Don Omar

Born in 1978, William "Don" Omar Landrón Rivera grew up in a rough neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Though he was born into a long line of musicians and artists, he initially eschewed music, rebelling against his grandfather's wishes that he become a singer. After witnessing a violent shootout at age 7, he began a problematic childhood that led into an adolescence of petty crime. At age 18, after a close friend standing next to Don Omar was gunned down in a street shooting, Omar vowed to change his life and began religiously attending a nearby church.

Don Omar rediscovered music at church, joining the chorus and eventually forming a Christian rap group with fellow parishioners. He began to refine his craft by taking singing lessons, and soon his rap group became the chief draw for new members at his 800 person church. He began singing locally outside of the church, and soon found himself at the forefront of the reggaeton (a Latin American genre mixing rap, reggae, and indigenous musical styles) movement in Puerto Rico when he got a job as a backup singer for “Hector y Tito“, alongside current reggaeton superstars Hector "El Father" and Tito "El Bambino."

Riding on the rising popularity of reggaeton and his association with prominent acts in the scene (including Hector "El Father", Daddy Yankee, and Trebol Clan) Don Omar released his first solo album The Last Don in 2003, on prevalent Puerto Rican label V.I. Music. Fueled by the international success of breakout tracks Dile and Dale Don Dale, the album sold well in Latin America and in the United States, becoming one of only a handful of reggaeton albums to have been certified platinum by the RIAA.

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