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Reggaeton artist Ñejo was born Carlos Daniel Crespo Planas in 1975 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. While growing up, his mother often called him Ñejo, and he kept the name when he began making music. Before going solo, he had a long run as half of the popular duo Ñejo y Dálmata, who started releasing tracks in the mid-2000s and found success with their 2007 debut album, Broke and Famous. While Ñejo had been working on various solo and collaborative singles for a while, his first truly solo album arrived in the form of 2014's Yo Soy la Fama. He continued to develop an ever-shifting style as he issued more singles that drew on elements of pop radio production and even commercial R&B hits. ~ Fred Thomas

Well versed in reggaeton, Latin trap, pop, and hip-pop, De la Ghetto is a prolific urbano artist born in the U.S. and raised in Puerto Rico. He first established himself alongside onetime duo partner Arcángel, landing a major reggaeton hit with 2005's "Ven Pégate." Known for his bilingual rhyming style delivered in a percussive, rapid-fire cadence, De la Ghetto forged a solo career after the duo's 2007 split. While albums like 2008's Masacre Musical and 2018's Mi Movimiento have performed well on the charts, his focus has largely been on the numerous singles, mixtape tracks, and collaborations that have made him a staple of Latin radio, video, and streaming. As a featured artist, he has been involved with hits like "Aparentemente" by Yaga & Mackie (with Arcángel), Nicky Jam's "Si Tú No Estás," and "1,2,3" with Sofia Reyes and Jason Derulo. De la Ghetto's success has continued into the 2020s; his singles have been streamed into the millions and in 2023 he began a new era with his first independent album, GZ.

Born Rafael Castillo on September 17, 1982, in New York City, he later moved with his family to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and became involved with the city's burgeoning reggaeton scene. In 2004 he founded Arcángel y De la Ghetto, a duo with fellow New York City-born Puerto Rican artist Arcángel (born Austin Santos). They first established themselves with the song "Ven Pégate," which is featured on the popular Hector El Father-hosted mixtape album Sangre Nueva (2005). Throughout 2005 and 2006, Arcángel y De la Ghetto were featured on a variety of reggaeton albums, including Luny Tunes' Mas Flow: Los Benjamins (2006), and were associated with Baby Records, the label of Zion (of the duo Zion & Lennox).

Arcángel announced in December 2006 that he was embarking on a solo career and founding a label of his own. In the wake of Arcángel's announcement, De la Ghetto launched his own solo career and was subsequently featured on one of his biggest hits to date, the Tito El Bambino and Randy remix of "Siente el Boom" featured on the album Top of the Line: El Internacional (2007). Also in 2007 he scored his second major hit with "Sensación del Bloque," another of his collaborations with Randy.

Following these mainstream breakthroughs, De la Ghetto made his major-label full-length album debut with Masacre Musical (2008); it peaked on the Top Latin Albums chart at number 46, and its single "Dificil" peaked at number 42 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. While the artist didn't issue another full-length for five years, he was intensely active. In 2009 alone, he issued five singles from Musical Massacre, including the Top 40 Hot Latin Songs track "Tu Te Imaginas." De la Ghetto and his label and management kept up his profile by issuing tracks for dozens of compilations as well as his own singles.

In 2013 he released the full-length Geezy Boys: The Album; it netted five hit singles including "Saciar la Sed," "Ahí Ahí Ahí," and "Sincero Amor" (whose remix featured Arcángel). De la Ghetto and his team began issuing videos that kept his tracks and collaborations popping up on social media and streaming charts. Between 2016 and 2018, he placed no less than nine songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart, and six more on other select lists including Latin Airplay and Tropical Songs, while upping his output as a guest exponentially. In fact, De la Ghetto was, by 2016, one of the most in-demand studio talents in reggaeton.

His third album, Mi Movimiento, was issued by Warner Music in September of 2018. It included 17 tracks, many of which were selected by fans on his social media accounts. The set included collaborations with a large number of artists, including fellow chart-masters Wisin, Ozuna, Daddy Yankee, Maluma, Fetty Wap, and more. In July 2020, he appeared alongside Arcángel on Anitta's track "Tócame." Three months later, he returned with his fourth studio album, Los Chulitos, which featured guest appearances by Nicky Jam, Manuel Turizo, Justin Quiles, Jowell & Randy, and Farruko. A typically prolific period followed over the next two years with highlights like "Cuando Bebe," a multi-artist super-collaboration that included Myke Towers, Mambo Kingz, and Jay Menez, among others. 2022's "Loco Por Pearrearte (Remix)" with Rauw Alejandro was also a big hit, and maintained the demand for his next full-length, and first as an independent artist, GZ, in 2023. ~ Jason Birchmeier

Luigi 21 Plus (also known as Lui-G 21 Plus) is a charting reggaetonero and songwriter whose stage name blatantly contains a parental warning about the explicit nature of his songs. Since issuing his debut long-player, 2009's Musica por Adultos, he has populated his lyrics with explicit sex, drugs, and sometimes violence amid brittle beats surrounding a raw, reedy vocal delivery. Despite drawing ire from radio programmers, parents, and even government officials, the urbano's music is popular with listeners and club-goers in Latin American countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Argentina. His subsequent singles in Puerto Rico were littered with star-studded collaborations with J Alvarez, J Balvin, Arcángel, Zion & Lennox, Maluma, and Nicky Jam. Later albums, including 2012's El Patan and 2014's In Business, were acclaimed by fellow urban artists and critics alike. Their admiration enhanced Luigi 21 Plus' international reputation, but his music already resonated with listeners who lobbied programmers and DJs to play his records, resulting in club radio hits such as 2016's Back to Basics.

Born Hiram David Santos Rojas in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1977, he spent his childhood in Cupey Bajo. At age 20 he moved to Lynn, Massachusetts. Hanging out in clubs and listening to first-wave reggaeton and dancehall due to the influence of his brother, he discovered a knack for songwriting and freestyling. He experimented with dancehall and hip-hop and took his first steps toward making himself known in the local scene by performing at parties and rap battles. He composed songs for the artist Yo-Seph for a few years before returning to Puerto Rico to work on his own music. He got his chance with the track "Libertad" for the producers Luny Tunes and Tainy; it was included on their breakthrough 2006 compilation Los Benjamins. Luigi 21 Plus began a series of collaborations before getting the chance to record his debut long-player Musica Por Adultos for Flow Music. Given the ribald topics of the songs, the album received little airplay, but DJs spun its tracks in clubs, while its beats and lyric snippets were sampled by other producers. El Boki Sucio followed in 2010. Equally explicit, it featured stellar collaborations with Arcangel ("Gata Oficial"), and J Álvarez ("Echa Pa Ca"). 2012's 20-cut El Patan was equally heavy on collaborations and included appearances from Gocho, Gotay, Jory Boy, Zion, and Ñengo Flow. The set was a club smash and scored play in Europe and Asia as well as Latin America. Over the next two years, Luigi 21 Plus performed in Miami, the Caribbean, and South American clubs. 2014's In Business made numerous year-end lists of critics and artists alike, thanks in large part to its singles "Un Beso" and "Amor Illegal," which coincided with the renewed popularity of reggaeton at the dawn of the urbano explosion.

With 2016's Back to Basics, he traded on his now-established reputation by offering a new set of all-star collaborations including "Los 3 HP" featuring Ñengo Flow and Ñejo; "Te Tocó Partir" with De La Ghetto; "Mala y Descarada" featuring Pusho, and "No Me Digan Na’" with Jowell & Randy. In order to keep up with an increasing audience demand for new material, he issued a pair of underground mixtapes over the next two years: Los Illusions, Vol. 1 in 2017, with Gotay and J Álvarez as collaborators, and El Boki Boki: The Mixtape a year later, with participation from Clandestino & Yailemm, among others. During the spring of 2019, Luigi 21 Plus fanned the flames with the single "Siempre Papi Nunca Inpapi" featuring J Balvin, and a month later released the album #tbt. His most polished and commercially successful effort to date, the album featured his largest cast of collaborators and his most controversial lyrics, thanks to the tracks "Mujeres Talenstosas," "Enamorao & Ilusionao," and "A Lo Escondido." The album and its viral videos drew considerable fire from the Governor of Valle del Cauca, in Colombia, Dilian Francisca Toro (who is also a physician). She denounced Luigi 21 Plus on social media for promoting misogyny and drug use to minors; it subsequently drew further outrage from parents, educators, churchgoers, and medical professionals. Nonplussed, Luigi 21 Plus responded by posting an apology for offending the governor along with an article about an investigation that had recently been opened against her. ~ Thom Jurek

With his allegiance to the streets coming through in his music, Puerto Rican singer, rapper, and songwriter Ñengo Flow earned himself the nickname "The Real G of Urban Music." Known as much for his collaborations as his own recordings, he is a go-to for reggaetoneros and urbano musicians and producers for his percussive, gritty flow and compelling musicality. He burst onto the scene with his 2005 debut offering, Flow Callejero, which brought his anthemic party music to the masses. Flow has appeared on dozens of singles and albums as a collaborator, co-writer, and producer with artists ranging from Ivy Queen and Don Omar to Bad Bunny and De la Ghetto. Globally renowned for his numerous mixtapes, such as 2011's Real G 4 Life (and three subsequent entries in the series), he established a rep as an old-school reggaetonero fully equipped with enough new-school chops to remain not only relevant but in demand. Ñengo Flow's third (non-mixtape) studio long-player, The Goat, appeared in 2020, and he has continued releasing heavily streamed singles since, including 2022's "Gato de Noche" with Bad Bunny.

Raised in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Edwin Rosa first jumped on-stage as a young reggaeton and hip-hop singer in 1995 at the age of 14. In 2004, he joined a group of colleagues on a regional mixtape. A year later, he was on the Univision label with his debut album as Ñengo Flow, Flow Callejero, but the always-rebellious artist willingly returned to the underground and spent the next seven years releasing singles and mixtapes like La Verdadera Calle (2010). In 2011, Millones Récords began issuing his Real G 4 Life series of official mixtapes, including Real G 4 Life, Pt. 2 (2012), which landed on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart. That same year, he was a noted collaborator on Ivy Queen's now-classic album Musa. In 2015, the mixtape series became the name of Ñengo's own label when Real G 4 Life Records released the Los Reyes del Rap album along with the "Moving Kilos" single featuring French Montana. The third installment in Flow's mixtape series, Real G4 Life, Vol. 3, appeared in 2017. That same year, he was a featured guest on Kiubbah Malon's album El Final.

In 2018, Flow appeared as an actor in the first season of Nicky Jam's autobiographical Netflix series El Ganador while also collaborating on the soundtrack. In 2019, his "Te Arrepentiste," featuring Lyanno, also made the urbano charts. In March 2020, Flow appeared on Bad Bunny's smash "Safaera" with Jowell & Randy and followed with his own charting long-player, The Goat, featuring guest spots from Jhay Cortez, Anuel AA, Jory Boy, and Myke Towers, among others.

Flow has released dozens of singles since The Goat. Some of his biggest tracks from 2020 include "Vive y Deja Vivir" (with Alejandra Guzmán), "Gatita Gangster" (with Cazzu), "Profecía," and "Universitaria." 2021 brought songs with Dvice, Gaona, Farruko, Myke Towers ("Burberry"), and others. "Chukiteo" (with Kiko El Crazy) appeared in 2022, as well as "Delincuente" (with Tokischa and Anuel AA), "Sufro" (with Kodak Black and Anuel AA), "Gato de Noche" (with Bad Bunny), and others. ~ David Jeffries

One of the most prolific artists in reggaeton and Latin trap, Nicky Jam is a charting, award-winning singer and songwriter who has collaborated with a long list of performers, including superstars such as Daddy Yankee, Farruko, J Balvin, and dozens of others. In addition, his solo material includes the popular albums Vida Escante (2004) and The Black Carpet (2007) as well as its accompanying self-released The Black Mixtape (2009). His single "Hasta el Amanecer," issued in early 2016, contained the singer's trademark catchy, romantic, melodic hooks, and its music video has been viewed over a billion times. His 2017 hit album, Fénix, was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year, while 2019's Íntimo went platinum in three countries. Jam returned in 2021 with the full-length Infinity and continued to occupy the charts with singles like "Sin Novia" (2022) and "Toy a Mil" (2023).

Born Nick Rivera Caminero on March 17, 1981, in Boston, Massachusetts, Jam moved with his family to Barrio Obrero, Puerto Rico at age ten. His father is Puerto Rican and his mother is Dominican. Like many of his generation, Jam initially got into the reggaeton scene during the '90s and made a name for himself on the mixtape circuit. Most notably, he can be heard on some of the seminal mixtapes helmed by DJ Playero around the turn of the century. Early solo albums such as Haciendo Escante (2001), featuring fellow DJ Playero protégé Daddy Yankee on the title track, established him as a rising star in the reggaeton scene, but it wasn't until Vida Escante (2004) that he broke through to a mainstream audience, particularly once the album was re-released with bonus material in 2005. His follow-up, The Black Carpet (2007), proved similarly popular, spawning one of his biggest hits, "Gas Pela" featuring RKM.

Despite Jam's success, he felt he could do more, and decided to move to Colombia in 2010. It provided to be just the career rejuvenation he needed, resulting in a parade of underground hits including "Tu Primera Vez," "Curiosidad," and "Voy a Beber." By 2014 he was charting consistently again, first with the single "Travesuras" and then in early 2015 with "Si Tu No Estas." Both songs appeared on Greatest Hits, Vol. 1. In the spring of 2015, his duet with Enrique Iglesias on "El Perdón" became his first single to hit number one on the Latin charts, and crossed over to the pop charts. After winning accolades at the 2015 Latin American Music Awards and Latin Grammy Awards, as well as the 2016 Lo Nuestro Awards, Jam worked on his first studio album since 2007. That effort, the multi-platinum Fénix, arrived on Sony Music in 2017. Featuring appearances by Sean Paul, J Balvin, Wisin, Daddy Yankee, Arcangel, Enrique Iglesias, and more, the record hit the Top 30 of the Billboard 200 and topped the Latin Albums chart, Jam's first appearance on the list.

The single "X," featuring J Balvin, appeared in 2018, with a remix featuring Maluma and Ozuna following soon after. Jam continued to release stand-alone tracks throughout the year, including "Satisfaccion" with Bad Bunny and Arcangel, "Good Vibes" with Fuego, and "Jaleo" with Steve Aoki. At the end of the year, he issued the charting "Te Robaré" (featuring Ozuna). He also appeared as a featured collaborator on various singles and album tracks including Ozuna's "Haciéndolo," Ginza's remix of J Balvin's "Bruuttal," and Loud Luxury's "Body on My" with Brando and Pitbull.

2019 held no respite for Jam as he collaborated on a slew of tracks including Shaggy's "Body Good," Alejandro Sanz's "Back in the City," and the remix of Karol G's "Mi Cama." He also issued a handful of digital singles across the Caribbean and Latin America including "Mona Lisa" (featuring Nacho), "Atrévete" (featuring Sech), and "El Favor" (with Dimelo Flow and Farruko, featuring Sech, Zion, and Lunay). Jam also spent time filming the movie Bad Boys for Life, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, and touring to generate interest for his upcoming sixth studio album, Intimo. In late October, a week before the set's release, he released a documentary trailer titled Behind Nicky Jam's Intimo. It gave viewers an inside look at his battle with drugs, almost losing his career, and his journey toward sobriety. Intimo arrived in November 2019 and entered the Latin Albums chart at number three. A single, "Muévelo," featuring Jam and Daddy Yankee, appeared in January 2020 as part of the Bad Boys for Life soundtrack and topped the Billboard Latin Airplay chart. Later that year, he released the platinum-selling single "Polvo" (featuring Myke Towers), with "Fan de Tus Fotos" (featuring Romeo Santos) arriving in 2021. Along with the Jhay Cortez collaboration "Magnum," both songs appeared on Jam's sixth album, Infinity, that August. A pair of stand-alone singles, “Ojos Rojos” and the Prince Royce- and Jay Wheeler-assisted “Si Te Preguntan...,” appeared in 2022, with “Toy a Mil” and "69" arriving in 2023. He also paired with Trueno for 2024's "Cangrinaje." ~ Jason Birchmeier & James Christopher Monger