El Alfa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
El Alfa
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El Alfa in 2023
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Emanuel Herrera Batista |
| Also known as | El Alfa "El Jefe" |
| Born | 18 December 1990 Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic |
| Genres | Dominican dembow, Latin hip hop |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | El Jefe Records |
| Awards | Heat Latin Music Awards Premio Lo Nuestro |
Emanuel Herrera Batista (born December 18, 1990), known as El Alfa or El Alfa El Jefe, is a popular rapper from the Dominican Republic. Many people call him "the King of Dembow" because he is a leader in this music style. He was born in Bajos de Haina, San Cristobal.
El Alfa became well-known in the early 2010s. His unique afro hairstyle and songs like "Coche Bomba" and "Muevete Jevi" helped him gain popularity. He has worked with many famous artists from Puerto Rico, including Bad Bunny, Nicky Jam, Farruko, and Myke Towers. In December 2018, he released "Suave (Remix)," which was a huge collaboration in dembow music. It featured artists like Chencho Corleone, Bryant Myers, Miky Woodz, Jon Z, and Noriel.
El Alfa has also teamed up with international music stars. These include Cardi B, J Balvin, Pitbull, Tyga, and Black Eyed Peas. His song "Singapur" reached over 200 million views by February 2021. With more than 21 million monthly listeners on Spotify, El Alfa is a very influential artist in the Dominican dembow genre.
Contents
Music Journey
Early Years (2008–2013)
Emanuel Batista became independent at 17 years old. When he was a child, he dreamed of becoming a barber. His music career started in 2008. He first formed a music duo with Eddy Wilson, another dembow artist. They released songs like "El Fogon" and "Conmigo No." The duo later separated in 2009, and both artists continued their careers alone.
Batista's first solo song was "Coche Bomba" in 2009. He followed this with "Coco Mordan" in 2010. In 2011, he had success with "No Wiri Wiri" and "Agarrate Que Te Solté." He released more songs in 2012, such as "Cacao" and "Muevete Jevi." In 2013, he released his first full album, Dembow Exitos. Other producers and artists like Nico Clinico and Chimbala also worked on this album.
El Alfa's popularity grew even more with "Fuin Fuan" in April 2013. This song kept his fast-paced dembow style with DJ Patio's help. That year, he performed "Humo Excúsame (Remix)" with Musicologo the Libro. He also collaborated with Farruko on "Tú Me Gusta Pila." This partnership with Farruko became very important for El Alfa's career.
Growing Fame and Challenges (2014–2016)
His music's success in the early 2010s made him a regional star. He began recording with artists from Puerto Rico's Reggaeton scene. These included Jowell & Randy, Nicky Jam, Tempo, and Arcángel. In 2014, El Alfa released a very popular song called "Tarzan." This song was part of his second album, Dembow Exitos 2.0. Bubloy and DJ Plano produced this album.
In 2015, El Alfa faced some public criticism. He was sentenced to 15 days of community service. As part of this, he cleaned a public plaza and sang the national anthem. He also handed out educational flyers about important national figures. He explained that it was a misunderstanding.
During this time, he worked with many Dominican artists. These included Don Miguelo, Shelow Shaq, Quimico Ultra Mega, and El Super Nuevo. A big hit that year was "Pal de Velitas" with Mark B. This song, produced by Chael Produciendo, gained over 20 million views online.
Chael Produciendo worked on two more songs for El Alfa in 2016: "No Hay Forma" and "Segueta (Remix)" with Nicky Jam. El Alfa also started to do well in "TrapBow," a mix of American trap and Dembow music. He recorded "Nadie Como Tú" with Nicky Jam and "Una Papi Que La Mima" with Tempo and Farruko. El Alfa also went on his first European tour in 2016.
Continued Success (2017–Present)
El Alfa celebrated 10 years in music with a concert on September 3, 2018. He performed at the Palacio de los Deportes Virgilio Travieso Soto. He was the first Latin urban artist to headline this big venue. Since then, he has worked with Anuel AA, Bad Bunny, and Nicky Jam.
In November 2018, El Alfa released "Mi Mami" featuring Cardi B.
In April 2021, El Alfa released "La Mamá De La Mamá." This song featured CJ, El Cherry Scom, and Chael Produciendo. It was released under his own record label, "El Jefe Record." In May 2021, "La Mamá De La Mamá" appeared on the Global Top 200 chart by Billboard. In July 2021, a remix of the song was released. It included Busta Rhymes, Anitta (singer), CJ (rapper), Wisin, and El Cherry Scom.
In August 2021, El Alfa announced his first world tour. It began in the U.S. in the fall of 2021. His fifth studio album, Sagitario, was released in 2022. His "La Leyenda Del Dembow USA Tour" was his first arena tour in the United States. It took place from October to December 2023.
Awards and Recognitions
In 2022, El Alfa was nominated for two Premio Lo Nuestro awards. These nominations were for Male Revelation Artist and Best Tropical Song Of The Year.
Music Albums
Studio Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Latin |
US Latin Rhythm |
SPA |
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| Disciplina |
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45 | 11 | — | |||||
| El Hombre |
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7 | 6 | — | |||||
| El Androide |
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9 | 6 | 21 | |||||
| Sabiduria |
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16 | 11 | — | |||||
| Sagitario |
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28 | 11 | — | |||||
| El Rey del Dembow |
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17 | 8 | 94 | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||||
Compilation Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Latin |
US Latin Rhythm |
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| Disciplina (Puerto Rico Edition) |
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— | — | ||||||
| Dembow Worldwide Hits Teteo 42 |
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11 | 6 | ||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||||
Extended Plays
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Dembo$$ |
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Singles
As Lead Artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARG |
SPA |
US |
US Latin |
US Dance |
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| "Dema Ga Ge Gi Go Gu" (with Bad Bunny) |
2016 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Banda de Camión" (Remix) (with Farruko and De La Ghetto featuring Zion, Bryant Myers, Villano Sam and Noriel) |
2017 | — | — | — | — | — |
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| "Suave" | — | — | — | — | — |
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| "Lo Que Yo Diga" ("Dema Ga Ge Gi Go Gu" Remix) (featuring Farruko, Jon Z, and Miky Woodz) |
2018 | — | — | — | — | — |
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El Hombre | |
| "Ruleta" (with Yomel El Meloso) |
— | — | — | — | — | Fue el Hombre Que Dijo | |||
| "Siéntate en Ese Deo" | — | — | — | — | — |
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El Hombre | ||
| "Con Silenciador" (with Anuel AA) |
— | — | — | — | — |
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| "Suave" (Remix) (featuring Chencho Corleone, Noriel, Miky Woodz, Jon Z & Bryant Myers) |
— | — | — | — | — |
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Non-album single | ||
| "Tecnobow" (featuring Diplo) |
2019 | — | — | — | — | — | Dembo$$ and El Androide | ||
| "Imaginate" (with Tito el Bambino and Pitbull) |
— | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||
| "Coronao Now" (featuring Lil Pump) |
— | 82 | — | 30 | — | El Androide | |||
| "Mera Woo" (with Chael Produciendo) |
— | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Coronao Now" (Remix) (with Sech and Myke Towers featuring Vin Diesel and Lil Pump) |
2020 | — | 61 | — | — | — | non-album single | ||
| "4K" (with Darell and Noriel) |
13 | 66 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Pam" (with Justin Quiles and Daddy Yankee) |
26 | 1 | — | 14 | — |
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La Última Promesa | ||
| "A Correr Los Lakers" (Remix) (with Ozuna and Nicky Jam featuring Arcángel and Secreto "El Famoso Biberón") |
— | — | — | — | — |
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non-album single | ||
| "Wow" (Remix) (with Bryant Myers and Nicky Jam featuring Arcángel and Darell) |
— | — | — | 36 | — |
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Bendecido | ||
| "Bebé" (with Camilo) |
4 | 9 | — | 22 | — |
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Mis Manos | ||
| "Singapur" (Remix) (with Farruko and Myke Towers featuring Chencho Corleone and Justin Quiles) |
38 | 45 | — | 46 | — | Non-album single | |||
| "XOXA" (with Farruko) |
2021 | — | — | — | 47 | — | Premium | ||
| "Arrebatao" (with Chael Produciendo) |
— | — | — | — | — | Dembow Worldwide Hits Teteo 42 | |||
| "La Mamá de la Mamá" (with CJ and Chael Produciendo featuring Cherry Scom) |
— | 81 | — | 9 | — | ||||
| "Acuetate" (with Chael Produciendo and Yomel El Meloso featuring Tivi Gunz, Haraca Kiko, Capitán Aloo, El Fother and Kiko el Crazy) |
— | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |||
| "Pikete" (with Nicky Jam) |
— | — | — | 32 | — | Infinity | |||
| "Fulanito" (with Becky G) |
61 | 9 | — | 24 | — |
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Esquemas | ||
| "Curazao" (with Farruko) |
— | — | — | 34 | — | Dembow Worldwide Hits Teteo 42 | |||
| "Happy Birthday" (with Tempo) |
— | — | — | — | 22 | non-album single | |||
| "Gogo Dance" | 2022 | — | — | — | 26 | — | Sabiduria | ||
| "Simply the Best" (with Black Eyed Peas and Anitta) |
— | — | — | — | 30 | Elevation | |||
| "Le Doy 20 Mil" (with Prince Royce) |
2023 | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | ||
| "Plebada" (with Peso Pluma) |
— | — | 68 | 12 | — | Dembow Worldwide Hits Teteo 42 | |||
| "Tonight" (with Black Eyed Peas featuring Becky G) |
2024 | — | — | — | — | 32 | Ride or Die | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||||
As Featured Artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARG |
NL |
SPA |
US Bub. |
US Latin |
US Dance |
NZ |
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| "Viajo Sin Ver" (Remix) (Jon Z featuring De La Ghetto, Almighty, Miky Woodz, El Alfa, Noriel, Ele A el Dominio, Lyan, Juanka El Problematik, Pusho and Jeycyn) |
2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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Non-album single |
| "Que Calor" (Major Lazer featuring J Balvin and El Alfa) |
2019 | 70 | 91 | 18 | 23 | 13 | 6 | — |
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Music Is the Weapon |
| "Mambo" (Steve Aoki and Willy William featuring Sean Paul, El Alfa, Sfera Ebbasta and Play-N-Skillz) |
2021 | — | — | — | — | — | 41 | — | Non-album single | |
| "Ten Cuidado" (Farruko, Pitbull and Iamchino featuring El Alfa and Omar Courtz) |
— | — | — | — | 50 | — | — |
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| "Muñekita" (Kali Uchis featuring El Alfa and JT) |
2023 | — | — | — | — | 31 | — | — | Orquídeas | |
| "La Botella" (Enrique Iglesias featuring El Alfa |
2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Final (Vol. 2) | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||
Other Singles
- "Que Fue" featuring Tali Goya
- "Moviéndolo (Remix)" with Pitbull and Wisin & Yandel
- "La Mama De La Mama (Remix)" featuring Busta Rhymes, Anita, CJ, Wisin, El Cherry Scom, Chael Produciendo
Other Charted and Certified Songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPA |
US Latin |
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| "Mi Mami" (featuring Cardi B) |
2018 | — | 42 | El Hombre | ||||||
| "Pa Jamaica" | — | — |
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| "La Romana" (Bad Bunny featuring El Alfa) |
80 | 12 | X 100pre | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||
See also
In Spanish: El Alfa para niños
