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 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 ...

, who invited him on his second studio album, ''El Terrorista De La Lírica'', released in 2000. Calderón reached international success in 2003 with his first album, '' El Abayarde'', which sold 300,000 copies worldwide and was nominated for a

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...

. His importance in reggaeton music led him to participate in Eddie Dee's ''

12 Discípulos ''12 Discípulos'' (''English: 12 Disciples'') is the fifth studio album by Puerto Rican recording artist Eddie Dee. It was released on January 29, 2004, and independently distributed by Diamond Music. ''12 Discípulos'' features eleven other re ...

'' album in 2004. He released three more studio albums between 2006 and 2015, varying in styles, focusing more in hip hop and African music rather than reggaeton in '' The Underdog'' (2006) and '' El Abayarde Contraataca'' (2007). His fourth studio album, '' El Que Sabe, Sabe'', released in 2015, won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Music Album. In the same year, he announced that he is planning a studio album alongside the Puerto Rican reggaeton and pop singer

Yandel Llandel Veguilla Malavé (born; January 14, 1977), known professionally as Yandel, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter and the half member of the reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel. He released his first solo album, '' Quien Contra Mí'', in 2003. ...

titled ''El Blanco Y El Negro''. Calderón's style is characterized by his social and political themes, with lyrics against corruption in the Puerto Rican government. His themes also include dancing, love, self-reflection and personal experiences. His film career started in 2007 with his supporting role in '' Illegal Tender''. In 2009 he had a lead role in a short film called '' Los Bandoleros'', which is part of ''

Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...

'' franchise, and the same year had a cameo appearance in the fourth installment of that franchise, ''

''. In 2011, he reprised his character in a supporting role in '' Fast Five'', alongside his colleague and friend

Don Omar William Omar Landrón Rivera (born February 10, 1978), better known by his stage name Don Omar, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. On September 1, 2017, he announced that he would retire after a ...

Early life

Calderón was born in

Santurce, Puerto Rico Santurce (, from the Basque ''Santurtzi'' which means Saint George) is a barrio or district in the municipality of San Juan. Its population in 2020 was 69,469. It is also the biggest and most populated of all the barrios in the capital city wit ...

. He is the son of Pilar Rosario Parrilla, a schoolteacher, and Esteban Calderón Ilarraza, a government worker for Puerto Rico's Department of Health. Moving at a young age from his native Puerto Rico to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, Florida, Calderón attended Miami Beach Senior High. Here he was exposed to several different cultures, eventually studying percussion and working as a drummer in a rock band. The band would cover songs produced by artists including

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...

.Latin Rap Interview – "Tego Calderón Part II: El Abayarde Strikes Back"
/ref> He has noted that both of his parents were fans of

Ismael Rivera Ismael Rivera a.k.a. "Maelo" (October 5, 1931 – May 13, 1987), was a Puerto Rican composer and salsa singer. Early life Rivera was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, a sector of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was the first of five children born t ...

, and that his father was also interested in jazz. He was influenced by both genres and incorporated them into his music, including songs such as "

Minnie the Moocher "Minnie the Moocher" is a jazz- scat song first recorded in 1931 by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, selling over a million copies. "Minnie the Moocher" is most famous for its nonsensical ad libbed (" scat") lyrics (for example, "Hi De Hi De Hi ...

". He eventually developed a music style that combined elements of

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

plena Plena is a genre of music and dance native to Puerto Rico. Origins The plena genre originated in Barrio San Antón, Ponce, Puerto Rico, around 1900. It was influenced by the bomba style of music. Originally, sung texts were not associated wit ...

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The R ...

, and hip-hop, focusing on aspects of urban life in his lyrics.

Early musical career

Calderón's career began as a participant in Puerto Rican hip hop contests on television during the 1990s. He met

and DJ Adam who would become his main collaborators, but Calderón was rejected by most producers and deejays at the time. DJ Adam in an interview with Puerto Rican podcaster Chente Ydrach said that Calderón was going to be a part of the underground album DJ Adam's ''Mad Jam'', but Calderón's style was too eccentric and underdeveloped, so he was taken out of the final tracklist. Calderón signed to Eddie Dee's label in 2000, collaborating with Dee on his first hit on Puerto Rican radio, the hip hop song "En Peligro De Extincion" from Dee's second album ''El Terrorista De La Lirica''. During 2001-2002, Calderón participated in over a dozen original compilations including gold and platinum albums such as "Kilates", "Boricuas NY" volumes 1 and 2, "The Majestic", "La Mision" volumes 2 and 3 and of course his first worldwide crossover hit 'Cosa Buena' from the "Planet Reggae" production distributed by

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 Gue ...

and Diamond Music. On top of that, he also was featured in the albums of

Yaga y Mackie Yaga & Mackie are a reggaeton duo from Puerto Rico. They are signed to Los Mackieavelikos Inc. Discography Studio albums * 2002: ''Sonando Diferente'' * 2004: ''Clase Aparte'' * 2005: '' La Moda'' * 2007: ''La Reunión'' * 2008: ''Los Mackiea ...

Sonando Diferente Yaga & Mackie are a reggaeton duo from Puerto Rico. They are signed to Los Mackieavelikos Inc. Discography Studio albums * 2002: ''Sonando Diferente'' * 2004: ''Clase Aparte'' * 2005: ''La Moda'' * 2007: ''La Reunión'' * 2008: ''Los Mackieav ...

" and Maestro's "The Movie" which further accelerated his buzz in the streets. Thanks to 'Cosa Buena' and it being one of the first reggaeton videos receiving major rotation on mainstream channels such as 'Telemundo', in 2002, Calderón became a worldwide phenomenon before his debut album " El Abayarde" in November of that same year creating much hype for his debut. Despite only being available in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and parts of the United States due to

(formerly known as Boricua Guerrero and now 100% under Elias De Leon's ownership) being an independent label at the time; Regardless, 'El Abayarde' became the first hip hop/reggaeton album by a solo artist to sell over 75,000 units in one week with no major label distribution. This success led to Calderón and White Lion signing a joint venture with

Sony Music Latin Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC (often referred to as Sony Music Latin) is a record label owned by Sony Music. The label focuses on artists of Latin music. History In 1979, CBS Records (now Columbia Records) ended its partnership with ...

. Calderón formed his own label in the process known as Jiggiri Records under the

White Lion The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest ...

banner and distributed by

. Jiggiri Records would go on to sign and release multi-platinum albums from notable artists such as Zion y Lennox,

Voltio Julio Voltio (born as Julio Irving Ramos Filomeno on June 11, 1977 in Santurce, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican former reggaeton artist. A pioneer of the reggaeton genre, Voltio retired from music in 2014 and dedicated himself to preaching Chris ...

and John Eric. Calderón would go on to become one of the most successful touring acts in all of Latin music from 2003-2005, thus further legitimizing the genre now known as reggaeton (once called 'underground'). In August 2003, Calderón performed at the

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

in New York City. Based on his show and performance, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noted that he "made the best case for Reggaetón as music with room to grow" being a "forward-looking performer." His second appearance at the venue was in October 2004, where he headlined an event titled ''Megatón 2004''. The concert sold out, with 20,000 in attendance, a mixed crowd of Latino and non-Latino fans. Calderón's travels subsequently led him to Miami, where he incorporated

elements into his musical style. In 2004, his album titled '' El Enemy de los Guasíbiri'' was released. The album's production included a mix of several urban genres. Calderón claimed that he preferred the influence of these other genres due to his belief that Salsa had "become too corporate and too safe". Years after its release, Calderón stated that he had never approved the release of the ''Guasibiri'' album, which he claimed was rather a collection of old songs and that it should be left out of his

discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...

as an unauthorized album.Latin Rap Interview – "Tego Calderon Represents for the Underdogs"
/ref> Following the release of this album, reggaeton gained more influence with several hip-hop producers in New York. Calderón continued working on several mixtapes, being featured in remixes of

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** F ...

's "Yeah",

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

's "

Lean Back "Lean Back" is a song by American hip hop group Terror Squad. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, '' True Story'', on June 1, 2004. An uptempo hip hop song built for the club environment, it features Fat Joe wit ...

", N.O.R.E.'s " Oye Mi Canto" and

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P ...

's " I Wanna Love You", 50 Cent's

P.I.M.P "P.I.M.P." is a song by American rapper 50 Cent, from his debut studio album ''Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003). The song features production from Mr. Porter of D12 and was mixed by Dr. Dre. A remixed version of the song, featuring fellow rappe ...

remix and also Calderón featured Aventura's "We Got The Crown".

2005–present

Calderón participated on the 2004 and 2005 editions of New York's Puerto Rican Day parade. During this timeframe he became the first Latin American artist to be included on New York's Power-105. Calderón's influence among Latin American youth was noted in a featured published by the Village Voice. The publication claimed that he had "almost single-handedly. .. steered his country’s dominant youth culture out of the island and Latino neighborhoods, and into the American stream of pop consciousness.” Around this time Calderón still remained a fixture in popular Latin music thanks to international hits such as the Don Omar– led "Bandoleros" (notably included in '' The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift Soundtrack'') and "Quitate Tu Pa Ponerme Yo" from Dee's ''12 Discipulos'' compilation album. In mid-2005, Calderón signed a joint venture deal between

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

and his own independent label, Jiggiri Records, for the amount of a million dollars as reported in the Hip Hop/Reggaeton publications of the time.Latin Rap News – "Tego Calderon Signs Global Deal with Atlantic"
/ref> In 2006, he released '' The Underdog/El Subestimado'', his second album, containing less reggaeton and more hip hop music. This album featured appearances by

Buju Banton Mark Anthony Myrie (born 15 July 1973),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, professionally known by his stage name Buju Banton, is a Jamaican reggae dancehall musician. He is considered to be one of the most s ...

, Bataklán,

, Luis Cabán,

Zion Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Isra ...

, Chyno Nyno,

and

Oscar D'León Oscar Emilio León Somoza (born July 11, 1943), known as Oscar D'León, and affectionately called ''The Pharaoh of Salsa'', ''The Lion of Salsa'', and the ''World's Sonero'', is a Venezuelan musician best known for his work with salsa music. He ...

. Several producers were involved in the album, including Cookee, Major League, Salaam Remi, Eric Figueroa,

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. Biograp ...

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 ...

, Danny Fornaris, Nesty La Mente Maestra, Naldo, DJ Joe, DJ Fat,

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 lis ...

and Diesel.

Musical styles and themes

Although Calderón is a

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, ...

artist, he claims to like "all types of music".http://latino963.lamusica.com/content_tego082707.html Albert Perez. "Tego Calderón visits Latino 96.3" Accessed January 31, 2008. www.latino963.lamusica.com Evidence of this is seen both in his biography (he began his career in music in a heavy metal band and attended a school for music as a drummer) as well as in his music, which incorporates "'several musical tendencies'", including sounds and rhythms from places like Africa, Colombia, and the Caribbean. He obtains the sound for his popular reggaeton music through "fusing an experimental reggaeton style strongly rooted in the working-class Caribbean aesthetics of classic salsa with a strong dose of hip-hop". Frances Negrón-Muntaner and Raquel Z. Rivera, "Reggaeton Nation" (17 December 2007) Accessed January 31, 2008. On '' The Underdog/El Subestimado'', he collaborated with rap duo Anónimo Consejo to create a song entitled "Son Dos Alas" which eventually was shortened to an interlude without Calderón. Calderón has also been praised for his lyrics, which are much more substantive and uplifting, expressing social consciousness. Calderón has been described as "the reggaeton champion of an Afro-Caribbean working-class aesthetic" and is known for lyrics that are equal parts poetry and politics. A consistent link between all of his albums "are the social themes and the untouchable bravado that he usually transmits through his artistic outlook." According to

Tony Touch Joseph Anthony Hernandez (born July 2, 1969), professionally known as Tony Touch, is an American hip hop break dancer, rapper, record producer and DJ of Puerto Rican descent. Career Tony Touch began as a B-boy during the rap music renaissance ...

(legendary hip hop dj and collaborator), "Tego is someone who represents struggle, an underdog... He's more of an MC, a product of late-'80s hip-hop."

Film and other career projects

Calderón made his acting debut in the film " Illegal Tender" produced by

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

. Calderón played the role of Choco, a Puerto Rican gangster whose character was written specifically for him by director Franc. Reyes.Illegal Tender movie review
/ref> Calderón turned down roles in both ''

Feel the Noise ''Feel the Noise'' is a 2007 American drama film written by Albert Leon, directed by Alejandro Chomski Alejandro Chomski (27 November 1968 – 5 November 2022) was an Argentine film director and screenwriter. As of early 2020, he has directed ...

'' and " El Cantante" and instead chose to appear in Illegal Tender out of respect for its producer. After convincing John Singleton that he wanted to appear in a comedy, Calderón was slated to appear in an upcoming Singleton film which casts him as the coach of a baseball team., but the movie was never produced. Calderón traveled to

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

along with artists

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream succes ...

and

Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse Records, and has released several albums under the label and collabor ...

to film a VH1 documentary about diamond mining entitled "Bling'd: Blood, Diamonds, and Hip-Hop." The documentary focused on the role of Hip Hop in the

blood diamond ''Blood Diamond'' is a 2006 American political war action thriller film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds min ...

trade, after the filming concluded Calderón publicly announced that he would no longer wear jewelry. His experience in Africa also changed his outlook on life, which influenced the recording of the track "Alegria", encouraging fans to not complain about life and recognize that there are other people with bigger problems in their lives.Latin Rap Interview – "Tego Calderon Part II: El Abayarde Strikes Back"
/ref> Calderón and Don Omar are featured in ''

'', '' Fast Five'' and ''

The Fate of the Furious ''The Fate of the Furious'' (alternatively known as ''F8'' and titled on-screen as ''Fast & Furious 8'' internationally) is a 2017 American action film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to '' Furious 7'' ...

'', the fourth, fifth and eighth installments of ''The Fast and the Furious'' franchise.

Discography

; Studio albums * '' El Abayarde'' (2002) * '' The Underdog/El Subestimado'' (2006) * '' El Abayarde Contraataca'' (2007) * '' El Que Sabe, Sabe'' (2015) ; Mixtapes * ''The Original Gallo Del País - O.G. El Mixtape'' (2012) ;Compilation albums * '' El Enemy de los Guasíbiri'' (2004)

Awards and nominations

; American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Latin Music Awards !Ref. , - , style="text-align:center;", 2004 , «Al Natural» , Hip hop/Rap/Reggaeton Song of the Year , , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="text-align:center;", 2009 , «Quitarte To'» (featuring

Randy Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...

) , Urban Song of the Year , , style="text-align:center;", ;

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

!Ref. , - , style="text-align:center;",

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

, '' The Underdog/El Subestimado'' , Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album , , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="text-align:center;",

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, '' El Abayarde Contraataca'' , Best Latin Urban Album , , style="text-align:center;", ;

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...

!Ref. , - , style="text-align:center;", 2003 , '' El Abayarde'' , rowspan="2", Best Urban Music Album , , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2", 2008 , ''El Abayarde Contraataca'' , , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2", , - , «Ni Fu Ni Fa» , Best Urban Song , , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2", 2012 , "Calentura" (with

ChocQuibTown ChocQuibTown (sometimes written as Choc Quib Town) is a Colombian hip-hop group that fuses various musical genres. Although the band formed in Cali, the members are originally from the Colombian department of Chocó. The group consists of Carl ...

and Zully Murillo) ,

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2", , - , ''The Original Gallo del País'' , rowspan="2", Best Urban Music Album , , - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2", 2015 , '' El Que Sabe, Sabe'' , , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2", , - , «Dando Break» , Best Urban Song ,

Filmography

Video games

References

External links

* *
Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Calderon, Tego 1972 births Living people Latin Grammy Award winners Puerto Rican rappers Puerto Rican reggaeton musicians Puerto Rican musicians Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Latin music songwriters 21st-century American rappers Puerto Rican people of African descent