''El Abayarde'' is the debut album by the Puerto Rican

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Tego Calderón Tegui Calderón Rosario (born February 1, 1972) is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actor. He began his musical career in 1996 (as Tego Tec) and was supported by the famous Puerto Rican rapper Eddie Dee, who invited him on his second studio albu ...

. It included the singles "Pa' Que Retozen", "Guasa Guasa" and "Al Natural". It was released in 2002 through

White Lion Records White Lion Records is a reggaeton, Latin Music, Latín reggae and urbano record label established by Elías de León with the release of the album '' No Mercy'' by Daddy Yankee in 1995. The label would temporarily change its name to 'Boricua Guerr ...

selling over 50,000 copies its first week between

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

and some parts of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It would eventually be internationally distributed by

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

in 2003. The album sold 132,000 copies in the US and more than 350,000 copies worldwide. ''El Abayarde'' was nominated for a

Lo Nuestro Award for Urban Album of the Year The Lo Nuestro Award for Urban Album of the Year is an honor presented annually by American television network Univision at the Lo Nuestro Awards. The accolade was established to recognize the most talented performers of Latin music. The nominees a ...

and Best Rap/Hip Hop Album in the 4th Latin Grammy Awards in 2003.

Album details

''El Abayarde'' was one of the first

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American Hip hop m ...

albums to be successful in the United States, and also of the genre. Having five singles released, it is the album with the most singles in Tego Calderon's career. The album took reggaeton to a new level, and revolutionized reggaeton in North America. The album features contributions by

Eddie Dee Eddie Alexander Ávila Ortiz (born April 26, 1977), originally known by his stage name Eddie Dee, is a Puerto Rican hip hop recording artist, lyricist and dancer. He began his career in 1990 and launched his debut studio album three years later ...

, Luisma, and

Maestro Maestro (; from the Italian ''wikt:maestro#Italian, maestro'' , meaning "wikt:master, master" or "teacher") is an honorific title of respect (plural: maestros or maestri). The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music ...

. The tracks were produced by

Luny Tunes Luny Tunes are a reggaeton production duo consisting of Francisco Saldaña (Luny) and Víctor Cabrera (Tunes) who have been known for creating unique musical rhythms for some of the most popular reggaeton artists since the early 2000s. Biograph ...

DJ Nelson Nelson Díaz Martinez (born on April 7, 1972 in San Juan, Puerto Rico), known professionally as DJ Nelson is a Puerto Rican DJ and record producer who played a significant role in the development and popularization of reggaeton. He first made a na ...

, Rafy Mercenario, DJ Joe, DJ Adam,

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the list ...

and Coo-kee. This is Tego's debut album and was one of the albums that internationalized reggaeton. The singles include: "Abayarde", "Gracias", "Cambumbo" and "Pa' Que Retozen". ''El Abayarde'' is one of the albums that help revolutionized reggaeton worldwide, along with Daddy Yankee's ''

Barrio Fino ''Barrio Fino'' (; en, "Fine 'Hood") is the third studio album by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee, released on July 13, 2004, in the United States by V.I. Music and El Cartel Records and internationally by Machete Music and Polydor Records. R ...

'', Ivy Queen's ''

Diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...

'' and Don Omar's ''

The Last Don ''The Last Don'' is a 1996 novel by American author Mario Puzo, best known as the author of the 1969 novel ''The Godfather''. The story follows an aging Mafia Don and his family as they try to retain power. The story alternates between the fil ...

''. It was the most purchased reggaeton album in Puerto Rico of that year, helping it break the record for the most sales as a reggaeton CD in its first week. The album is credited with introducing reggaeton to mainstream audiences in places like Houston, New York, Miami and Los Angeles in the United States.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abayarde Tego Calderón albums 2003 debut albums Albums produced by Luny Tunes Albums produced by Noriega Albums produced by Rafy Mercenario