Nicky Jam

Puerto Rican-American singer/songwriter Nicky Jam was a reggaetón wunderkind who flew too close to the sun. It took him years to recover, but his story is not just a cautionary tale—it’s also an inspiration. Born Nick Rivera Caminero in 1981 in Boston, Jam moved to Puerto Rico with his family at age 10. He was immediately seduced by Puerto Rico’s burgeoning reggaetón scene and began rapping and improvising with his friends. In 1992, a label head’s wife heard him freestyling while he bagged groceries; within weeks, he’d been signed. Then up-and-coming reggaetónero Daddy Yankee offered him a role as a hype man in his stage show, and Jam performed so well that the two formed the duo Los Cangris and released a few songs, including the horny, high-spirited hit “En la Cama,” before the duo dissolved in 2004. In the early 2000s, Jam released several well-received albums that showcased his deft, rapid-fire rhymes, but his momentum was stalled by addiction issues. In 2010 Jam moved to Colombia (the site of some of his most successful tours), immersed himself in the genre’s next wave, and began releasing a string of underground hits that revealed a softer, more romantic side. By 2015 he had signed with Sony Music Latin and was at the top of the charts with “El Perdón,” a collaboration with Enrique Iglesias. In 2017 he released the aptly named Fénix, his first LP in 10 years, and it went multiplatinum. His 2019 release Íntimo gave just what it promised: an intimate view of his personal struggles and how he overcame them. Nicky Jam is now deep into a second act as a prolific reggaetón and trap artist collaborating with superstars like his old friend Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Farruko, and many others.