Rakim & Ken-Y
| R.K.M & Ken-Y | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | El Duo Romantico, Rakim & Ken-Y, Los Magnificos, Los Reyes De Mambo |
| Origin | Gurabo, Puerto Rico |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2003–2013, 2017–present |
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| Members |
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R.K.M & Ken-Y, is a Grammy Award-nominated romantic reggaeton duo formed in 2003 by José Nieves (R.K.M.) and Kenny Vázquez (Ken-Y). They began their career in 2003 under the tutelage of Chencho (part of the duo Plan B), who introduced him to Notty Play founder of Money Machine Records but later joining forces with Pina Records, appearing in the compilation that looked for to sponsor and to give greater publicity to multiple novice artists The Draft 2005. In 2013 Raphy Pina, president of the company Pina Records announces the separation of the duo, and the publication of albums as soloists; To the time after both leave Pina Records to publish their albums under their own record companies. In June 2017, the duo announced their official return by Pina Records and at the same time launching the remix version of the theme Más Que Ayer next to Arcángel & De La Ghetto.
The duo started their music career in high school. R.K.M (formerly known as "Rakim" but changed to avoid confusion with the established hip-hop artist Rakim) was inspired by the explosion of reggaeton music in the 1990s. He encouraged Ken-Y to join him to form a duo; they performed at 15th birthday parties (quinceañeras) and public events.
Nicky Jam gave them a chance to make an appearance on his album, Vida Escante. They were featured on "Pasado" and "Me Estoy Muriendo". These singles were hits in Latin America. They also won The Draft, a contest for upcoming Latin artists. They won the best Latin and reggaeton award in 2007.
Rakim y Ken-Y hail both from Gurabo, Puerto Rico, Ken-Y was born on September 7, 1986 and have turned into one of the most recognized duos in Reggaeton. By the time they debuted in the compilation album "Warriors 4" many established duos in Puerto Rico had already dismantled, including Héctor y Tito, Baby Rasta y Gringo and Karel y Voltio. Their debut song was not a hit, but they were quickly compared to the more famous Zion y Lennox, referring to the way that one of them sings and the other raps. Their first label was The Money Machine which was owned by veteran Notty Play. That year they also appeared on Ban2 Korrupto which was released by their label. They kept making more appearances like on "The Noise Live" but were still virtually unknown. The duo released a mixtape entitled "Los Reyes del Mambo". This mixtape, produced completely by Ken-Y, caught the attention of Nicky Jam, who presented it to Raphy Pina, owner of the Pina Records label. Raphy liked the mixtape so much that he wanted the rookie duo in his label, after their contract with Money Machine was fulfilled, he convinced them to sign with Pina Records. Their first appearance with the label was in the compilation album "Pina All - Stars 2", which was a collection of many hit songs released by Pina Records artists. Raphy used this cd to release new songs by Rakim y Ken-Y to the public. At the time of the release, the Nicky Jam album "Vida Escante" was also released, on this album the duo recorded a song (Me Estoy Muriendo) in which Nicky Jam introduced them as the new members of Pina Records. They also had a song with Nicky Jam entitled "Pasado", which originally came out in their mixtape, but Nicky liked it so much he wanted a version with him for his cd.[citation needed]Don Omar, a former member of Pina Records, was preparing to release a cd he was executive producer of entitled "Los Bandoleros." Omar invited all his former labelmates from Pina Records to record for the album, including Lito, Nicky Jam, Polaco and Rakim y Ken-Y. The duo's contribution to the Don Omar album, entitled "Si la Vez", helped mold the group into a more mainstream attraction. Boy Wonder, producer of the CD/DVD Chosen Few El Documental and Chencho, of the popular but controversial duo Plan B, were producing a CD entitled "El Draft" del reggaeton which provided up and coming artists a shot at recognition. Fans were given the opportunity to vote for their favorite artists, and Rakim y Ken-Y won the competition Raphy Pina announced that Masterpiece, their upcoming album, would be released. However, things took a bad turn though when someone broke in the Pina Records studio and destroyed everything. All the work they had put on the cd was lost. Instead of moping around however, they quickly resumed work right away at a rented studio but the release date had to be pushed back, which conveniently ended up being Valentine's Day. Finally, after much anticipation and hard work, Masterpiece was released, debuting at #3 in the Latin Billboards, behind only Marc Anthony's "Sigo siendo yo." Their single "Down" debuted at #1.. On August 18, the duo had their first concert in a sold-out Choliseo. Currently, they are working on a Pina Records compilation album titled "Los Magnificos." The album was nominated for Premio Lo Nuestro of 2007. Their first hit single was "Down", reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in 2006. Four other singles were released from the album, as well as music videos. It won many awards. The album went platinum and sold about 600,000 copies. The duo went on a tour across the world. They have released the songs performed on tour on an album entitled Masterpiece: World Tour (Sold Out). They have also released a special edition version of the album entitled Masterpiece Commemorative Edition.
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