Farruko

Farruko ranks among the top-selling artists in reggaeton and Latin pop, having originated in Puerto Rico. After issuing his Latin Grammy-nominated debut El Talento del Bloque in 2010, he has put out more than 160 singles either on his own or alongside an array of Latin pop heavyweights such as Pitbull, Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha, Karol G, and Bad Bunny. His videos have accumulated hundreds of millions of streams, with the 2016 track “Chillax” featuring Ky-Mani Marley alone surpassing 750 million. His smooth high baritone allows him to move with equal facility across reggaeton, merengue, bachata, pop, Latin dance, and reggae. Farruko Presenta: Los Menores became his first album to reach the Top Five, whereas Visionary from 2015 climbed to number one. Two years afterward the single “Krippy Kush” and its remix with Ocasio, Rvssian, Nicki Minaj, and 21 Savage entered the Top Ten on two separate occasions, lifting the hit TrapXficante album to number three. Gangalee from 2019 led the Latin streaming chart and peaked at number two on Top Latin Albums, staying on the ranking for two full years. After supplying the soundtrack for the 2019 HBO docuseries En Letra de Otro, he returned to the top of the Latin Albums chart in 2021 with La 167, which included the hit “Pepas.” The EP Cvrbon Vrmor (C_DE: G_D.O.N.) appeared in 2024.

Born Carlos Efren Reyes in Bayamón in 1991, he began uploading tracks to MySpace under his stage name at age sixteen. His earliest single, “Sexo Fuera del Planeta,” quickly drew thousands of followers and prompted him to test additional social platforms. The resulting online traction drew the notice of Puerto Rican radio and label executives, who began enlisting his voice for other acts. Released when he was eighteen through Siente Music and distributed by Universal, his debut album El Talento del Bloque contained thirteen tracks, nearly all written by Farruko himself. The project scored rapid success and spawned several singles, among them the collaborations “Su Hija Me Gusta” with José Feliciano, “Ella No Es Fácil” with Cosculluela, and “Traime a Tu Amiga” with Arcángel and Julio Voltio. He also issued the stand-alone hit “Pa' Romper la Discoteca” alongside Daddy Yankee and Yomo. His second album, TMPR: The Most Powerful Rookie, arrived in 2012 and featured five charting singles beginning with “Feel the Rhythm” (“Siente el Ritmo”). The record confirmed Farruko’s ease within both electro and pop settings as well as reggaeton and earned a Latin Grammy nomination.

Following extensive tours across Latin America and the United States that built devoted audiences in Venezuela and Colombia, he returned to the studio in 2014. Farruko Presenta Los Menores came out in late October and ascended to the top of the Latin Albums chart within a week. Standout pairings on the set include “Salgo” with Arcángel, Ñengo Flow, D. Ozi, and Genio y Kelmitt, “Bebe Conmigo” with J Balvin, and “Interesada” with Luigi 21+. He captured the Premios Juventud award for “6 AM” with J Balvin and received Latin Grammy Awards for Best Urban Performance and Best Urban Song in 2015. February of that year brought the remix of “Lejos de Aquí” with Yandel. In June he joined Alejandra Guzmán for her debut urban single “Adios.” July saw the pre-release of “Sunset” featuring Shaggy and Nicky Jam, which reached number one on multiple Latin airplay charts. August delivered The Ones, a collection of his prior charting singles and collaborations that previewed Visionary, which followed in late October. Advance orders drove the album straight to number one on several Latin album charts, where it held position for multiple weeks. He resurfaced in 2017 with his sixth studio album TrapXficante. True to its title, the project fused reggaeton and urban pop with the emerging wave of Latin trap, a style Farruko viewed as still developing yet poised to define mainstream Latinx pop despite its underground origins. He assembled a roster of next-generation collaborators including Frank Miami, Sharo Torres, Rome, Mambo Kingz, DJ Luian, Maffio, Lil Geniuz, Bad Bunny, and Ladkani. The album dropped in September while Farruko launched the U.S. portion of his global TrapXficante tour.

In subsequent years he appeared on numerous singles and remixes with J Balvin, Pedro Capó, Nicky Jam, Zion & Lennox, and Alicia Keys. Amid this run of activity he was arrested in Puerto Rico in April 2018 and placed under house arrest, during which he recorded Gangalee, his eighth album overall. Released in April 2019, the project featured Anuel AA, Bad Bunny, and additional guests. Later that year he issued En Letra de Otro, the soundtrack to the HBO Latino documentary-style music series of the same name. Between that release and 2021 he either issued or contributed to more than fifty singles, several of which reached the Top Five, among them “Krippy Kush,” 2020’s “La Toxica,” and 2021’s EDM- and guaracha-infused “Pepas,” which appeared on La 167. That same year he supplied “Rápido” to the F9: The Fast Saga soundtrack, then offered the reflective single “Nazareno” in 2022. He teamed with Marshmello for “Esta Vida” a year later and returned in 2024 with “Carbon Vrmor,” the title track of the EP Cvrbon Vrmor (C_DE: G_D.O.N.).