Nicky Jam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicky Jam
|
|
|---|---|
Nicky Jam in 2019
|
|
| Born |
Nick Rivera Caminero
March 17, 1981 Lawrence, Massachusetts, U.S.
|
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Labels |
|
| Signature | |
 |
|
Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known as Nicky Jam, is an American singer. He is famous for songs like "X", "Travesuras", "El Perdón", "Hasta el Amanecer", and "El Amante". These last three songs are from his 2017 album Fénix. He often works with other Latin artists such as Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Ozuna, Plan B and Anuel AA. His early music was fast-paced reggaeton. Now, his songs focus more on singing and romantic words.
Nicky Jam was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother is from the Dominican Republic, and his father is from Puerto Rico. When he was ten, his family moved to Puerto Rico. He started recording music at age fourteen. His first album was ...Distinto a los demás (1995). He soon caught the eye of Daddy Yankee. They formed a group called Los Cangris, which was active from the late 1990s to 2004. After they split, Nicky Jam's career slowed down.
He then moved to Medellín, Colombia. There, he made his career strong again. He created a more melodic music style. This new style became very popular with songs like "Voy a Beber" and "Travesuras" in 2014. His success grew even more with the 2015 song "El Perdón" and his 2017 album Fénix. In 2019, he released the album Íntimo, which was very successful. Nicky Jam has also acted in movies like XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017) and Bad Boys for Life (2020). He also starred in and helped produce the Netflix show about his life, Nicky Jam: El Ganador (2018).
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Growing Up and Finding Music
Nick Rivera Caminero was born on March 17, 1981. His mother was from the Dominican Republic, and his father was from Puerto Rico. He was born on Saint Patrick's Day. As a child, he loved going to parades for this holiday. In Massachusetts, he liked hip-hop music. He especially liked groups like Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch and LL Cool J.
When Nicky Jam was ten, his family moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico. They wanted to connect with their Puerto Rican family roots. Nicky Jam said in an interview that his father had to move to Puerto Rico.
Learning Spanish and Starting to Rap
Nicky Jam felt a big change when he moved to Puerto Rico. He had never spoken Spanish before. But he quickly made friends in his new neighborhood. Spending time on the streets as a middle schooler inspired him to make music. He also used Caribbean hip-hop and reggaeton to help him learn Spanish better.
He first called himself "Nick MC". But a homeless man in his neighborhood told him, "You ain't Nick MC, you're Nicky Jam." So, he changed his name to Nicky Jam.
When he was eleven, he worked at a grocery store. He would rap about the items he was bagging. A customer was impressed and asked him to record music with a local record label. He signed a contract without reading it. He did not get any money for his first recordings. He released his first album, ...Distinto a los demás, in 1995 when he was fourteen.
Working with Daddy Yankee and Career Challenges
Forming Los Cangris
.png)
Nicky Jam became popular in Puerto Rico as a hip-hop artist. He met his idol, Daddy Yankee. Nicky Jam remembered that Daddy Yankee knew his music. Daddy Yankee told him, "I know who you are. You're that little kid that sings rap in a little Mickey Mouse voice. I like your style." The two artists then formed a music group called Los Cangris.
The group became very successful in Puerto Rico. They had hit songs like "En la Cama", "Donde Estan Las Gatas", and "Guayando". While in the group, Nicky Jam also released his own albums. These were Haciendo escante (2001) and Vida escante (2004).
Difficult Times and Changes
Nicky Jam found it hard to get used to his new famous life. Daddy Yankee started to criticize Nicky Jam's actions. He even hinted at his bandmate in songs. This made Nicky Jam upset, and he released a song back at Daddy Yankee in 2004.
Nicky Jam soon regretted releasing that song. He explained, "That wasn't a good choice, because he came with [2004 Billboard Hot 100 hit] 'Gasolina.' [I] looked stupid." Los Cangris broke up in 2004. After the group split, Nicky Jam faced personal and career difficulties. He felt like the "embarrassment of the Latin Caribbean music industry."
He gained a lot of weight and felt very sad. He also had some difficult times with his car. He took a job singing lounge music for tourists in a hotel. Even though this was a low point, he used this time to improve his singing. He learned to add more singing to his music, instead of just rapping.
Career Comeback and Big Hits
Moving to Colombia and New Beginnings
In 2007, Nicky Jam moved to Medellín, Colombia. He wanted to focus on his music again. People in Medellín welcomed him warmly. He said, "They made me feel like I was a legend. The boost they gave me made me want to be a better person." In 2010, he lost a lot of weight. He also got many tattoos, including his whole neck. He saw this as a sign of his recovery.
Musically, he was inspired by the romantic style of Colombian music, especially vallenato. He also made up with Daddy Yankee. They met on a flight, apologized to each other, and started touring together in late 2014.
Successful Songs and Awards
His songs "Voy a Beber" and "Travesuras" brought his career back to life. This led him to sign with Sony U.S. Latin. "Travesuras" was his first song to reach the top ten on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.
Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias asked Nicky Jam to work with him on the 2015 song "El Perdón". This song later won Nicky Jam his first Latin Grammy for Best Urban Performance. Nicky Jam was surprised by Iglesias's call. He even hung up at first, thinking it was a joke. The song reached number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed at the top of the Hot Latin Songs chart for 30 weeks.
His growing popularity helped Nicky Jam reunite with his mother in 2015. She had been living in the Dominican Republic. He had not seen her for over twenty years.
Nicky Jam received the Warrior Spirit award at the 2015 Premios Tu Mundo. This was for his strong comeback in music. The next year, he recorded a new version of the 1992 song "De Pies a Cabeza" with Mexican rock band Maná. Nicky Jam called this a "blessing." In 2016, his song "Hasta el Amanecer" was his first song to get one billion views on YouTube. The song won the Billboard Music Award for Top Latin Song in 2017. It also won the Urban Song of the Year at the 29th Lo Nuestro Awards.
Fénix Album and Acting Debut
On January 20, 2017, Nicky Jam released his album Fénix. The album cover shows a mural painted in Medellín of Nicky Jam. It has the Spanish word for "Phoenix" (stylized FEИiX). Fans painted this mural without Nicky Jam knowing. When he saw it, he was so touched that he announced on Instagram it would be his next album cover. Fénix means rebirth for his career. The album started at the top of the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. It stayed on the Billboard Latin Rhythm Albums chart for 142 weeks. The album was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Fénix included songs with Sean Paul, El Alfa, J Balvin, and Kid Ink. It also had Nicky Jam's first English songs, "Without You" and "I Can't Forget You". With this album, he wanted to keep a natural reggaeton sound. He felt the genre had become too "futuristic" in Puerto Rico. The popular songs "El Perdón" and "Hasta el Amanecer" were on the album. New songs included "El Amante" and "Si Tú la Ves", which featured Wisin from the duo Wisin & Yandel. "El Amante" reached number two on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. "Si Tú la Ves" reached number 18 on the same chart. "El Amante" also hit number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
Nicky Jam started acting in 2017. He was in XXX: Return of Xander Cage, an action movie with Vin Diesel.
Recent Music and Projects
Hit Songs and World Cup Anthem
His song with J Balvin, "X", reached number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for "X" was very popular. It started at number one on YouTube's global music chart. It got over 200 million views in two weeks. Nicky Jam and J Balvin performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy Fallon even danced with them on stage. Nicky Jam said about the song's success, "I knew our music was going to be big, but I didn't think it was going to be the way it is now."
Nicky Jam worked with Will Smith, Diplo and Era Istrefi for the official 2018 FIFA World Cup song, "Live It Up". The song got mixed reviews. Nicky Jam also starred in the Netflix show about his life, Nicky Jam: El Ganador. The show showed his journey to fame and came out in November 2018.
New Albums and Movies
In October 2019, Nicky Jam showed a preview of his documentary, Behind Nicky Jam's Íntimo. Apple Music produced it. He released the album Íntimo on November 1, 2019. It included the songs "X", "Atrévete" with Sech, and "Whine Up" with Anuel AA. Billboard magazine called the album "17 songs of pure reggaeton magic." In November 2019, he signed a new contract with Sony Music Latin.
He worked with Daddy Yankee again on the song "Muévelo". This song uses a part from Ini Kamoze's 1994 hit, "Here Comes the Hotstepper". The music video was filmed in Miami. It honors the 1990s when reggaeton was seen negatively in Puerto Rico. The song was on the soundtrack for the movie Bad Boys for Life. Nicky Jam played the character Zway-Lo in the film, which came out on January 17, 2020.
In March 2020, Nicky Jam received the Career Achievement Award at the Premios Tu Música Urbano 2020. This event was hosted by Telemundo. Nicky Jam also appeared on Bad Bunny's album Las que no iban a salir in May 2020.
In August 2021, Jam announced his first tour after the pandemic. The 'Infinity' Tour started on February 3, 2022, in Boston. It visited many cities in the U.S. and Canada.
Musical Style and Inspirations
Nicky Jam's music is known as Latin trap and reggaeton.
His first big musical influence was Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. He remembers, "I knew automatically when I saw Michael Jackson do 'Thriller' as a little kid that I wanted people to fall in love with my music." He first heard Caribbean music at a house party hosted by his parents. He saw family members dancing to reggae.
When he moved to Medellín, Nicky Jam started making more melodic and romantic music. He was inspired by Colombian music styles like vallenato. He also admires American soul singer Al Green. He says Al Green inspired him to sing about romantic topics. Other artists who have influenced Nicky Jam include Prince, Jay-Z, Jenni Rivera and Shakira. Jay-Z's album The Blueprint (2001) gave him ideas for his own albums in the Spanish market. He became a fan of Mexican rock band Maná in 1992. He calls the members of the group his "idols."
Personal Life
Nicky Jam has four children. He married Angélica Cruz in a private ceremony in Medellín in February 2017. They had been together for two years. J Balvin and Vin Diesel attended the wedding. The reggaeton group Gente de Zona and salsa singer Jerry Rivera performed there. In August 2018, the couple filed for divorce.
That same month, he bought a house in the Palm Island area of Miami Beach. On Valentine's Day 2020, Nicky Jam got engaged to model Cydney Moreau. They met while filming his music video for "Atrévete." He described it as "love at first sight." After posting a photo alone on Valentine's Day 2021, Nicky Jam confirmed they were no longer together. He has said he has attention-deficit disorder. He has also dated Livia Rici, Nati Torres, and Paulina Cruz.
Views on Politics
In 2018, Nicky Jam supported young immigrants who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. He spoke about immigration.
In September 2024, he appeared at a rally in Las Vegas. He wore a "Make America Great Again" hat and said, "We need you. We need you back, right? We need you to be the president." After this, the Mexican rock group Maná removed their song "De Pies a Cabeza" (which they recorded with Nicky Jam in 2016) from all music platforms. They stated that "Maná doesn't work with racists."
Nicky Jam later deleted his social media post supporting the politician. He changed his mind on October 30 after some disrespectful comments were made about Puerto Rico at a rally. He said he was "stepping away from any political conversation" and that "Puerto Rico should be respected."
Music Albums
- Vida escante (2004)
- The Black Carpet (2007)
- Fénix (2017)
- Íntimo (2019)
- Infinity (2021)
- Insomnio (2024)
Movies and TV Shows
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | XXX: Return of Xander Cage | Lazarus | Film |
| 2017 | The Keys of Christmas | Himself | Film |
| 2018 | Nicky Jam: El Ganador | Himself | Biographical television series |
| 2020 | Bad Boys for Life | Lorenzo "Zway-Lo" Rodriguez | Film |
| 2021 | Tom & Jerry | Butch Cat (voice) | Film |
Awards and Nominations
See also
In Spanish: Nicky Jam para niños
