De la Ghetto | |
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Born | Rafael Castillo Torres September 17, 1984
New York City, U.S. |
Other names |
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Occupations |
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Years active | 2004–present |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Labels |
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Rafael Castillo Torres (born September 17, 1984), known professionally as De la Ghetto, is an American singer, rapper and songwriter. He was a member of the duo Arcángel & De la Ghetto.
De la Ghetto was born Rafael Castillo, Jr., in The Bronx, borough of New York, NY, on September 17, 1984, the son of a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother, Migdalia Torres. In 1992, when he was around the age of eight, Castillo's family relocated to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In 2004, just before his twentieth birthday, Castillo met with another young reggaetón musician born in New York City by the name of Austin Santos—better known to the public as Arcángel—and the two decided to form a duo, Arcángel & De la Ghetto. The pair debuted with their single "Ven Pégate" ("come get stuck" or "come dance"), which was featured on Naldo's mixtape Sangre Nueva ("new blood"), in 2005. From there, Castillo was signed to Zion's label, Baby Records, and immediately began to make music. Castillo has appeared on numerous reggaetón compilation albums and collaborations, including the album Mas Flow: Los Benjamins. In 2006, De la Ghetto officially began his solo career, appearing the following year on two hit singles, as well: a remixed version of "Siente el Boom" ("feel the boom") by Tito el Bambino, plus a collaboration with Randy called " Sensación del Bloque" ("street sensation"), which has been viewed on YouTube over 200 million times as of July 2023. [2] Masacre Músical was then released in 2008. [3] Masacre Músical peaked at #46 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in the U.S.; [4] its lead single, "Tú te imaginas" ("you imagine"), peaked at #33 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart.
De la Ghetto was one of several early-2000s era reggaetoneros who were making music during the genre's beginnings, and he was one of the first to experiment by fusing reggaetón rhythms and Spanish lyrics with American-influenced trap, rap, hip hop and R&B rhythms—thus forming a new sound, called Latin trap (or “trapetón”), sometimes referred to as urbano. This genre saw success in Puerto Rico, and ultimately beyond, leading the way for many of today's musicians in the 2010s-2020s.
The 2018 album Mi Movimiento (my movement) was nominated in 2019 for a Latin Grammy Award for "Best Urban Music Album", and the track "Caliente" was also nominated for a Latin Grammy for "Best Urban song".
Year | Title | peak chart positions | Album | |
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U.S. Latin | U.S. Latin | |||
2008 | " Es Difícil" | 42 | — | Masacre Musical |
2009 | "Tú Te Imaginas" | 33 | — | |
"Come Out and See" (featuring Mavado) | — | — | ||
"Lover (Remix)" (featuring Juelz Santana) | — | — | ||
"Momento Que Te Vi" | — | — | ||
"Stripper Pole" (featuring J-Merk) | — | — | Masacre Musical Presents: El Movimiento Vol. II | |
2010–Present | "Tapu Tapu" (With Jowell & Randy) | — | — | El Jefe De La Versatilidad |
"Nocturno" | — | — | ||
"Jala Gatillo" | — | — | ||
"Tumbao" (feat. Yandel) | — | — | ||
"La Reunión de los Vaqueros" (with Wisin & Yandel, Franco el Gorila, Tego Calderón, Cosculluela) | — | — | La Revolución Live Vol. 1 | |
"Tú y Yo" | — | — | ||
" Ya Es Hora" (with Ana Mena and Becky G) | — | — | Index | |
"F.L.Y." (featuring Fetty Wap) | — | — | Mi Movimiento [5] |
Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
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US Latin | |||
2007 | " Aparentemente" ( Yaga & Mackie featuring Arcángel & De la Ghetto) | 42 [6] | La Reunión Callejero Flow |
2008 | " Inalcanzable (remix)" ( RBD featuring Jowell & Randy & De la Ghetto) | — | |
2010 | "Mala Conducta (remix)" ( Alexis & Fido featuring Franco el Gorila, Arcángel & De la Ghetto) | — | Perreologia |
"Tú Me Robaste el Corazón (Remix)" (featuring Fidel Nadal) | — | Mi Movimiento | |
"De La Calle" (with Ivy Queen) | ― | Drama Queen | |
2012 | "El Jefe" (Los Vagos featuring De la Ghetto) | — | Vida Acelerada |
"Actúa (remix)" ( J Alvarez featuring Zion & De la Ghetto) | — | Imperio Nazza: J. Alvarez Edition | |
2013 | "No es una gial" ( Farruko featuring De la Ghetto) | — | Imperio Nazza: Farruko Edition |
2014 | "Si tú no Estás" ( Nicky Jam featuring De la Ghetto) | — | |
2015 | "Nadie Como Yo" ( J Alvarez featuring De la Ghetto) | — | |
"Bailen" (Franco el Gorila featuring De la Ghetto) | — | ||
2016 | " Todavía Te Quiero" ( Thalía featuring De la Ghetto) | — | Latina |
2017 | "Pide Lo Que Tú Quieras" ( Ozuna featuring De la Ghetto) | — | Odisea |
2020 | "Tócame" ( Anitta featuring Arcángel and De la Ghetto) | — | |
"Mala (Remix)" [7] ( Pitbull featuring Becky G and De la Ghetto) | — | ||
2021 | "New Calle" (Doeman Dyna and De la Ghetto) | — | |
2024 | "Fardos" (JC Reyes featuring De la Ghetto) | — |
..same year Randy and De La Ghetto dropped "La Sensación Del Bloque," a track singer Lyanno notes as an early R&B-inspired track.