October 3, 2024 • 17 mins
Join Drew in the Y100 Music Room for an interview with Nicky Jam! They dive into Nicky's wild journey from the streets of Massachusetts to the vibrant life in Puerto Rico. Nicky shares how he fell in love with music, the reggae vibes that had everyone thinking he was part Jamaican, and some crazy stories about his dad. You'll hear about his early days working at a grocery store, teaming up with Daddy Yankee, and how he juggles music and movies. Plus, Nicky gets real about his new album "Insomnio" and the late-night vibes that inspired it. Like, comment, and subscribe for more exclusive content.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
One hundred point seven on Miami.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
This is Why one hundreds Music Room.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hey, it's up. It's Drew Wilde hundred. We're here with
another episode for the WY one hundred Music Room featuring
Nicki Nick and Nikki Jam. Welcome, my friend. Is that right?
That's right, that's right. Dude. You look good, man, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
You look happy, you look good. You lost some weight, man, like, bro,
you look you look great. I want to get into
everything your Your story is absolutely fantastic. The come up,
the the icon that you are. It took you to
to a dark place. You came back. You have this
brand new album, which, by the way, absolutely incredible. The
feedback I'm sure it's Benny uh insane. But I want
(00:43):
to talk about you had you had a rough life. Man.
You came up in Massachusetts and you moved to Puerto Rico.
What what was that like? The transition, culture shock, that
whole thing.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I mean, you know, I mean, obviously it's it's a
big change when you when you raised in the States,
even if you was raised the hood, the hood and
the States is never going to be the same as
the hood in Puerto Rico. Yeah, So it's two different
types of hood, you know what I'm saying. So I
came from from the bottom. I came from the hood.
But once I went to Puerto Rico, to the Carrie Being,
it was just a whole level of difference.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
But I enjoyed it.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
You know, I love my culture. I love Puerto Rico.
I did see a lot of things that you would
not see in the States, even in the craziest plays
in the States. You know, like a whole bunch of
kids with no shirt on selling drugs and stuff like
that in the streets. And I didn't see that in
the States and the States back in the days. It
was you know, bigger guys, you know, dealing with the
streets and Puerto Rico's young kids.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
But I fell in love with the music. You know,
in that time, we didn't have it get things.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
So people was listening to dance hall music from Jamaica
and that's being the carry being. That's everything you would
hear in Puerto Rico back in the nineties. So it
was the first time I saw two people dancing literally,
you know, dancing like the way they were dancing, and uh,
you know.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Uh, I saw that and I fell in love. It was.
It was love at first sight, and I said, I
want to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
This, and people thought that you were actually a part Jamaican.
Is that right? Why?
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Why?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Why is that speak on that a little bit because
I thought.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Yeah, when I was a kid, I used to sing
like with this Jamaican accent, and uh, people for some
reason thought I was Jamaican. But I was just doing
the reggae thing and that was I would switch the
words in English to a weird Jamaican accent.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
And then.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
One day there was this singer called Patra. She was
a Jamaican singer, and they were like, yo, he's he's
from a half Jamaican. I never said I was at Jamaican,
but and she started speaking in Patouin.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
And and and and and and the Jamaican language, and
I was like, oh my. I was like yeah, I'm on.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Saying yes to everything, and she was like, you don't
know no Jamaican. Anyways, I was an awkward moment.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
I tried to fake a Jamaican accent every once in
a while too, because I go eat a lot of
Jamaican food. They tried they try to up charge me
for oxtails. I'm like, well, I go out and bread
you know what I mean? Oh, you do good, though
it doesn't work for me.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
You better than me. You're doing.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Did you feel at home though, when you when you
went back to Porto your Puerto Rican obviously you did
ten years.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
And when you when you was born and raising the States,
you can't say you go to Puerto Rican feel at
your home. But I made Puerto Rican my home, you know,
And and I and uh, and I became more Puerto
Rican than any Puerto Rican. I am Puerto Rican by blood,
but I was raising the States, so they used to
call me a gringo. I didn't know no Spanish at all.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah, but I wanted to sing.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
I wanted to, you know, sing Spanish music. So obviously
I learned the language. And now you know, I speak
better Spanish than ever.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
How long did it take you to learn? Because I'm
learning Spanish right now.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
And you know, when you live in a place where
there's a different language, automatically you learn because you have to.
So sometimes I would see Dominicans that live in Canada
and they speak French and like, wow, it's crazy Dominicans
speaking French.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
I'm half Dominican, so and I'm like, yo, how do
you learn? It's like, bro, you have to you live here.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
You have to ask for food, you have to ask
for a bottle of water. You have to study, you
have to work, you have to you know, have the
day to day. So living in a place is the
quickest way to learn a language. All that is, like,
you know, like studying and do a lingo Yeah, French
class or whatever. I don't think that works as much
as living in a place and surviving.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
All right, let me write this down. And moved to Puerto.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Rican too, and you know what, it's probably not even
the best move. Could Puerto Ricans speak English too, So
it's yeah, it's very You probably need to go to
like a Spanish Spanish country, you know, like Columbia or Venezuela,
stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah. I went to Puerto Rico for a wedding for
the first time earlier this year. I drank so much
gasolina that I thought I knew how to speak.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Yeah, gasolina would really for some reason, they call it
gasolina because it would really mess you up.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Bro, it's gas that that is. I don't know how
you guys get down with that stuff.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
I don't mess with that Gasolina thing. But I know
a lot of Puerto Ricans do, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
They do. Your father he was, he was in some trouble.
That's why you guys left the States. Paint that picture
a little bit.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Yeah, well, my dad used to you know, he used
to deal drugs back in the days, and they called
him with twenty five kils of cocaine. And the guy
that that you know made the arrest was an undercover
cop and he was our friend for most of them
for more than a year and something, so you know,
he went to do a deal with his friend and
you know he was an undercover cop. They arrested him.
(05:16):
You know, he sold the car that he had. We
sold the car. We all helped, and he he paid
his bill, his bail. He instead of going back to
fight the the charges, he just he traveled with us
to Puerto Rico. And those days, the airport wasn't linked
up with the States like it is today. Like today,
if you get you catch a case here automatically, they
(05:36):
will catch you in the airport. Back in the nineties, yeah,
it wasn't really like that. So my my dad took
us as a fugitive and raised us in Puerto Rico.
However he could in those days.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And by the way, you're in Puerto Rico in the nineties.
That was like a breeding ground for for a guiton
at that time, wasn't it. I mean it was everything
was kind of coming up.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah, it was a very dangerous moment in Puerto Rico
as well. Back in the nineties. It was crazy, so,
you know, it was It's like, but the music was
just I had a lot of friends that died. And
even just dancing, just competing they can because back in
the days we used to dance, rap everything. You know,
it was a ninety so you had to do everything.
So one of my boys was dancing and he won
a battle and the guy got mad and when he
(06:17):
came out, they shot him.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
What Yeah, they killed him that they killed him on
a Edward.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
So what we in peace, what we see in the
movies and on TV is actually it's really happening over there.
It was at that time.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
The thing is, you know, when you go to Puerto
Rico and you go to you're not gonna see these things,
right when in the hood it's a whole different ball game.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
I get it. You're twelve years old, you're working at
it you're working at a grocery store, you're freestyling about
items in the grocery store, and somebody discovers you speak
on that a little bit. I mean, you're just you're,
You're a kid, You're trying to come up, You're you're
you're freestyling and raping doing whatever. You're really young. I mean,
how did this woman find you?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Well, the reality of everything is that.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I became like a small celebrity in this small supermarket
because I always freestyle freestyle the cheese with the letters
and tomatoes and potatoes, and I would re you know,
in Spanish.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Obviously, and people were like, Yo, this kid is crazy.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
And for some reason she came to my isisle where
I was packing the groceries, and she was like, you're
not gonna rap for me?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And was like yeah, sure.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
So I started freestyling and she's like, can you come
with me to my house. I'm like, hell no, I
don't know where you are. She's like, no, it's just
my husband. He's a producer for a recorda but I
would love for him to listen to him.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Like hell yeah, let's go. So I got in the car,
I went over there, I wrapped, I wrapped up my
whole way.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
To the to the house and I started rapping for
this guy. And then two or three days later, she
came with a contract like this big with a husband.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
And they signed me. Wow, my dad didn't even know
what that said. But it's like, I don't care what
it says, sign me, sign it. And I did my
first album back in ninety four.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Incredible. Fame came early for you, very very early. You
also you also were able to connect with Daddy Yankee.
I know, you guys kind of came up together. How
did how did that bridge that gap for me? How
did you meet him? What happened there?
Speaker 3 (08:05):
No, well, I mean I met Daddy Yankee when I
was a kid. I was a big fan first, you know.
I used to listen to his songs, his mixtapes, and
I started growing in mixtapes as well, but I was
never as big as him. So when I met him,
I was starstruck, obviously, and he complimented me all my
music and he said, bro, I like what you do, man,
You're really good. And he had a show in Dominican
Republican's like, yo, you should come with me, and you know,
(08:26):
back me up in the stage and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
I'm like, hell yeah, because I knew all his songs.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
So once we got on stage, it was just magic
and automatically we started like singing together, doing songs together.
He signed me, and then you know, the music industry
fell in Puerto Rico and we went from me being
his singer that he signed to collaborating with him and
being a duet and doing music together.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Crazy. Is that the moment that I mean, everybody has
this big moment where they go, holy shit, this is
gonna happen. I'm gonna be a superstar. I mean, you're
a global superstar. Was that the moment that you were
like this could really be a thing or was that
later in life.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
I didn't really think about that in those days Puerto Rico.
You know, the music, the reggae thong and urban music
is growing up. So it was just it was just
happy of coming out in the video and people knowing
us and going to the mall and people asking us
for pictures.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Were just happy.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
We wasn't thinking about the bigger picture and thinking about
being global or nothing like that. Yeah, we would dream
and stuff like that, but just to urban music, wasn't
in that position. Yet you know what I'm saying today, Yes, today,
you know we you know, I did the World Cup,
I've done movies in Hollywood. I've done a whole bunch
of stuff that I would never think that.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Never. I would have never thought back in the days
that I would do something like that.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Yeah, absolutely, man, And you're actually one of the few,
I feel like, who can do movies and also music
and be successful at both, because not everybody can do that.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Well, there's not a lot of reggaeton artists urban singers
that are bilingual, you know, and that helped me a lot.
You know when it comes to acting too. Was I
did theater when I was a kid in school, So
you know, I could do a little bit of everything.
And I just that's what I like. I like showing
how versatile I could be and everything I could do.
I rap hip hop songs, I could I do melody,
I do my ange, I do R and B, whatever
(10:05):
you want, I could do it a Spanish English freestyle.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
That's what I do. That's just me.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
I come, I come from everywhere. You had to do
it a little bit of everything to just make it.
Today today, well, you know, today there's a lot of
versatile singers because today they had singers like me to
look up to, but we didn't have nobody to look
up to back in the days when I was a kid,
I was just looking up to a little bit of everybody.
I would listen to Lauryn Hill and say, Laurence Hill
could rap and sing. I probably could do that too,
(10:31):
you know. And listen to White Cliff as well from
the Fujis and see he could rap and sing.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
I'm like, yo, that's crazy to have the ability to
do both, you know. And uh, yes, thank god I
have a good voice and I could sing and rap.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
And you have your parents too. You got to look look, yeah,
God loves me.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Can't be mad.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
God loves me absolutely. Your rough life, your rough upbringing.
Do you think that contributed a ton to your to
your success? My love life, No, your your rough life,
like come you know? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:01):
And my love life, yeah, everything, I think everything, I
think everything got something to do with it, you know.
I mean, you know, you can't learn the streets and
no school like that you need. You know, that's something
you live and when you live, that's that's a gift
you have, you know. And that helped me too, you know,
like that hustle and that that that being strong and
not weak, you know, and that just helped me to
(11:23):
be a bigger performer, biggest singer.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Love that you spoke a little bit about like kind
of the new school and these newer artists. Obviously the
game has changed. You came up, there was no internet.
It wasn't like you could just upload songs to SoundCloud
or something like that. You know, do you think it's
easier to make it nowadays or or you know twenty
years ago when you and Daddy Yankee were really grinding
and handing out mixtapes.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Oh no, no, today is really harder. Today.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
You have so much platforms. You know, we didn't have
that platform. Today you could be connected directly with people
that are listening to you. Back in the days, it
was just you know, you have to do with yourself.
There was no platforms at all. You needed the record label,
you needed the radio station, and you needed the the videos.
Today you could make your own video. You could be
connected to spotyfy and do you know your own things.
(12:06):
So today kids have it too easy. I wish I
had it that easy when I was a kid, But
I think me not having it that easy made me
a stronger performer or stronger singer, and I just feel
they don't make them like me anymore.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
You know what I'm saying. This new generation is just different.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
It's different. A lot of people are starting tours, they
quit their tour, they can't make it. There's mental situation.
It's different. There's a new breed of artists that is
different than Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
I mean, for me, touring will actually fix any mental
problem that I will have. I mean, just being on
stage and feeling the love from the people is something
that I need. So when I do not work is
when I feel unstable mentally, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
And it happens.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
You know, I get to a dark spot, you know
what I'm saying, and I need to work. I feel
better working.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
I love that. True or false questions? You ready you
got the name Nikki jam from a homeless man?
Speaker 2 (12:54):
True?
Speaker 1 (12:55):
True? How did that come about? What you were nick
emc first was back in.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
The everybody was in sea like NICKI see everybody's see
back in the nineties, and this guy was like ni
se nik Young and he just said it like I
didn't like it at all. I was mad.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
It was like, what do you mean, I'm nick and
everybody started making fun of me, and it came with
you know, it's just stuck with it. I like it.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
I like it. Jennifer Lopez has a face tattoo of
you on her False.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
I wish.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
El Perdon took your career to another level true true,
how so a lot.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
I mean, it took me from being just the urban
na thon singer to being a pop singer, and it
took me to places like Israel and.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Dubai and global. It just made me a global singer,
a global urban singer, and then helped me so much.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
True or false. This is a rumor Nikki jam is
retiring from music.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
False false false.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
I love that, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
False.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
It was me and my dream. I had a drinking
phase like a year ago, and I was just going
crazy and one day drunk, I'm like I'm retiring, and
then I woke up the next day like hell no,
I am retired. It was wrong with me, and I
erased the video immediately.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
I think your fans had a heart attack. Well yeah, they.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Still have a lot of people still though, because I
make a lot of podcasts and I talk that I
am not retiring because a lot of people stuck with
that got stuck with that message. So I still think
I'm retiring, but no, I'm ready.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
I'm doing it.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
The PTSD is real with the fans from that moment
for sure. I want to talk about this because I'm like,
I'm enamored by this story. I think it's absolutely incredible.
Your mother. When you guys moved, she stayed in Massachusetts,
you reunited with her. Can you tell that story real quick?
I know it was what twenty years or something that
you hadn't seen her and then you reunited with her
(14:43):
at one of your shows. I believe in dr Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
I mean every time I was working in the music
industry trying to be bigger and bigger, she was a
motivation for me because my mentality is if I become
as famous as I want to be, she'll probably find
me quicker.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
And that's what happened.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
I went to Dominican Republican to do a show, and
I felt that I was going to see her again.
For some reason, I didn't even know she was a
Dominican republic but I know she was. Dominican bodyguards were like, yo,
is this lady outside, saying she's your mom? When I
went outside. She was fighting with security and everything. She said,
you want her to see me, And that's when I
saw her after twenty something years. And I mean, it's
(15:22):
it's it's it's not. It's not easy because reality is
you know, you it's somebody you don't know, you know.
But every day I keep trying, you know, to learn
who she is.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
And I don't.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
I don't judge her at all because nobody had a
crazier past than me. And sometimes you have to understand
what they went through, you know what I'm saying, to
do the things they did, so you know, forgiveness is
not for for for the person, it's for yourself. So
I just try to forgive and and and and and.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
And be free. You know, you gotta be free.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Absolutely. Man, it's inspiring to hear man new album Insomnio.
I'm learning Spanish. Does that mean that means can't sleep?
Speak speaking?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
You know? The reason why the album is called so
News because all these songs took place at nighttime, you know,
and most of these songs, if you listen to Soul
and Saul, think, all these songs took place at nighttime.
And most of these songs I recorded them at nighttime.
If you see the cover of the album, I'm in
my call, you could you could tell it's like three
(16:18):
o'clock in the morning. I just came out of a club,
all you know, drinking and all messed up, and uh,
it's just the vibe of this album. It's just the vibe,
you know. And it's me expressing myself through my art
and you know, telling people what I've been through these
last two years.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And uh, that's what's new.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Is I love it? Man? You got a huge record.
I mean you have your features from from Fade and
Sean Paul and Colora. I know it is a huge one.
When you when you put that record together, at what
point do you realize it's gonna be a big record?
I mean, do you put it out and engage the
responsor can you hear it like in the studio as
it's being made and go, Man, you've been doing this
for a long time. Uh do you go? Man? This
this just sounds like it's gonna be something.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah. Man, I mean I I've worked at album.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
I sit down and I listen to it my team
and if my team feels the same thing I feel,
you know, we just go with the.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Vibe and then you know, just flu emos. You know
what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
We go to let's make it happen. We talk to
the recor label hopefully they like they see what we see.
And if they don't, they gotta, they gotta, they gotta,
they gotta come out with it and cut that check. Anyways,
you know what I'm saying, And that's what we do.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I love that. Man. Well, thank you so much for
taking the time. We really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Not blessed. Yeah,
One hundred point seven on Miami.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
This is Why one hundreds Music Room.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hey, it's up. It's Drew Wilde hundred. We're here with
another episode for the WY one hundred Music Room featuring
Nicki Nick and Nikki Jam. Welcome, my friend. Is that right?
That's right, that's right. Dude. You look good, man, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
You look happy, you look good. You lost some weight, man, like, bro,
you look you look great. I want to get into
everything your Your story is absolutely fantastic. The come up,
the the icon that you are. It took you to
to a dark place. You came back. You have this
brand new album, which, by the way, absolutely incredible. The
feedback I'm sure it's Benny uh insane. But I want
(00:43):
to talk about you had you had a rough life. Man.
You came up in Massachusetts and you moved to Puerto Rico.
What what was that like? The transition, culture shock, that
whole thing.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I mean, you know, I mean, obviously it's it's a
big change when you when you raised in the States,
even if you was raised the hood, the hood and
the States is never going to be the same as
the hood in Puerto Rico. Yeah, So it's two different
types of hood, you know what I'm saying. So I
came from from the bottom. I came from the hood.
But once I went to Puerto Rico, to the Carrie Being,
it was just a whole level of difference.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
But I enjoyed it.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
You know, I love my culture. I love Puerto Rico.
I did see a lot of things that you would
not see in the States, even in the craziest plays
in the States. You know, like a whole bunch of
kids with no shirt on selling drugs and stuff like
that in the streets. And I didn't see that in
the States and the States back in the days. It
was you know, bigger guys, you know, dealing with the
streets and Puerto Rico's young kids.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
But I fell in love with the music. You know,
in that time, we didn't have it get things.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
So people was listening to dance hall music from Jamaica
and that's being the carry being. That's everything you would
hear in Puerto Rico back in the nineties. So it
was the first time I saw two people dancing literally,
you know, dancing like the way they were dancing, and uh,
you know.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Uh, I saw that and I fell in love. It was.
It was love at first sight, and I said, I
want to be a part of.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
This, and people thought that you were actually a part Jamaican.
Is that right? Why?
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Why?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Why is that speak on that a little bit because
I thought.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Yeah, when I was a kid, I used to sing
like with this Jamaican accent, and uh, people for some
reason thought I was Jamaican. But I was just doing
the reggae thing and that was I would switch the
words in English to a weird Jamaican accent.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
And then.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
One day there was this singer called Patra. She was
a Jamaican singer, and they were like, yo, he's he's
from a half Jamaican. I never said I was at Jamaican,
but and she started speaking in Patouin.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
And and and and and and the Jamaican language, and
I was like, oh my. I was like yeah, I'm on.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Saying yes to everything, and she was like, you don't
know no Jamaican. Anyways, I was an awkward moment.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
I tried to fake a Jamaican accent every once in
a while too, because I go eat a lot of
Jamaican food. They tried they try to up charge me
for oxtails. I'm like, well, I go out and bread
you know what I mean? Oh, you do good, though
it doesn't work for me.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
You better than me. You're doing.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Did you feel at home though, when you when you
went back to Porto your Puerto Rican obviously you did
ten years.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
And when you when you was born and raising the States,
you can't say you go to Puerto Rican feel at
your home. But I made Puerto Rican my home, you know,
And and I and uh, and I became more Puerto
Rican than any Puerto Rican. I am Puerto Rican by blood,
but I was raising the States, so they used to
call me a gringo. I didn't know no Spanish at all.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah, but I wanted to sing.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
I wanted to, you know, sing Spanish music. So obviously
I learned the language. And now you know, I speak
better Spanish than ever.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
How long did it take you to learn? Because I'm
learning Spanish right now.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
And you know, when you live in a place where
there's a different language, automatically you learn because you have to.
So sometimes I would see Dominicans that live in Canada
and they speak French and like, wow, it's crazy Dominicans
speaking French.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
I'm half Dominican, so and I'm like, yo, how do
you learn? It's like, bro, you have to you live here.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
You have to ask for food, you have to ask
for a bottle of water. You have to study, you
have to work, you have to you know, have the
day to day. So living in a place is the
quickest way to learn a language. All that is, like,
you know, like studying and do a lingo Yeah, French
class or whatever. I don't think that works as much
as living in a place and surviving.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
All right, let me write this down. And moved to Puerto.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Rican too, and you know what, it's probably not even
the best move. Could Puerto Ricans speak English too, So
it's yeah, it's very You probably need to go to
like a Spanish Spanish country, you know, like Columbia or Venezuela,
stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah. I went to Puerto Rico for a wedding for
the first time earlier this year. I drank so much
gasolina that I thought I knew how to speak.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Yeah, gasolina would really for some reason, they call it
gasolina because it would really mess you up.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Bro, it's gas that that is. I don't know how
you guys get down with that stuff.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
I don't mess with that Gasolina thing. But I know
a lot of Puerto Ricans do, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
They do. Your father he was, he was in some trouble.
That's why you guys left the States. Paint that picture
a little bit.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Yeah, well, my dad used to you know, he used
to deal drugs back in the days, and they called
him with twenty five kils of cocaine. And the guy
that that you know made the arrest was an undercover
cop and he was our friend for most of them
for more than a year and something, so you know,
he went to do a deal with his friend and
you know he was an undercover cop. They arrested him.
(05:16):
You know, he sold the car that he had. We
sold the car. We all helped, and he he paid
his bill, his bail. He instead of going back to
fight the the charges, he just he traveled with us
to Puerto Rico. And those days, the airport wasn't linked
up with the States like it is today. Like today,
if you get you catch a case here automatically, they
(05:36):
will catch you in the airport. Back in the nineties, yeah,
it wasn't really like that. So my my dad took
us as a fugitive and raised us in Puerto Rico.
However he could in those days.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And by the way, you're in Puerto Rico in the nineties.
That was like a breeding ground for for a guiton
at that time, wasn't it. I mean it was everything
was kind of coming up.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah, it was a very dangerous moment in Puerto Rico
as well. Back in the nineties. It was crazy, so,
you know, it was It's like, but the music was
just I had a lot of friends that died. And
even just dancing, just competing they can because back in
the days we used to dance, rap everything. You know,
it was a ninety so you had to do everything.
So one of my boys was dancing and he won
a battle and the guy got mad and when he
(06:17):
came out, they shot him.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
What Yeah, they killed him that they killed him on
a Edward.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
So what we in peace, what we see in the
movies and on TV is actually it's really happening over there.
It was at that time.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
The thing is, you know, when you go to Puerto
Rico and you go to you're not gonna see these things,
right when in the hood it's a whole different ball game.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
I get it. You're twelve years old, you're working at
it you're working at a grocery store, you're freestyling about
items in the grocery store, and somebody discovers you speak
on that a little bit. I mean, you're just you're,
You're a kid, You're trying to come up, You're you're
you're freestyling and raping doing whatever. You're really young. I mean,
how did this woman find you?
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Well, the reality of everything is that.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
I became like a small celebrity in this small supermarket
because I always freestyle freestyle the cheese with the letters
and tomatoes and potatoes, and I would re you know,
in Spanish.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Obviously, and people were like, Yo, this kid is crazy.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
And for some reason she came to my isisle where
I was packing the groceries, and she was like, you're
not gonna rap for me?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
And was like yeah, sure.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
So I started freestyling and she's like, can you come
with me to my house. I'm like, hell no, I
don't know where you are. She's like, no, it's just
my husband. He's a producer for a recorda but I
would love for him to listen to him.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Like hell yeah, let's go. So I got in the car,
I went over there, I wrapped, I wrapped up my
whole way.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
To the to the house and I started rapping for
this guy. And then two or three days later, she
came with a contract like this big with a husband.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
And they signed me. Wow, my dad didn't even know
what that said. But it's like, I don't care what
it says, sign me, sign it. And I did my
first album back in ninety four.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Incredible. Fame came early for you, very very early. You
also you also were able to connect with Daddy Yankee.
I know, you guys kind of came up together. How
did how did that bridge that gap for me? How
did you meet him? What happened there?
Speaker 3 (08:05):
No, well, I mean I met Daddy Yankee when I
was a kid. I was a big fan first, you know.
I used to listen to his songs, his mixtapes, and
I started growing in mixtapes as well, but I was
never as big as him. So when I met him,
I was starstruck, obviously, and he complimented me all my
music and he said, bro, I like what you do, man,
You're really good. And he had a show in Dominican
Republican's like, yo, you should come with me, and you know,
(08:26):
back me up in the stage and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
I'm like, hell yeah, because I knew all his songs.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
So once we got on stage, it was just magic
and automatically we started like singing together, doing songs together.
He signed me, and then you know, the music industry
fell in Puerto Rico and we went from me being
his singer that he signed to collaborating with him and
being a duet and doing music together.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Crazy. Is that the moment that I mean, everybody has
this big moment where they go, holy shit, this is
gonna happen. I'm gonna be a superstar. I mean, you're
a global superstar. Was that the moment that you were
like this could really be a thing or was that
later in life.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
I didn't really think about that in those days Puerto Rico.
You know, the music, the reggae thong and urban music
is growing up. So it was just it was just
happy of coming out in the video and people knowing
us and going to the mall and people asking us
for pictures.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Were just happy.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
We wasn't thinking about the bigger picture and thinking about
being global or nothing like that. Yeah, we would dream
and stuff like that, but just to urban music, wasn't
in that position. Yet you know what I'm saying today, Yes, today,
you know we you know, I did the World Cup,
I've done movies in Hollywood. I've done a whole bunch
of stuff that I would never think that.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Never. I would have never thought back in the days
that I would do something like that.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Yeah, absolutely, man, And you're actually one of the few,
I feel like, who can do movies and also music
and be successful at both, because not everybody can do that.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Well, there's not a lot of reggaeton artists urban singers
that are bilingual, you know, and that helped me a lot.
You know when it comes to acting too. Was I
did theater when I was a kid in school, So
you know, I could do a little bit of everything.
And I just that's what I like. I like showing
how versatile I could be and everything I could do.
I rap hip hop songs, I could I do melody,
I do my ange, I do R and B, whatever
(10:05):
you want, I could do it a Spanish English freestyle.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
That's what I do. That's just me.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
I come, I come from everywhere. You had to do
it a little bit of everything to just make it.
Today today, well, you know, today there's a lot of
versatile singers because today they had singers like me to
look up to, but we didn't have nobody to look
up to back in the days when I was a kid,
I was just looking up to a little bit of everybody.
I would listen to Lauryn Hill and say, Laurence Hill
could rap and sing. I probably could do that too,
(10:31):
you know. And listen to White Cliff as well from
the Fujis and see he could rap and sing.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
I'm like, yo, that's crazy to have the ability to
do both, you know. And uh, yes, thank god I
have a good voice and I could sing and rap.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
And you have your parents too. You got to look look, yeah,
God loves me.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Can't be mad.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
God loves me absolutely. Your rough life, your rough upbringing.
Do you think that contributed a ton to your to
your success? My love life, No, your your rough life,
like come you know? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (11:01):
And my love life, yeah, everything, I think everything, I
think everything got something to do with it, you know.
I mean, you know, you can't learn the streets and
no school like that you need. You know, that's something
you live and when you live, that's that's a gift
you have, you know. And that helped me too, you know,
like that hustle and that that that being strong and
not weak, you know, and that just helped me to
(11:23):
be a bigger performer, biggest singer.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Love that you spoke a little bit about like kind
of the new school and these newer artists. Obviously the
game has changed. You came up, there was no internet.
It wasn't like you could just upload songs to SoundCloud
or something like that. You know, do you think it's
easier to make it nowadays or or you know twenty
years ago when you and Daddy Yankee were really grinding
and handing out mixtapes.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Oh no, no, today is really harder. Today.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
You have so much platforms. You know, we didn't have
that platform. Today you could be connected directly with people
that are listening to you. Back in the days, it
was just you know, you have to do with yourself.
There was no platforms at all. You needed the record label,
you needed the radio station, and you needed the the videos.
Today you could make your own video. You could be
connected to spotyfy and do you know your own things.
(12:06):
So today kids have it too easy. I wish I
had it that easy when I was a kid, But
I think me not having it that easy made me
a stronger performer or stronger singer, and I just feel
they don't make them like me anymore.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
You know what I'm saying. This new generation is just different.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
It's different. A lot of people are starting tours, they
quit their tour, they can't make it. There's mental situation.
It's different. There's a new breed of artists that is
different than Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
I mean, for me, touring will actually fix any mental
problem that I will have. I mean, just being on
stage and feeling the love from the people is something
that I need. So when I do not work is
when I feel unstable mentally, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
And it happens.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
You know, I get to a dark spot, you know
what I'm saying, and I need to work. I feel
better working.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
I love that. True or false questions? You ready you
got the name Nikki jam from a homeless man?
Speaker 2 (12:54):
True?
Speaker 1 (12:55):
True? How did that come about? What you were nick
emc first was back in.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
The everybody was in sea like NICKI see everybody's see
back in the nineties, and this guy was like ni
se nik Young and he just said it like I
didn't like it at all. I was mad.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
It was like, what do you mean, I'm nick and
everybody started making fun of me, and it came with
you know, it's just stuck with it. I like it.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
I like it. Jennifer Lopez has a face tattoo of
you on her False.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
I wish.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
El Perdon took your career to another level true true,
how so a lot.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
I mean, it took me from being just the urban
na thon singer to being a pop singer, and it
took me to places like Israel and.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Dubai and global. It just made me a global singer,
a global urban singer, and then helped me so much.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
True or false. This is a rumor Nikki jam is
retiring from music.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
False false false.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
I love that, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
False.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
It was me and my dream. I had a drinking
phase like a year ago, and I was just going
crazy and one day drunk, I'm like I'm retiring, and
then I woke up the next day like hell no,
I am retired. It was wrong with me, and I
erased the video immediately.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
I think your fans had a heart attack. Well yeah, they.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Still have a lot of people still though, because I
make a lot of podcasts and I talk that I
am not retiring because a lot of people stuck with
that got stuck with that message. So I still think
I'm retiring, but no, I'm ready.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
I'm doing it.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
The PTSD is real with the fans from that moment
for sure. I want to talk about this because I'm like,
I'm enamored by this story. I think it's absolutely incredible.
Your mother. When you guys moved, she stayed in Massachusetts,
you reunited with her. Can you tell that story real quick?
I know it was what twenty years or something that
you hadn't seen her and then you reunited with her
(14:43):
at one of your shows. I believe in dr Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
I mean every time I was working in the music
industry trying to be bigger and bigger, she was a
motivation for me because my mentality is if I become
as famous as I want to be, she'll probably find
me quicker.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
And that's what happened.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
I went to Dominican Republican to do a show, and
I felt that I was going to see her again.
For some reason, I didn't even know she was a
Dominican republic but I know she was. Dominican bodyguards were like, yo,
is this lady outside, saying she's your mom? When I
went outside. She was fighting with security and everything. She said,
you want her to see me, And that's when I
saw her after twenty something years. And I mean, it's
(15:22):
it's it's it's not. It's not easy because reality is
you know, you it's somebody you don't know, you know.
But every day I keep trying, you know, to learn
who she is.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
And I don't.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
I don't judge her at all because nobody had a
crazier past than me. And sometimes you have to understand
what they went through, you know what I'm saying, to
do the things they did, so you know, forgiveness is
not for for for the person, it's for yourself. So
I just try to forgive and and and and and.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
And be free. You know, you gotta be free.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Absolutely. Man, it's inspiring to hear man new album Insomnio.
I'm learning Spanish. Does that mean that means can't sleep?
Speak speaking?
Speaker 3 (15:58):
You know? The reason why the album is called so
News because all these songs took place at nighttime, you know,
and most of these songs, if you listen to Soul
and Saul, think, all these songs took place at nighttime.
And most of these songs I recorded them at nighttime.
If you see the cover of the album, I'm in
my call, you could you could tell it's like three
(16:18):
o'clock in the morning. I just came out of a club,
all you know, drinking and all messed up, and uh,
it's just the vibe of this album. It's just the vibe,
you know. And it's me expressing myself through my art
and you know, telling people what I've been through these
last two years.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
And uh, that's what's new.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Is I love it? Man? You got a huge record.
I mean you have your features from from Fade and
Sean Paul and Colora. I know it is a huge one.
When you when you put that record together, at what
point do you realize it's gonna be a big record?
I mean, do you put it out and engage the
responsor can you hear it like in the studio as
it's being made and go, Man, you've been doing this
for a long time. Uh do you go? Man? This
this just sounds like it's gonna be something.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah. Man, I mean I I've worked at album.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
I sit down and I listen to it my team
and if my team feels the same thing I feel,
you know, we just go with the.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Vibe and then you know, just flu emos. You know
what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
We go to let's make it happen. We talk to
the recor label hopefully they like they see what we see.
And if they don't, they gotta, they gotta, they gotta,
they gotta come out with it and cut that check. Anyways,
you know what I'm saying, And that's what we do.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
I love that. Man. Well, thank you so much for
taking the time. We really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Not blessed. Yeah,
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