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Daddy Yankee did more than anyone to establish reggaeton as a marketable music style during the early 21st century. Yankee's success was so phenomenal in the wake of his 2004 mainstream breakthrough, Barrio Fino -- and in particular the international hit single "Gasolina" -- that he transcended cultural boundaries and genre trappings. He became more than just a reggaetonero, having transformed himself into an international name brand by the time his 2007 follow-up album, El Cartel: The Big Boss, was released. Daddy Yankee's name, image, and music were used to sell soft drinks for Pepsi and footwear for Reebok, as well as a syndicated show for ABC Radio Networks (Daddy Yankee on Fuego) and a feature film for Paramount Pictures (Talento de Barrio). Daddy Yankee indeed had become a business empire, of which the primary asset -- his music -- remained independent from major-label control: he keenly operated his own independent label, El Cartel Records, and chose to partner with labels such ...