Daddy Yankee is retiring from music to devote his life to Christianity. The man who belted out “Dame más gasolina!” one last time announced the news at the final concert of his farewell tour, La Meta (The Goal) at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico on December 3. He tweeted out the following message:
The 46-year-old singer made the announcement in a lengthy speech following a larger-than-life performance of his global hit “Gasolina,” a song that marked the beginning of the globalization of reggaeton and catapulted him into mainstream success back in 2004.
“Family: This day for me is the most important of my life… tonight I recognize and I am not ashamed to tell the whole world that Christ lives in me and that I will live for him. This is the end of a chapter and the beginning of a completely new one.
“What good is it for man to win the whole world, if he loses his life? Or how much will the man be able to pay for his life? For the Son of man will come with the glory of his Father and with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to what he has done.” – St. Matthew 16:26-27 Amen
“My people, this day for me is the most important day of my life. And I want to share it with you because living a life of success is not the same as living a life with purpose,” he explained at the concert. “I have to confess that those days are over. Someone was able to fill that emptiness. That is why tonight, I recognize, and I am not ashamed to tell the whole world that Jesus lives in me and that I will live for him,” the singer said with his hand to the sky.” He will be moving forward publicly as his birth name, Ramón Ayala. While he previously announced his retirement, he did not mention his faith influenced the decision at the time.
