Their debut song was not a big hit but they were quickly compared to the more famous at the time Zion y Lennox, refering to the way that one of them has a nice singing voice (Ken-y, Zion) and the other one raps (Rakim, 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 y 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 Rakim y 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 Rakim y 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 Rakim y 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 y 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 Rakim y 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 Rakim y Ken-Y arriving to New York for El Draft with Raphy Pina.
Rakim, 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 are preparing for a massive concert in El Coliseo de Puerto Rico, the most important venue on the island, on August 18th.
Dime
Rakim Y Ken-Y Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Se que acabo esta relación no somos nada
Que ser infiel de mi no eras lo que esperabas
Y hoy que me doy cuenta, que para ser feliz
Me falta tu mirada
Hoy llego a su fin, el amor
Con la dueña de mis sentimientos
Quiero pedirte, que antes de irte me des
El último beso
Se que decir adiós, difícil me será
Y aprendí, no se juega con lo que más quieres
Yo cometí el error y lo debo pagar
Perder tu amor, sin duda lo que más me duele
Dime que ya no me amas, para intentar olvidarte
Dime que no quieres verme, al irme para otra parte
Soy el que te necesita, necesita tus mensajes
Esos labios que marcaron, tus besos como un tatuaje
Mejor dime que me extrañas, para volver a mirarte
Con whisky pensé llenar, ese vació que me dejaste
Hice mal y me arrepiento, te traigo en mi pensamiento
Por que se que te falle y no termina este sufrimiento
Dame otra oportunidad
Para estar contigo de nuevo
Comencemos desde cero
Dime que ya no me amas, para intentar olvidarte
Dime que no quieres verme, al irme para otra parte
Soy el que te necesita, necesita tus mensajes
Esos labios que marcaron, tus besos como un tatuaje
Mejor dime que me extrañas, para volver a mirarte
Con whisky pensé llenar, ese vació que me dejaste
Hice mal y me arrepiento, te traigo en mi pensamiento
Por que se que te falle y no termina este sufrimiento
Dame otra oportunidad
Para estar contigo de nuevo
Comencemos desde cero
The lyrics of Rakim Y Ken-Y's song "Dime" express the pain and regret of a person who has lost the love of their life due to infidelity. The singer admits to their mistake and apologizes for the hurt they caused, but still hopes for a second chance to start again with their loved one. The chorus consists of the singer asking the other person to confirm their feelings towards them, whether they still love them or not, and expressing their desire to be together again.
The first verse shows the singer's realization that the relationship is over and that they were not the faithful partner their significant other deserved. The singer admits that their happiness was tied to the other person's presence and feels the pain of losing them. The second verse is an apology and a plea for forgiveness, as the singer confesses to their mistake and acknowledges their role in the dissolution of the relationship. The chorus repeats the singer's desire to know the other person's true feelings and emphasizes their longing to be together again.
Overall, the song is a heartfelt plea for a second chance that expresses the pain of lost love and the hope for reconciliation.
Line by Line Meaning
Duele verte así
Seeing you like this hurts
Se que acabo esta relación no somos nada
I know this relationship is over, we're nothing now
Que ser infiel de mi no eras lo que esperabas
Me being unfaithful was not what you expected
Y hoy que me doy cuenta, que para ser feliz Me falta tu mirada
And now I realize that to be happy, I need your gaze
Hoy llego a su fin, el amor
Today love has come to an end
Con la dueña de mis sentimientos
With the owner of my feelings
Se que falle, perdóname cuanto lo siento
I know I failed, forgive me, I feel it deeply
Quiero pedirte, que antes de irte me des El último beso
I want to ask you to give me one last kiss before you leave
Se que decir adiós, difícil me será
I know that saying goodbye will be difficult for me
Y aprendí, no se juega con lo que más quieres
And I learned that you should not play with what you love the most
Yo cometí el error y lo debo pagar
I made a mistake and I must pay for it
Perder tu amor, sin duda lo que más me duele
Losing your love is undoubtedly what hurts me the most
Dime que ya no me amas, para intentar olvidarte
Tell me that you don't love me anymore, so I can try to forget you
Dime que no quieres verme, al irme para otra parte
Tell me that you don't want to see me, when I go somewhere else
Soy el que te necesita, necesita tus mensajes
I am the one who needs you, needs your messages
Esos labios que marcaron, tus besos como un tatuaje
Those lips that marked your kisses like a tattoo
Mejor dime que me extrañas, para volver a mirarte
Better yet, tell me that you miss me, so I can look at you again
Con whisky pensé llenar, ese vació que me dejaste
I thought I could fill the void you left with whiskey
Hice mal y me arrepiento, te traigo en mi pensamiento
I did wrong and I regret it, I keep you in my thoughts
Por que se que te falle y no termina este sufrimiento
Because I know I failed you and this suffering won't end
Dame otra oportunidad
Give me another chance
Para estar contigo de nuevo
To be with you again
Comencemos desde cero
Let's start from scratch
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Jesus Cornelio Vega Luna
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind