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.
Igual Que Ayer
Rakim Y Ken-Y Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que te encuentras muy bien y no piensas en mi
Sin embargo, yo no puedo dejar de extrañarte
Y te tengo que decir
Rakim y Ken-Y
Que si decides regresar, aquí estaré
Es que no puedo aguantar, las ganas de amarte
Y de besarte igual que ayer, igual que ayer
Yo te confieso que yo te extraño
Mi vida, eres la única mujer que sanara
Mis heridas, desde que tu te fuiste mi
Amor yo no tengo vida, y siento que yo me
Muero en esta triste agonía, amor regresa
Tuyo es mi corazón yy si en algo te he
Fallado te pido perdón, solo te pido que
Te pongas en mi posición y que escuches
Claro lo que dice mi canción
Que si decides regresar, aquí estaré
Esperándote, ya no lo pienses mujer ven y entrégate
Es que no puedo aguantar, las ganas de amarte
Y de besarte igual que ayer, igual que ayer
Amor te extraño tanto que no se ni
Que hacer, baby regresa o voy a enloquecer
Ma' date prisa tu no puedes ver
Que yo te extraño tanto, que yo no se ni que hacer y
Si te sigo amando igual que ayer
Me dijeron que te vieron por ahí, que
Te encuentras muy bien why no piensas en mi
Sin embargo, yo no puedo dejar de extrañarte
Y te tengo que decir
Rakim y Ken-Y
Que si decides regresar, aquí estaré
Esperándote, ya no lo pienses mujer ven y entrégate
Es que no puedo aguantar, las ganas de amarte
Y de besarte igual que ayer, igual que ayer
The lyrics to Rakim Y Ken-Y's song Igual Que Ayer are an emotional expression of love and longing for a lost love. The song portrays the feeling of heartbreak, where the singer confesses that he cannot stop missing his ex-girlfriend, even when he is being told that she is doing well without him. He admits that he still loves her and if she ever decides to come back, he will be waiting for her with open arms, so that they can be together again. The lyrics are full of regret and a plea for forgiveness, as the singer acknowledges his mistakes but asks his love to understand and accept his apology.
The chorus of the song is a powerful representation of the love that the singer still holds for his ex-girlfriend. He cannot resist the urge to love her, to kiss her, and be with her again, just like he did in the past. He is incapable of imagining his life without her, and he confesses that she is the only woman who can heal his wounds.
The overall message of the song is that love is a powerful force that can make people feel strong emotions, good or bad. The singer is willing to move on and forget his past mistakes if it means he can find happiness with his lost love once again. The lyrics convey the deep emotional turmoil that he is feeling, vividly expressing his desire to rekindle his past love.
Line by Line Meaning
Me dijeron que te vieron por ahí
I heard from someone that they saw you somewhere else.
Que te encuentras muy bien y no piensas en mi
They said you're doing well and not thinking of me.
Sin embargo, yo no puedo dejar de extrañarte
But still, I can't help missing you.
Y te tengo que decir
And I have to tell you.
Que si decides regresar, aquí estaré
That if you decide to come back, I'll be here.
Esperándote, ya no lo pienses mujer ven Y entrégate
Waiting for you, don't hesitate, come and surrender yourself.
Es que no puedo aguantar, las ganas de amarte
I can't bear it anymore, I have the desire to love you.
Y de besarte igual que ayer, igual que ayer
And to kiss you just like before, just like yesterday.
Yo te confieso que yo te extraño
I confess that I miss you.
Mi vida, eres la única mujer que sanara
You are the only woman who can heal me, my life.
Mis heridas, desde que tu te fuiste mi
My wounds, since you left me.
Amor yo no tengo vida, y siento que yo me
Love, I have no life, and I feel like I'm
Muero en esta triste agonía, amor regresa
Dying in this sad agony, love, come back.
Tuyo es mi corazón yy si en algo te he
My heart belongs to you and if I
Fallado te pido perdón, solo te pido que
Failed you, I apologize, I just ask that
Te pongas en mi posición y que escuches
You put yourself in my place and listen
Claro lo que dice mi canción
Clearly what my song says.
Amor te extraño tanto que no se ni
Love, I miss you so much that I don't even know
Que hacer, baby regresa o voy a enloquecer
What to do, baby, come back or I will go crazy.
Ma' date prisa tu no puedes ver
Hurry up, you can't see
Que yo te extraño tanto, que yo no se ni que hacer y
That I miss you so much, that I don't even know what to do, and
Si te sigo amando igual que ayer
If I keep loving you just like before.
Me dijeron que te vieron por ahí, que
I heard from someone that they saw you somewhere else, that
Te encuentras muy bien why no piensas en mi
You're doing well and not thinking of me.
Sin embargo, yo no puedo dejar de extrañarte
But still, I can't help missing you.
Y te tengo que decir
And I have to tell you.
Que si decides regresar, aquí estaré
That if you decide to come back, I'll be here.
Esperándote, ya no lo pienses mujer ven y entrégate
Waiting for you, don't hesitate, come and surrender yourself.
Es que no puedo aguantar, las ganas de amarte
I can't bear it anymore, I have the desire to love you.
Y de besarte igual que ayer, igual que ayer
And to kiss you just like before, just like yesterday.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jose Nieves, Kenny Vazquez, Rafael Pina
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind