Anuel AA

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Biography

Emmanuel “Anuel AA” Santiago is an American hip-hop and reggaeton performer born in Puerto Rico on November 26, 1992, the son of an executive with a major music firm. He began his rap career in 2011 with the track “Demonia” with Ñengo Flow and he has collaborated with several other performers since. He spent time in prison from 2016 to 2018 on gun charges and has faced controversy over song lyrics regarded as offensive. His 2016 album, Real Hasta la Muerte reached Number 9 on Billboard's Latin Rhythm Albums Chart in 2016 and topped that chart and the Top Latin Albums Chart when it was re-released in 2018. A self-released compilation entitled Free Anuel arrived later the same year, peaking at Number 5 on the Latin Rhythm Chart. In 2017, Santiago teamed up with an all-star cohort of Chris Jeday, Cardi B, Offset, J. Balvin, Ozuna, and Arcangel for the single “Ahora Dice,” which went to Number 7 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs Chart. He features on 6ix9ine's singles “BEBE,” which topped the Latin Songs Chart and marked his Hot 100 debut, and “MALA.” Releasing a flurry of further hits in the Latin market in 2018 and 2019 including collaborations with Daddy Yankee, Romeo Santos, and Karol G, he also featured with Fabolous on Meek Mill's minor hit “Uptown Vibes.” After collaborating with Shakira in 2020, Santiago returned with an eponymous second studio album, Emmanuel, on which he was joined by a slew of high-profile guests including drummer Travis Barker, pop star Enrique Iglesias, and rap heavyweight Lil Wayne. Spawning the major hits “Hasta Que Dios Diga,” “Reggaetonera,” and the Shaggy-sampling “China,” it peaked at Number 8 on the Billboard 200, marking an all-time career high. However, Anuel announced in November 2020 that he would be quitting music, promptly sharing an introspective new single entitled “Me Contagié 2” wherein he detailed his struggle with depression and longing for a better work-life balance. Nonetheless, he became one of the most-streamed artists of 2020 worldwide and returned in January 2021 with a joint album alongside Ozuna entitled Los Dioses, which entered the US album charts at Number 10 and yielded the Hot 100 hit "Antes." That year, Anuel AA topped Billboard’s Top Latin Albums for the fourth consecutive time with his full-length Las Leyendas Nuncas Mueren, featuring Eladio Carrión, Jhay Cortez, and Myke Towers.