Even though Puerto Rico will always be my hometown, I feel Miami is my second home.
Anuel AA
I've been dealing with racism since I was a little kid! My dad's super black, from Puerto Rico. Then my mom's super white - she's Puerto Rican too, but she grew up in Milwaukee. As a Latino in the U.S. I've seen how we are treated differently based on the color of our skin.
Sometimes I want to listen to sad music, sometimes something fun and sometimes you're in romantic mode.
Being real is what keeps me humble. It doesn't matter how much money I make or how much I accomplish. What's critical is staying real to myself and keeping my feet on the ground. That's what helps keep me going.
Everything I do I do it for my family.
Bad Bunny and I have a great relationship.
My biggest inspiration is my family. The support they give me, the strength they give me is something that is very rare and special. Each singer is inspired by different things, my strength comes from my family and soul.
My mantra when it comes to money is always remember that money doesn't make you. You make the money.
I really like Billie Eilish's music. It's really different. My music ain't like hers but I like her music, her vibe.
My music is my soul speaking, literally. It's spiritual. It has a lot of feelings, a lot of pain.
I can't betray anyone. I don't know what it's like to really betray someone. I'm very loyal to my circle, my family, and those I hold close to me.
I learned to forget everything. To concentrate on my music and thank God for all good moments. Because the positive attracts the positive. You must work, work and work to get the most out of it.
I've never had a stylist. My style is very distinctive from where I am from in Puerto Rico: a housing project in Carolina.
Karol knows me, knows who I am in real life. Everyone has a different image of who I am, and she wants fans to see that side of me, and she is an amazing woman.
Bad Bunny and I aren't brothers, but we have a good relationship. We compete. We'll compete until the day we die, because he says he's the best, and I say I'm the best. When he releases something big, I have to release something bigger.
I represent the streets of Puerto Rico around the world.
When I made 'Real,' I recorded it over the phone in prison. I did it in a week. I had no idea what it was going to sound like. I couldn't even listen to the masters before it came out, I couldn't listen to 90% of the beats. I recorded 21 songs in seven days.
Daddy Yankee and I have some of the same fans, but he reaches people I don't reach. The same thing with Ozuna and Balvin and Karol G.
I collaborated with Lil Wayne, Bad Bunny, Tego Calderon, he's a big legend in the Spanish industry.
I cleaned up my image.
Sometimes I wanna get tatted somethin' in my face really little but other times like nah can't ruin my face.
I wanted to show people that I can do something besides street music.
I love trap music and street music.
I am super competitive, and I sacrifice a lot.
Recording with Meek Mill for me was like when Allen Iverson played with Michael Jordan for the first time.
I'm always up and down with Jordan's. I try to not wear them too much. They're the type of shoe that, if you want it, if you don't want to get them too dirty, you don't use them too much.
People think because I'm crazy, I don't know anything. My dad played bass with Hector Lavoe, with Marc Anthony, with Ricky Martin, with people who had nothing to do with reggaeton. I grew up watching him play all kinds of instruments. It's something I carry in my blood.
People just love rumors. They're always saying things that aren't true.
There are a lot of people out there that don't value their family the way they are supposed to. I value mine above everything else.
Little by little, I keep growing mentally and my entire work team keep growing and working more professional, more organized.
When I started to get all that money, I started to buy a lot of watches. I bought 6 to 7 watches, the rainbow Rolex... In a year, I had spent $3.3 million just on the watches.
So in prison basically is when I started to build a good relationship with God and I started praying a lot. I read the bible a lot so I started to get a lot of knowledge about life.
I can't live without my PlayStation. When I go on tour this is like my best friend. 'Cause if I don't bring the PlayStation, I feel like I'm a slave of my work, basically.
Thank god 'Real' was successful, but I feel like 'Emmanuel' will be even more successful. All my ideas, I could put them to work myself, on my own time. I had more control, and it shows.
People who really love you are the ones who stand firm by you when things are bleak.
I feel blessed.
I wanted to be like Tupac.
Music is a business. You ain't gonna record with someone if it's not business, if it ain't gonna get you no money.
I listen to what people say in the songs, not just the melodies. With rappers you gotta listen to what they say.
I got black brothers that I love, I would give my life for them.
Whatever happens, I'm going to adapt to it. I always been like that all my life.
I know how to market a lot through social media. My social media, the numbers is crazy.
I don't just record to record.
The types of songs I used to do, I used to sing a lot for the streets.
Wisin Y Yandel are legends. They're very smart and really humble.
I would like to record with Cardi B.
There are a bunch of independent artists who became millionaires and they don't owe anything to anybody. They don't have to give anyone any percentage.
I got a lot of money like invested in watches. When I buy watches I make sure, like you could go buy and they're still gonna have the same price, the same value, or maybe more.
I love Jordan's like, where I'm from like the Jordan's, having Jordan's is like really part of the culture so this is really essential for me.
What gives me strength and inspires me is never to go back to where I once was. My inspiration is to see my son as he admires me and knowing that I have someone there who depends on me. I have to do things right. I have to move forward.
