game at 7:00 PM ET.
Play-N-Skillz, the Latin/American record production/DJ group duo consisting of brothers Juan “Play” Salinas and Oscar “Skillz” Salinas, produced “Chispa” with Daddy Yankee. Their production has won several Grammys including the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 2007 and the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 2008. The brothers act as creative directors at CTM Latin Music Publishing while also gaining a position of ownership in the company. In March of 2022 the duo produced and wrote 6 songs on the album “LEGENDADDY” the last album for Daddy Yankee which debut #1 in the world.
The World Baseball Classic is the premier international baseball tournament, sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), as the sport’s official National Team World Championship, and features the best players in the world competing for their home countries and territories. More than 3.4 million fans from all over the world have attended the tournament games, held in March 2006, March 2009, March 2013 and March 2017. Team USA is the reigning World Baseball Classic Champion after beating runner-up Puerto Rico during its 2017 championship run, joining previous tournament champions Team Japan (2006 and 2009) and Team Dominican Republic (2013). The 2023 World Baseball Classic will again feature the world’s greatest baseball-playing countries and territories.
ABOUT DADDY YANKEE:
As a culture creator, game changer, agent of change, and groundbreaker, Daddy Yankee has consistently inspired, impacted, and influenced generations of creators. An indisputable icon, he remains one of the most influential artists of all time, bringing reggaeton worldwide for the first time. Latin music and culture would not look, sound, or feel the same without him. It’s hard to even imagine the genre itself without “Gasolina,” “Despacito” [with Luis Fonsi], or “Con Calma” [with Snow], and more.
Since 1995, he has consistently conquered charts, toppled records, and made history on his own terms. The magnitude of his accolades proves nearly impossible to match or exceed. Living up to the title of “King of Reggaeton,” he has moved north of 30 million records as “one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all-time.” Out of hundreds of awards, he has scored five Latin GRAMMY® Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, 14 Billboard Latin Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards (including the Icon Award), eight Lo Nuestro Awards, an MTV VMA, and six ASCAP Awards in addition to earning a spot on the Puerto Rican Walk of Fame and the“Presencia Latina” at Harvard University. He also stands out as “the only Latin Artist with four Spanish-language entries on the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.” He received “Songwriter of the Year” three times at the 2021 ASCAP Latin Music Awards and distinguished himself as “the first urban Latino artist to enter the Billboard Hall of Fame.”
Most importantly, he runs and leads his charity “Daddy’s House,” which Billboard commended with the Spirit of Hope Award.
After changing the face of Latin music forever, he leaves on the highest note possible in 2022 with his twelfth full-length offering and final album, LEGENDADDY, brought to life with his farewell tour, LA ÚLTIMA VUELTA (The Last Round). The album combines the essence of Reggaeton with salsa, dancehall, rap, trap bachata, EDM, and Caribbean music like never before.
