William Omar Landrón Rivera—known as Don Omar—has lived through it all. From childhood to adolescence. From adolescence to the streets, drug trafficking, and gangs. Then, to church pastor and youth preacher. From there, he became a leading figure in reggaeton, a genre in which he debuted with “Dile” in 2003. He faced two allegations of gender-based violence—in 2012 and 2014—and a lengthy legal battle after being charged with illegal weapons possession in 2004. He battled kidney cancer in 2024, from which he has since recovered.
Now, at 48 and with no intention of leaving the stage, the Puerto Rican artist is preparing *The Last King* tour across the United States and Europe—kicking off this coming September—as well as a new album featuring previously unreleased songs.
He promises a two-hour concert featuring songs that bring together entire generations, spanning his career from the very beginning to the present day. He is also currently celebrating the 15th anniversary of “Danza Kuduro,” the song featured in the *Fast & Furious* franchise; for him, it marked a turning point in his repertoire and catapulted him onto the global stage. To this day, it remains the most-streamed Latin song on Spotify, with nearly 2.7 billion plays.
Despite his storied career, Don Omar remains humble: “I don’t consider myself a musician. Music requires study and daily practice. I neither studied music nor invested the kind of time needed to walk into a studio and try to direct the process,” he explains.
—But you are the founder of a genre…
—Yes, that’s true—he says, laughing—a laugh that will recur throughout the interview.
As a “father” of reggaeton—sharing the title with Daddy Yankee and Tego Calderón—he looks back on his early days and compares his experience with that of the genre’s new wave of singers. “Twenty-three years ago, when I first came to Spain, nobody knew about reggaeton,” he recalls. “To find Don Omar’s music, you had to track down a bootleg CD—that’s how people listened to music back then. I think the new generation of artists has better tools; it’s an enviable world.”
While celebrating the genre he helped pioneer, Don Omar stands with the younger generation, offering the perspective of someone with wisdom and experience. “The evolution of things should always be seen as a cause for celebration.” Naturally, younger artists look to him for encouragement: “Anuel, Jhay Cortez, Mike Towers, Karol G—these are people who still look up to me with great respect. Whenever they need advice, I’m honored that they pick up the phone or message me on Instagram: ‘Boss, how are you doing?’” And there he is, ready to talk and share his knowledge.
His relationships with other reggaeton legends remain alive as well. There is love between him and Tego Calderón—which is why Don Omar calls him his brother. “I think he’s one of the most virtuosic songwriters in our genre,” he acknowledges, adding affectionately, “I love that he’s found his peace, even though a lot of people want him to come back and make music again.”
Things were different with Daddy Yankee. “He’s a brother too—we went through a thousand battles and wars together. He’s the industry brother I clashed with the most, but today I respect Raymond’s work,” he says with a note of understanding, noting that Daddy Yankee never really had a youth because his career took off in 1995, when he was just 18: “He put on the ‘Daddy Yankee’ persona and never stopped being Daddy Yankee until the very last day of his career. You have to be tenacious for that.” The two singers reconciled in 2023 after years of rivalry, both on and off stage.
