Emmanuel Gazmey Santiago, whose stage name is Anuel AA, is a Puerto Rican singer of reggaeton and Latin trap, born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, on November 27, 1992.
Despite being popular for only five years and having experienced interruptions due to various legal issues that led the singer to serve time in prison, pausing his artistic activity, Anuel AA has managed to collaborate with some of the most prominent figures in reggaeton and trap, steering a career that continues to rise towards fame.
In 2015, he released his single "Nacimos pa' morir" featuring Jory Boy, and in 2016, he gained international recognition with the song "La ocasión," a collaboration with Ozuna, Arcángel, and De La Ghetto.
On April 3, 2016, he was arrested and sentenced to 30 months in prison for possession of firearms. He resumed his career in 2018.
He has shared the stage with Puerto Ricans Ozuna and Ñengo Flow, who launched him to fame in his homeland. In 2019, he collaborated with Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, and Karol G (his current partner) on the song "China," of which he is a co-writer. The track reached number 2 on Spotify's Global Top 50, amassing over 5,000,000 streams.
In Spain, the song reached number 1 on the Top 50, breaking the record for listens within 24 hours (724,000), and became the most successful song of the genre in that country in 2019.
In January 2020, he launched "Me Gusta" alongside Shakira through Ace Entertainment and Sony Music Latin. The song features a sample from "Sweat (A La La La La Long)" by the Jamaican band Inner Circle. Anuel is a co-author of the track, which currently has over 100 million views on YouTube.
On May 13, 2020, he released the song "La Bebe (Remix)" featuring Black Jonas Point, Secreto, Liro Shaw, and Cardi B. On the same day, he also launched the track "Sur y Norte" with his partner Ñengo Flow for his album "The Goat."
For his second album "Emmanuel," released in 2020, he features collaborations with Karol G, Daddy Yankee, Kendo Kaponi, Tego Calderón, Enrique Iglesias, Bad Bunny, among others. He also has another album from 2018 titled "Real hasta la muerte."
In October 2019, at the fifth edition of the Latin American Music Awards held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, he was the big winner, taking home five awards in the most prominent categories: Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Favorite Male Artist, Urban Artist, and Urban Album.
In December 2019, alongside his partner Karol G, he was responsible for entertaining the guests with his music during the celebration that took place after the vow renewal ceremony of Uruguayan footballer Luis Suárez and his wife Sofia Balbi. There, he coincided with Leo Messi, Neymar Jr., Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, among others.
In June 2020, in the music video for the song Reggaetonera, which pays tribute to many Latin American countries through their flags and the dancers' outfits, there is also a reference to Cuba.
