Their debut song was not a big hit but they were quickly compared to the more famous 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, since most of their artists (such as Lito y Polaco and Nicky Jam himself) were famous for their 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, among others.
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. It is considered one of the reggaeton genre greatests songs.
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 but controversial 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 Estás" 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 that Masterpiece, their upcoming album, would soon be released. However, 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 is debuted #3 in the Latin Billboards, behind only Marc Anthony's "Sigo siendo yo."
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.
On August 18, they had their first concert in Puerto Rico, at the Choliseo. It was practically sold out, and although being deemed too short, receiwed great reviews.
ЈáŹ==Discography==
Dime
Rakim y Ken Y Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
presentar al que todos quieren
y solo uno tiene
yo Raphy Pina les presento a ken-y
Ayer me dijistes que me amabas
que no habia quien nos separara
que yo era tuyo y tu eras mia
Pero de repente todo cambio
ya no eras la misma cuando haciamos el amor
hoy me pides que me vaya sin ninguna razon
tu no sabes cuanto daño le hace a mi corazon perderte
Dime como olvidarte
si no quiero alejarme
no me pidas que me vaya no!!!
que no me vaya no!!!
que no me vaya no!!!
Que no vez que ya no puedo
que sin ti me desespero
no me pidas que me vaya no!!!!!
Como pudistes lastimarme
si lo unico que hice fue amarte
creo que merezco una explicacion
Creeme he tratado de olvidarte
y lo unico que he logrado es recordarte
dime como aguantar tanto dolor
no no no!!!!!!
Dime como olvidarte
si no quiero alejarme
no me pidas que me vaya no!!!
que no me vaya no!!!
que no me vaya no!!!
Que no vez que ya no puedo
que sin ti me desespero
no me pidas que me vaya no!!!!!
Dime que debo hacer
si la verdad es que no puedo
alejarme de ti olvidarme de ti
mamita yo no quiero
no me pidas mas que no
no te voy a complacer
si todo estaba muy bien
dime mi amor en que falle!!!
en que falle!!!!
en que falle!!!!
no no no no puedo comprender porque me abandonaste
porque un dia solo tu me dejaste
si yo todo te lo di
si vivia para ti
porque tu ahora me pagas asi
Dime como olvidarte
si no quiero alejarme
no me pidas que me vaya no!!!
que no me vaya no!!!
que no me vaya no!!!
Que no vez que ya no puedo
que sin ti me desespero
no me pidas que me vaya no!!!!!
no no no!!!!!!
cuando van a entender
que ustedes son las que mandan
para todas y para el mundo el versatil
ken-y!!!!!
Pina Records
Mambo Kings!!
In the song "Dime" by Rakim y Ken Y, the singer is expressing his feelings of hurt and confusion towards his partner. The track opens up with Raphy Pina introducing Ken-y as the one everyone desires, but only one person has. The lyrics go on to reminisce about the past when the partner professed their love for each other and how nothing could ever come between them. However, things took a turn for the worst, and the partner has changed, and they do not feel the same as they used to when they made love. The singer is left heartbroken and is unable to comprehend why his partner wants him to leave. The chorus emphasizes the pain he is feeling and how he cannot bear the thought of not being with his partner.
The second verse continues to express the singer's frustration towards the relationship. He questions how the partner would be able to hurt him when he only ever loved them. He has tried to move on, but he cannot find a way to forget them, but instead, he can only remember the memories shared. In the third verse, the singer is in pain, and he cannot understand why his partner left him after everything he did to make them happy. He refuses to leave and continues to ask his partner not to make him leave.
Line by Line Meaning
Ahora me toca a mi
It's my turn now
presentar al que todos quieren
to introduce the one everyone wants
y solo uno tiene
and only one has
yo Raphy Pina les presento a ken-y
I, Raphy Pina, present to you Ken-Y
Ayer me dijistes que me amabas
Yesterday you told me you loved me
que no habia quien nos separara
that there was no one who could separate us
que yo era tuyo y tu eras mia
that I was yours and you were mine
para nuestro amor no habia medida
that our love had no limits
Pero de repente todo cambio
But suddenly everything changed
ya no eras la misma cuando haciamos el amor
you weren't the same when we made love
hoy me pides que me vaya sin ninguna razon
today you ask me to leave without any reason
tu no sabes cuanto daño le hace a mi corazon perderte
you don't know how much it hurts my heart to lose you
Dime como olvidarte
Tell me how to forget you
si no quiero alejarme
if I don't want to distance myself
no me pidas que me vaya no!!!
don't ask me to leave, no!!!
que no me vaya no!!!
that I don't leave, no!!!
Que no vez que ya no puedo
Don't you see I can't
que sin ti me desespero
that without you I despair
no me pidas que me vaya no!!!!!
don't ask me to leave, no!!!!!
Como pudistes lastimarme
How could you hurt me
si lo unico que hice fue amarte
if the only thing I did was to love you
creo que merezco una explicacion
I think I deserve an explanation
Creeme he tratado de olvidarte
Believe me, I've tried to forget you
y lo unico que he logrado es recordarte
and the only thing I've achieved is to remember you
dime como aguantar tanto dolor
tell me how to endure so much pain
Dime que debo hacer
Tell me what I should do
si la verdad es que no puedo
if the truth is that I can't
alejarme de ti olvidarme de ti
distance myself from you, forget you
mamita yo no quiero
mami, I don't want to
no me pidas mas que no
don't ask me anymore, no
no te voy a complacer
I'm not going to please you
si todo estaba muy bien
if everything was fine
dime mi amor en que falle!!!
tell me, my love, where did I go wrong!!!
no no no no puedo comprender porque me abandonaste
no no no, I can't understand why you left me
porque un dia solo tu me dejaste
because one day you left me alone
si yo todo te lo di
if I gave you everything
si vivia para ti
if I lived for you
porque tu ahora me pagas asi
why do you pay me back like this now
cuando van a entender
when will they understand
que ustedes son las que mandan
that you are the ones in charge
para todas y para el mundo el versatil
for everyone and for the world, the versatile
ken-y!!!!!
Ken-Y!!!!!
Pina Records
Pina Records
Mambo Kings!!
Mambo Kings!!
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
William Lozada
Me eriza la piel escuchar esto 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Cristian Herrera
Aun sigue en este 2023 siendo un clásico para mi esta canción
Ruben Ferrer
Cómo no hacerlo si es un temazo, apenas tengo 18 y es una canción la cual x decirlo así marco gran parte de mi infancia😅, en mi opinión esto es un himno
Jessi SantOsG
Quien en 2021, buenísima la fav de la adolescencia 🔥👌👌
-'*!'lsd
Hace 17 años en pleno flow y el desmadre empezando a todo lo queda 😂
Martin Vázquez
Lo mejor del regaeton son clasicos
Jorge Sanvicente
Me hace recordar mi etapa de la secundaria excelente rola!!!!
Jimena Prada
Alguien escuchando esta canción en plena cuarentena? 😥😣
kirisutegomen12
Esto si es un tema
Braihan lopez
Ya un año de cuarentena, increíble.