Luigi 21 Plus

Luigi 21 Plus, also styled Lui-G 21 Plus, functions as a charting reggaetonero and songwriter whose adopted name openly flags parental caution over the mature content of his material. After releasing his first full-length effort, Musica por Adultos in 2009, he filled his verses with direct references to sexual activity, narcotics, and occasional aggression set against sharp, electronic rhythms that frame his unrefined, high-pitched vocal approach. Although his urbano recordings provoked objections from broadcasters, families, and officials, listeners and club patrons across Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Argentina embraced the sound. Later Puerto Rican singles incorporated prominent team-ups with J Alvarez, J Balvin, Arcángel, Zion & Lennox, Maluma, and Nicky Jam. Projects such as El Patan in 2012 and In Business in 2014 drew acclaim from urban peers and reviewers, lifting his profile abroad even as fan pressure on programmers and DJs had already generated club play for tracks like Back to Basics in 2016.

Born Hiram David Santos Rojas in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1977, he passed his early years in Cupey Bajo before relocating at age twenty to Lynn, Massachusetts. Time spent in nightspots absorbing first-wave reggaeton and dancehall, prompted by his brother, uncovered an aptitude for lyric writing and freestyling. Experiments in dancehall and hip-hop led to early local exposure through party appearances and rap battles. He supplied material for Yo-Seph over several years, then returned to Puerto Rico to focus on his catalog. The track “Libertad,” produced for Luny Tunes and Tainy, appeared on their pivotal 2006 compilation Los Benjamins and opened doors to further partnerships, culminating in the debut album Musica Por Adultos on Flow Music. Its provocative themes limited radio rotation, yet club spins persisted and other producers repurposed its rhythms and lines. El Boki Sucio arrived in 2010, maintaining the explicit tone with notable features on “Gata Oficial” with Arcangel and “Echa Pa Ca” with J Álvarez. The twenty-track El Patan followed in 2012, again rich in collaborations that included Gocho, Gotay, Jory Boy, Zion, and Ñengo Flow; it dominated clubs and reached audiences in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Performances over the next two years took him to Miami along with Caribbean and South American venues. In Business in 2014 landed on multiple year-end lists from critics and artists, driven especially by the singles “Un Beso” and “Amor Illegal” as reggaeton regained momentum at the outset of the urbano surge.

Back to Basics in 2016 leveraged his established standing through additional high-profile pairings such as “Los 3 HP” with Ñengo Flow and Ñejo, “Te Tocó Partir” alongside De La Ghetto, “Mala y Descarada” featuring Pusho, and “No Me Digan Na’” with Jowell & Randy. Rising demand prompted two underground mixtapes in the subsequent years: Los Illusions, Vol. 1 in 2017 featuring Gotay and J Álvarez, followed in 2018 by El Boki Boki: The Mixtape with Clandestino & Yailemm and others. Spring 2019 brought the single “Siempre Papi Nunca Inpapi” with J Balvin, succeeded a month later by the album #tbt. His most refined and commercially successful release to date, it assembled his largest guest roster and most provocative material on “Mujeres Talenstosas,” “Enamorao & Ilusionao,” and “A Lo Escondido.” The project and its videos prompted sharp rebuke from the Governor of Valle del Cauca in Colombia, Dilian Francisca Toro, herself a physician, who publicly condemned Luigi 21 Plus on social media for endorsing misogyny and drug use to minors; parents, educators, churchgoers, and medical professionals voiced similar outrage. Unperturbed, he replied by posting an apology addressed to the governor together with a report on an investigation recently opened against her.