Latin rapper Daddy Yankee says he's retiring to spread the gospel: 'To all the people who followed me, follow Jesus Christ'

Latin actor and rapper Daddy Yankee, 46, is retiring from an illustrious and lucrative career in music. Yankee, whose musical collaboration with pop singer Luis Fonsi, "Despacito," was the first Spanish-language song to crack the Billboard Hot 100 in over 20 years, indicated he will devote the rest of his life to Christ and spreading the gospel.

Yankee, the best-selling Latin artist of the 2000s, revealed his calling to fans during a farewell performance in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday.

During the show, which capped off his 2022 La Última Vuelta world tour, the musician, whose real name is Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, told the audience in Spanish, "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."

Rodríguez indicated neither his fame nor his estimated $40 million fortune could remedy the "emptiness that [he] felt for a long time." Jesus Christ was, however, able to do so.

"What good will it be for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" said Rodríguez, quoting Matthew 16:26. "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 musician indicated he will utilize his resources, platform, and popularity to promote Christianity and implored fans to join him in following Christ, reported USA Today.

"To all the people who followed me, follow Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life," he said. "Just like Jesus, with his mercy, allowed me to travel the world, in your mercy, Father, I hope you allow me to evangelize the world from Puerto Rico."

Notwithstanding his sunglasses, WNBC-TV indicated it was apparent that the rapper was crying toward the end of his declaration.

Long before his 2004 international hit single "Gasolina" and the 30 million record sales that ultimately followed, the so-called "reggaetón" artist had aspirations of playing professional baseball.

Rodríguez showed MTV Music where he watched, at age 6, a gunman charge a baseball field and gun down his coach, Juan Cintron, right in front of him. Although traumatized by the incident, the young Puerto Rican nevertheless maintained his aspirations of playing for the big leagues. However, years later a bullet came for him.

Around the age of 16, Rodríguez was reportedly in the process of recording a mix tape when he got struck by a stray bullet fired by an AK-47.

"It was in V.K. [aka Villa Kennedy in Santurce] — the place that I'm from," he recalled. "I was just vibing with the homies. And all of a sudden: Boom, boom! I saw the crossfire and I got caught in an exchange of bullets. I was running, running, running, running — but I got hit. It broke my bone, like, quick. In an instant: Bam! I went under a van when I was stumbling and that was the only reason I survived."

The future star's baseball dreams were over. His recovery took over a year and had him temporarily wheelchair-bound.

Despite the setback, he came to understand the incident as providential.

"I thank God for that bullet," said Rodríguez. "At that time, I didn't understand it. But right now, I give thanks to that bullet. That bullet made me be focused in music."

In his Instagram post concerning his new religious direction, Rodríguez wrote, "Tonight I acknowledge and am not ashamed to tell the whole world that Christ lives in me and that I live for him. This is the end of a chapter and the beginning of a whole new one."

The BBC reported that Rodríguez joins numerous other mega-stars who have left their music careers behind in order to devote themselves to Christ, including:

• Al Green, who still preaches at the Full Gospel Tabernacle church in Memphis to this day;
• Harlem rapper Mason Durell Betha, also known as Ma$e, who indicated he no longer wanted a hand in "leading people, friends, kids and others down a path to hell" and now is a pastor in Atlanta; and
• Korn guitarist Brian Welch, who quit his band, got baptized in the river Jordan, then traveled through impoverished areas in India helping to build orphanages.

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