El Chacal

Cuban reggaeton singer El Chacal was born Ramon Lavado Martinez in Havana in 1986. Growing up in Havana’s vibrant ’90s hip-hop scene, Martinez got into making his own music while still quite young, rapping and making tracks in various incarnations throughout his teenage years. By the mid-2000s, he was deeply into a life of professional music, having left school to work with several bands, moving from his own group, Los Chivos, to work with the more established Clan 537. After several years of touring and recording with Clan 537 and working with big names in the Cuban reggaeton scene, he embarked on a solo career in 2009. His debut album, Reporte, arrived that same year, followed by El Clave in 2011. The next several years were enormously successful for El Chacal, including massive international tours as well as multiple singles and guest appearances and collaborative singles with artists like Yakarta and Pitbull. The 2015 album Receta de Amor was followed in 2016 by Los Exitos. He issued several singles in 2017, including “La Costumbre,” “El Pase,” and “Culpables.” ~ Fred Thomas