Ponce, Puerto Rico

1975

Reggaeton artist Ñejo was born Carlos Daniel Crespo Planas in 1975 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. While growing up, his mother often called him Ñejo, and he kept the name when he began making music. Before going solo, he had a long run as half of the popular duo Ñejo y Dálmata, who started releasing tracks in the mid-2000s and found success with their 2007 debut album, Broke and Famous. While Ñejo had been working on various solo and collaborative singles for a while, his first truly solo album arrived in the form of 2014's Yo Soy la Fama. He continued to develop an ever-shifting style as he issued more singles that drew on elements of pop radio production and even commercial R&B hits. ~ Fred Thomas