Daddy Yankee credited Biggie and Jamaican dancehall as influences on his music during “Track Star,” where he also claimed he came up with reggaeton’s name in 1992.

During an interview with Jack Coyne, the Puerto Rican star recognized The Notorious B.I.G. and Shabba Ranks as the artists who shaped him. Calling Biggie a formative influence, he said, “he’s a great legend and he inspired me a lot.”

He also named Super Cat, Buju Banton and Beenie Man among the Jamaican artists who influenced Puerto Rican musicians. Yankee’s claim concerned naming reggaeton. The sound grew out of a wider movement of rappers, DJs and Caribbean music. A 2023 history published by El País placed Yankee’s use of the word on a DJ Playero recording around 1991 or 1992. Playero recalled the moment as something that happened while they were making a song, rather than a planned announcement of a new genre. That history also described an early scene built through cassette sales on Puerto Rican streets. DJ Adam Avilés recalled that the music was called underground before it had a place on radio, television or store shelves.

Daddy Yankee’s own crossover came from hits like “Gasolina,” from the 2004 album Barrio Fino, which was entered the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2023. Rivera-Rideau described how the song reached American rap and pop radio, MTV and BET, carrying reggaeton well beyond its early underground audience.