Their debut song was not a big hit but they were quickly compared to the more famous at the time Zion & Lennox, referring to the way that one of them has a nice singing voice (Ken-Y, Zion) and the other one raps (R.K.M, Lennox).
Their first label was The Money Machine which was owned by veteran Notty Play. That year they also appeared on Ban2 Korrupto which was released by their label. They kept making more appearances like on "The Noise Live" but were still practically unknown.
They decided to release a mixtape to the streets and Internet called "Los Reyes del Mambo". This mixtape, produced completely by Ken-Y (who not only sings but also DJ's), caught the eye of Nicky Jam, who showed it to Raphy Pina, the owner of the infamous Pina Records label, which was up until now known as the War label, being that most of their artists (such as Lito & Polaco and Nicky Jam himself) were famous for their for beefs with artists from other labels.
Raphy liked the mixtape so much that he wanted the rookie duo in his label, so, after their contract with Money Machine was over, he convinced them to sign with Pina.
Their first appearance with the label was in the compilation album "Pina All - Stars 2", which was a compilation of many hit songs released by Pina Records. Raphy used this CD to release some new songs by R.K.M & Ken-Y to the public.
Around this time, the awaited Nicky Jam album "Vida Escante" came out. On it they had a song in which Nicky Jam introduced them as the new members of Pina Records. This song of course, was "Me Estoy Muriendo". While not common on other labels, it is not uncommon in Pina Records for an artist to "present" the rookies. They also had a song with Nicky Jam called "Pasado", which originally came out in their mixtape but Nicky liked it so much he wanted a version with him for his CD.
Both this songs had videos which gave them great exposure to people who had not seen what they looked like before.
Fans realized that they were unlike most other duos in Reggaeton, being that they did not use curse words in their songs and they composed romantic music compared to the dancing music the others make.
Don Omar, a former member of Pina Records who was now arguably one of the most famous people in the genre, was about to release a CD called "Los Bandoleros", which was a CD executive produced by him (NOT MUSICALLY PRODUCED) to help his friends gain more exposure. He invited all his former label mates from Pina Records to the CD: Lito, Nicky Jam, Polaco and R.K.M & Ken-Y.
He was impressed by Ken-Y's singing voice and wanted to have a song with them. The song, called "Si la Vez", was what definitely turned R.K.M & Ken-Y into a mainstream duo. This was the biggest hit from the CD although it was not released as a single.
This gave them the most exposure they had never received and were soon becoming more and more popular while Zion & Lennox were starting to crumble.
Boy Wonder, producer of the CD/DVD Chosen Few El Documental and Chencho, of the popular duo Plan B, were producing a CD called "El Draft" del reggaeton which was made to give rookies a chance to shine. Fans were given the chance to vote for their favorite rookie and R.K.M & Ken-Y won by a landslide beating many others reggaeton singers, even some that had released albums and very well known stars like John Eric, Jomar, Kartier, among others.
Their song "Tu No Estas" from El Draft was chosen as the single and the video for it shows R.K.M & Ken-Y arriving to New York for El Draft with Raphy Pina.
R.K.M, who is 27 years old and Ken-Y, who is 21, were now one of, if not the most, famous duo in Puerto Rico and fans were delighted when Raphy Pina announced their CD "Masterpiece" La Obra Maestra. Things took a bad turn though when someone broke in the Pina Records studio and destroyed everything.
All the work they had put on the CD was lost. Instead of moping around however, they quickly resumed work right away at a rented studio but the release date had to be pushed back, which conveniently ended up being Valentine's Day.
Finally, after much anticipation and hard work, Masterpiece was released. Masterpiece debuted #2 in the Latin Billboards, behind only Daddy Yankee's Barrio Fino: En Directo.
The song "Down" however, debuted at #1. The album sold extremely well, much better than anyone could have imagined and featured Nicky Jam, Polaco, La India, and Cruzito and Carlito's Way, two newcomers to Pina.
They are as strong as ever right now and had a massive concert in El Coliseo de Puerto Rico, the most important venue on the island, on August 18th.
De la Calle Soy
R.K.M & Ken-Y Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
que me vigile bien por donde voy
yo no se si esta es mi maldicion
o mi bendicion o mi perdicion
de la calle soy, de la calle soy
pa la calle voy, de la calle soy
en la guerra de la calle voy sobreviviendo
te lo juro esto es el infierno
esta es la escuela donde tuve que aprender
no hay amigos, no hay panas, aqui en nadie se puede creer
donde la mano derecha corta a la izquierda
donde si fantasmea no se come mierda
donde los tiros son el pan de cada dia
y hasta una gata se presta para hacer una fechoria
tengo los cangris disfrazaos en cada esquina
si te veo nebuloso no te va a dar ni cosquillas
estas son reglas no son cosas de
si no te identificas mi ...a ti te pilla
Todos los dias le pido al Señor
que me vigile bien por donde voy
yo no se si esta es mi maldicion
o mi bendicion o mi perdicion
de la calle soy, de la calle soy
pa la calle voy, de la calle soy
en mi barrio mientras unos duermen otros forman balaceras
y a cada minuto vemos sangre en la acera
las balas corren y las calles estan calientes
se pierden vidas y muchas de ellas son personas inocentes
en este mundo donde rico vive y nadie escucha al pobre
y en la calle es que se aprende como se bate el cobre
vecinito mio, aquel chamaquito bien tranquilo
lo pillaron en el aeropuerto con 70 kilos
el gordito aquel que cuando hablaba daba gracias
hoy esta preso y desde adentro controla la mafia
que alguien me explique si esto es vida o estamos en el infierno
en este mundo no confiamos ni el gobierno
hemos visto padres que a sus hijos no les dan cariño
y hemos escuchado de sacerdotes que han violado a niños
esos profetas predicando la moral en calzoncillo
y chamaquitos a los 13 años dandole al gatillo
no juzguen al alcohol
pues son personas que aun no saben de Cristo
no se si esta es mi maldicion o mi bendicion
Dios mio librame de toda tentacion
Todos los dias le pido al Señor
que me vigile bien por donde voy
yo no se si esta es mi maldicion
o mi bendicion o mi perdicion
de la calle soy, de la calle soy
pa la calle voy, de la calle soy
The song De la Calle Soy by R.K.M & Ken-Y is a powerful representation of the reality of living in the streets. The lyrics explore the struggles of life in a dangerous environment, where violence and crime are part of everyday life. The opening line, "Todos los dias le pido al Señor que me vigile bien por donde voy" translates to "Every day, I pray to the Lord to watch over me wherever I go," setting the tone for the song.
The lyrics also highlight the harsh reality of the street, where survival is the key. The phrase "en la guerra de la calle voy sobreviviendo" can be translated to "in the street war, I am surviving," referring to the struggle to survive in the violent environment. The absence of trust in the people around, where "no hay amigos, no hay panas, aqui en nadie se puede creer" means "there are no friends, no buddies, here no one can be trusted."
The song also shows the hopelessness and confusion of life in the streets. The lines "no se si esta es mi maldicion o mi bendicion o mi perdicion" mean "I don't know if this is my curse or my blessing or my downfall." The repetition of the phrase "de la calle soy," meaning "I am from the street," serves as a reminder of the harsh environment that the artist grew up in and the challenges they faced.
Line by Line Meaning
Todos los dias le pido al Señor
Every day I pray to the Lord
que me vigile bien por donde voy
to watch over me wherever I go
yo no se si esta es mi maldicion
I don't know if this is my curse
o mi bendicion o mi perdicion
or my blessing or my damnation
de la calle soy, de la calle soy
I am from the street, I am of the street
pa la calle voy, de la calle soy
to the street I go, from the street I am
en la guerra de la calle voy sobreviviendo
in the street war I am surviving
muchas cosas raras viendo,
seeing many strange things
te lo juro esto es el infierno
I swear, this is hell
esta es la escuela donde tuve que aprender
this is the school where I had to learn
no hay amigos, no hay panas, aqui en nadie se puede creer
there are no friends, no buddies, you can't trust anyone here
donde la mano derecha corta a la izquierda
where the right hand cuts off the left
donde si fantasmea no se come mierda
where if you hesitate, you won't eat anything
donde los tiros son el pan de cada dia
where gunshots are the daily bread
y hasta una gata se presta para hacer una fechoria
even a cat lends itself to do mischief
tengo los cangris disfrazaos en cada esquina
I have disguised rappers on every corner
si te veo nebuloso no te va a dar ni cosquillas
if I see you suspicious, it won't tickle
estas son reglas no son cosas de
these are rules, not things
si no te identificas mi ...a ti te pilla
if you don't identify yourself...you will get caught
en mi barrio mientras unos duermen otros forman balaceras
in my neighborhood, while some sleep, others create gunfire
y a cada minuto vemos sangre en la acera
and every minute we see blood on the sidewalk
las balas corren y las calles estan calientes
bullets fly and the streets are heating up
se pierden vidas y muchas de ellas son personas inocentes
lives are lost, and many of them are innocent people
en este mundo donde rico vive y nadie escucha al pobre
in this world, where the wealthy live, and no one listens to the poor
y en la calle es que se aprende como se bate el cobre
and in the street is where you learn how to fight
vecinito mio, aquel chamaquito bien tranquilo
my neighbor, that calm kid
lo pillaron en el aeropuerto con 70 kilos
they caught him at the airport with 70 kilos
el gordito aquel que cuando hablaba daba gracias
that chubby guy who gave thanks when he spoke
hoy esta preso y desde adentro controla la mafia
today, he's in prison and controls the mafia from the inside
que alguien me explique si esto es vida o estamos en el infierno
someone explain to me if this is life or if we're in hell
en este mundo no confiamos ni el gobierno
in this world, we don't even trust the government
hemos visto padres que a sus hijos no les dan cariño
we've seen parents who don't give their kids love
y hemos escuchado de sacerdotes que han violado a niños
and we've heard of priests who have violated children
esos profetas predicando la moral en calzoncillo
those prophets preaching morals in their underwear
y chamaquitos a los 13 años dandole al gatillo
and 13-year-olds firing guns
no juzguen al alcohol
don't judge alcohol
pues son personas que aun no saben de Cristo
because they are people who still don't know Christ
no se si esta es mi maldicion o mi bendicion
I don't know if this is my curse or my blessing
Dios mio librame de toda tentacion
My God, deliver me from all temptation
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jorge Sandoval
Yo tambien le pido al Señor que me vigile por donde voy y aqui estoy Dios Bendito
Zergio Fenix Piscoya Mina
2019 y sigue sonando duro este tema.. 🎶🎶😎😎
Risa Chan T
2022 siempre se vuelve a la buena música, esa que te hace reflexionar
Chano Beats
Solo los VIP conocemos esta canción mi gente
Alexander Hernandez ñañes
Mi infancia...escuche este tema cuando tenía 11años hoy en día tengo 28 años 2021...y por dato curioso me sigo recordando la letra por la cante completa....
Carlos dimas Diaz vargas
Promo bro.
Abraham Alvaro Huanca Mendoza
X2 broo
Emii Ayala
no sos el único ✌️ excelente gusto
ayshe_kazu♡
2019 aún lo escucho temazo de rap
Juan Mendoza
laaa cancioon esta vien vergaas ese carlitos way canta chingoon y sin duda alguna rakim y ken simplemente lo mejor esta cancion