"Who's your daddy?"
That's what reggaeton superstar Daddy Yankee constantly asked the crowd during his show Saturday at Orlando's Amway Arena.
And the crowd, comprised mostly of tweens and teens accompanied by their real mommies and daddies, responded "Dad-dy-Yan-kee!"
That the crowd, which only filled the lower bowl, was such a diverse mix of men and women, young and old, should come as no surprise. After all, Daddy Yankee is arguably the founder and ambassador of reggaeton, a Spanish language concoction of reggae, rap, hip-hop and other Latin rhythms, who earned international success after going mainstream with his chart-topping album "Barrio Fino." His ability to influence and establish a fan base is doubted by few. Saturday night he proved it, showing off his remarkable capacity to excite a crowd on command.
After an hour-late start, Daddy Yankee shifted straight into first gear, omitting an opening act and opting for a short video-clip of what appeared to be a homemade rendition of Rambo, with helicopters and men in camouflage uniforms marching to the beat of a drum. "The Big Boss" then impressed the crowd making his grand entrance aboard a helicopter that remained suspended from the ceiling throughout the entire show.
His opening performance, "Jefe", and other songs from his latest album "El Cartel: The Big Boss" offered plenty of opportunities for Daddy Yankee to emphasize his strengths: rapping or freestyling to the convergence of sounds that incited fans to gyrate their bodies while their mouths attempted to keep up with lyrics catchy enough to stick to their minds.
Bouncing back and forth between smash hits and less sensational ones, Daddy Yankee elicited the kind of response that only "The Big Boss" can. He seemed to know exactly when to follow an unpopular hit by a popular punch in order not to lose momentum, lest the real daddies in the crowd decide to take the family home. When that didn't work, asking Puerto Ricans to raise their hands in the air and shout did the trick.
Under clouds of smoke and between abrupt finishes punctuated by showers of sparks, the Latin Grammy winner found time to let the crowd know how proud he was to be Puerto Rican and to represent what he called the "Reggaeton movement." It was a wonder that the stage, along with the artist, his backup rapper and group of dancers didn't become engulfed in flames after the third round of fireworks.
After hits like "Gasolina" and "Lo Que PasóPasó," - songs from the album "Barrio Fino" that have become iconic hymns of the genre- the businessman in Daddy Yankee came out from under the smoke.
Shortly after leaving the stage for what appeared to be a costume change, he returned only to show a preview of his upcoming movie "Talento de Barrio" scheduled to be released in November. Keeping up with the Rambo theme, and making the crowd go wild, he was then elevated on a platform and then hung from the ceiling while he was bounced in and out of the crowd. Strategic transitions are obviously one of his fortes, though a career in gymnastics looks promising.
Less capable of evoking a response on command from the spectators was half-time show act Miguelito, the 8-year-old reggaetonero who called himself "The Little Boss" during his two-song performance in the limelight. The miniature rapper stood just tall enough to be noticed and overly exerted his undeveloped vocal chords in an effort to prove that his recent Latin Grammy nomination is well deserved.
Martha Phifer, www.orlandosentinel.com
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