This week’s Fresh Artist Friday comes with a twist. Today we are featuring Nicky Jam, a Puerto Rican reggaeton artist hailing from Boston, MA. He has just dropped his sixth studio album called INFINITY. Check out a break down of both the album and Nicky Jam’s impressive career below:
INFINITY is Nicky Jam’s most versatile album yet, taking the listener on a trip through all the genres he has mastered throughout his career. Starting with a bang, bringing his old school reggaetón sound to the forefront — yet feeling very current — the album then portrays all the different facets of Nicky’s artistry, from the raw and real rap verses to the romantic and melodic slow-tempo songs that really showcase his singing voice.
INFINITY begins with “Magnum,” an ode to old school reggaetón with a 2021 feel that will make the listener dive into the beats and rhythms and let go of their inhibitions. The track features one of “la nueva’s” (the new generation of reggaetón) most prolific voices, Jhay Cortez, adding his unmistakable style to make this meeting of two generations iconic.
“Tell me what are you going to do because I’m looking for someone who can drive it // I’m going to do to you whatever you let me // And the Magnum that protects me down below // To go all night so you don’t complain,” Nicky begins this cheeky song, while getting the listener in the mood for more, before Jhay Cortez disrupts with his unapologetic verse telling it like it is.
The music video, directed by Ariel Navarrete “NAVS” and produced by Maite Calzacorta with The Way Films, takes place in an underground party where people just enjoy the moment and live with no regrets. Throughout, flashes of both Nicky and Jhay singing on a stage are shown, matching their physical energy to the unparalleled vibes of the song, creating a visual orgasm for a track that is nothing like we’ve ever heard from the two artists.
Following “Magnum” on the album, Nicky Jam tones it down with “Miami” (6 million YouTube views), a slow-tempo romantic reggaeton that talks about missing a woman he met in Miami and the great times they had together. He then slowly turns the beat up again with “Te Hace Falta,” and “Celosa,” which features tropical vibes fused with urban sounds.
Then it’s the turn for “Se De y Se Da,” a more commercial reggaetón where Nicky asks his love interest for forgiveness, alluding that he wants to fix things and give the relationship another try. The track is followed by Nicky Jam and El Alfa’s explosive collaboration “Pikete” (14 million YouTube views), which tells the story of a woman who seems unattainable because of her beauty and attitude.
“Clavo” is up next with a more melodic tune, toning it down a bit to give way to “Te Invito” featuring up-and-coming artist Rios, which starts out as a ballad until the beat drops almost a minute into the song, transforming into a slow-tempo reggaetón that really highlights both artists distinctive voices.
Nicky Jam takes advantage of the mood to give way to “DM” featuring Manuel Turizo, which gets a bit sexier and more mysterious, talking about sliding into a woman’s DMs and trying to seduce her. “Guayaa” follows the story, as if Nicky were telling the listeners that he got the woman, and now they’re dancing, twerking, and having fun, to then give way to “Polvo,” featuring Myke Towers (93 million YouTube views), reminiscing of the fun times that ended, with a potential to reignite the flame.
The temperature rises with “Playa,” then the album takes a seductive turn with “Dándote,” to then surprise the listeners with “Melancolía,” a ballad where Nicky puts his vocal range to full display. He then ends with “Fan De Tus Fotos” featuring The King of Bachata Romeo Santos, a subtle reggaetón full of sensuality and rhythm with Romeo’s unique voice and Nicky’s distinctive flow, wrapping up Nicky’s most diverse, yet authentic project to date.
Besides the album, Nicky Jam also announced his upcoming INFINITY TOUR 2022. This will be Nicky Jam’s first official tour post-pandemic that will hit major cities across the United States and Canada. The tour will kick off in Boston on February 3, 2022, and end in Seattle on March 27, 2022 with stops in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Orlando, Houston, Hidalgo, Ontario, Los Angeles, and San Jose. CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS.
Check out his music through the links above and connect with Nicky Jam through his socials to make sure you never miss new music. Remember to follow Hip Hop Scriptures to stay updated on the latest Fresh Artist Friday.
ARTIST BIO:
Nick Rivera Caminero, Nicky Jam, is one of the pioneers of Reggaeton in the world. At the age of 11 he recorded his first album called "Diferente a los Demás." Nicky Jam reached the top of his career by achieving several radio hits such as: "Yo no Soy tu Marido," "Me voy Pal Party," "Fiel a tu Piel," "La Combi Completa," among others, that led him to travel the world and become one of the greatest international exponents of the genre. He was forced to stop his career for 3 years due to personal problems. But in 2013, he debuted his new look and came back stronger than ever. He scored five hits on the radio: "Piensas en Mí," "Curiosidad," "Juegos Prohibidos," "Voy a Beber," and the global hit "Travesuras." In February 2015, Nicky Jam teamed up with Enrique Iglesias to release "El Perdón," his most internationally acclaimed single to date. “El Perdón” reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart for 30 weeks (the second longest single in chart history). In January 2016, Nicky released "Hasta el Amanecer" which also became the biggest Latin song of the year. In 2017 Nicky Jam released his hit "El Amante," and his studio album titled "Fenix." The single "El Amante" quickly became an international success, reaching platinum certification 7 times, as did his album, which was awarded 11 platinum certifications. In 2018 he achieved 3 new Latin Grammy nominations, and collaborated on the song “Te Boté Remix,” which became the most watched video of the year worldwide on YouTube. In addition, Nicky Jam had the honor of singing the official theme of the 2018 FIFA World Cup: “Live It Up,” which he performed alongside Will Smith and Era Istrefi. His autobiographical series “El Ganador” premiered on Netflix at the end of 2019, as well as his seventh studio album “Íntimo.” Nicky Jam returned to the big screens in early 2020 in the sequel "Bad Boys For Life," starring alongside Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
In 2020, the artist bared his soul with the release of the single “Desahogo” feat. Carla Morrison. Right after, he premiered “Fan de tus fotos” with Romeo Santos (+60 million views on YouTube). Most recently, he released “Pikete” with the master of the dembow El Alfa, a solo single “Miami,” and a collaboration with Musicólogo, “No Hay Fallo.”
EXTENDED BIO:
Nick Rivera Caminero, known as Nicky Jam, is recognized around the world as a pioneer of Latin Urban music. Born in 1981 in Boston, he moved with his family to Puerto Rico when he was just a boy. At the age of 11, he recorded his first album “Diferente a Los Demás” (Different From the Rest), which attracted the attention of DJs and artists on the island.
As a young adult, Nicky Jam quickly rose to the top of his genre with radio hits including “Yo No Soy Tu Marido,” “Me Voy Pa’l Party,” “Fiel A Tu Piel,” and “La Combi Completa,” among others. He toured the world and became one of Latin urban music’s first international stars.
Just as he was enjoying his hard-earned accomplishments, his life took a 180-degree turn. Suddenly, instead of being on stage, he was in prison, and he fell into a deep depression. Finally, after three years out of the limelight, Nicky Jam performed a show in Colombia. There, he found an audience that was ready to give him a second chance. He vowed to show his fans that he had escaped drugs and alcohol. With discipline and hard work, he began to make up for lost time.
He soon decided to move to Colombia to rebuild his career. In 2012, he created a low-budget music video that went on to rack up over 15 million views on YouTube. In 2013, he debuted his new image and returned stronger than ever. He notched five radio hits: “Piensas en Mí,” “Curiosidad,” “Juegos Prohibidos,” “Voy a Beber,” and the global hit “Travesuras.” At the time, “Travesuras” was Nicky’s international comeback hit, and after a 10-year absence from the charts, it peaked at #4 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs. His social media following grew 3000 percent by late 2014, making him one of Latin urban music’s most talked-about and respected artists.
In February 2015, Nicky Jam teamed up with Enrique Iglesias to release “El Perdón,” his most internationally acclaimed single to date. Tallying over 1 million YouTube views on the day of its release, “El Perdón” was #1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin songs charts for 30 weeks (second longest-running single in the chart’s history). An English version, titled “Forgiveness,” helped the song peak at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 2015.
In January 2016, Nicky released “Hasta el Amanecer,” which also became the biggest Latin song of the year. The single was #1 on Billboard’s “Hot Latin Songs” for 18 weeks, which was the longest run of 2016. The official music video reached 100 million views in the first month, averaging over 3 million views per day. It also scored the No. 1 year-end spot on the Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, Latin Rhythm Airplay, Latin Rhythm Digital Song Sales, and Latin Digital Song Sales charts. A remix featuring Daddy Yankee and an English version (“With You Tonight”) helped the song stay 19 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 (peaking at No. 73).
In 2017, Nicky Jam released “El Amante,” and his very first solo album, Fenix. The single quickly became an international hit, reaching 7X platinum status. The album also enjoyed quite the success, achieving 11 platinum certifications worldwide.
Entering 2018, Nicky Jam began to conquer new territories in his artistic career. His songs achieved more than 14.5 billion views on YouTube and 1.1 billion streams on Spotify. Singles such as “X” (35X platinum certification) featuring Colombian sensation J Balvin and “Cásate Conmigo” (5X platinum certification) in collaboration with Silvestre Dangond, became international anthems. The singles obtained recognition in the most important Latin music awards, including the prestigious Latin Grammy, achieving nominations in categories such as Record of the Year, Best Urban Song of the Year and Best Tropical Song of the Year.
His collaboration with the single “Te Boté” featuring Casper Mágico, Nio García, Darell, Bad Bunny, and Ozuna became a worldwide phenomenon. The single captured the world’s attention and became the main topic in all award ceremonies during the year. It also surpassed all YouTube records, becoming the most-watched video in 2018.
Additionally, Nicky Jam had the honor of recording and performing the official song for the 2018 FIFA World Cup “Live It Up,” featuring Will Smith and Era Istrefi. His undeniable success in the music industry earned him two Latin Billboard Awards that year in the categories Top Latin Album of the Year and Latin Rhythm Album of the Year (Fenix).
Nicky Jam also dabbled in the fashion industry, becoming a brand ambassador for the elegant and prestigious watch brand Hublot.
The Latin idol showed the world his acting side with his autobiographical series “El Ganador.” Telemundo joined the giant Netflix in the creation of a series that tells the story of how the superstar came to be. The series trended in Latin American, Spain and the US at the time of its release in early 2019.
2019 was also a year of vast success for the singer. Nicky worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Sech, Anuel, Ozuna, Ñejo, and others, collaborating in the production of the most-played songs of the year, generating millions of streams on all digital platforms. His tour "Sorry USA Tour 2019" was a total success, with sold-out tickets in 13 different theatres nationwide.
On November 1, 2019, he officially released his seventh studio album Íntimo, one of the most anticipated albums of the year, hand in hand with Sony Music Latin and La Industria INC. Íntimo included 15 singles, including international hits “Te Robaré” featuring Ozuna and, of course, his the mega hit “X” featuring J Balvin. The album also features collaborations with Anuel AA, Darell, Sech, and Rauw Alejandro.
The urban pioneer finalized the 2019 like a real champion, appearing in the top 6 positions of Billboard Year-End count charts: Latin Rhythm Airplay Artists, # 5 , Tropical Airplay Artists, # 4. Latin Rhythm Albums Artists, # 4, Latin Airplay Artists, # 5, Latin Pop Airplay Artists, # 5, Latin Streaming Songs, # 6
Starting this new decade on the right foot, Nicky Jam returned to the big screen joining the cast of the new sequel of the action-comedy classic “Bad Boys” named “Bad Boys For Life,” working directly in Hollywood with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Additionally, and for the second year in a row, Nicky Jam joined the list of nominees for Tu Musica Urbano Awards 2020 (7 categories), as well as Premios Juventud 2020 (3 categories).
While 2020 was a challenging year for everyone, Nicky Jam made the most out of it. He started the year with a bang and joined forces with Daddy Yankee to release “Muévelo” (175 million views), then stripped his soul with the release of “Desahogo” featuring Carla Morrison (41 million views), started teasing his new album with the release of “Polvo” featuring Myke Towers (93 million views), and kept all of his fans entertained with his very own YouTube talk show “The Rockstar Show” featuring special guests like Maluma, El Alfa, Karol G, Luis Fonsi, and more.
In 2021, Nicky Jam surprised with an unprecedented collaboration with the King of Bachata Romeo Santos, “Fan de Tus Fotos” (61 million views), followed by “Pikete,” an explosive song with dembow king El Alfa, and then gave us another sneak peek into his most vulnerable and romantic side with “Miami” (6 million views), all in preparation for the release of his new studio album “Infinity,” out August 27.
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