Where Is Eddie Dee?
Are you a reggaeton or Latin Trap fan but don’t understand Spanish? That’s ok, I know how you feel when I listen to Afrobeats music and Amapiano because they are usually speaking a West African language or South African Zulu. Eddie Dee is a musician you undoubtedly know if you’ve been listening to reggaeton from the early 2000s. For a variety of circumstances, he vanished from view around 2005. Spanish is the primary language of the content concerning the reggaeton giants. Here’s one for Eddie Dee supporters who don’t speak Spanish.
The language of all people is music. I’m the kind of person that looks up musicians whose songs I like in order to learn how they developed into the fantastic musicians they are now. I particularly like to watch YouTube programs like Molusco TV from Puerto Rico, Maiky Backstage, Rapeton, and many others that include reggaeton music and feature interviews with the pioneers of the genre, including those in the Christian reggaeton movement. Let’s learn more about Eddie Alexander Avila Ortiz.
Nearly all of the artists in the Latin Urban scene, both established names and rising stars, have respect for him.
On April 26, 1977, he was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.
He arrived at a time when many urban adolescents in Latin America believed that Latin music was trash, which was the case in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Eddie Alexander Vila is one of the most notable reggaeton and Latin rap lyricists, as well as one of the voices of the young in a time when Rock in Spanish, also known as Rock en Español, dominated.
Eddie Dee took part in the 1990 television program “Tus videos favoritos” or “Your Favorite Video” in Puerto Rico, which provided young people with a platform to showcase their creative abilities. Eddie began as a dancer, and the program that Flaco Figueroa created gave him the opportunity to show off all of his talent, starting with dancing and eventually incorporating rapping. He was able to work with The Ghetto Crew on the studio album “Es El Comienzo ” or “It’s the Beginning” in 1994.
He had nicknames like “El Maestro” or “El Terrorista de la Lirica,” which translates to “the terrorist of the lyrics.”
Among notable contributions are DJ Adam’s Mad Jam Live Concert, La Parranda Rappers’ U Records 4 – Back To Business, Underground Records’ “Todo en la casa,” M.C. Non Stop Reggae Vol. 2 with the subject “Es Tiempo De Actuar,” or “It’s time to act.” With the ability to bring down even the most dangerous rival emcees, Eddie Dee would succeed in establishing himself as one of the most notable and promising acts of rap in Spanish.
One of my favorite songs by Eddie Dee is called “Censurarme,” and he was an artist that was not only excellent with wordplay but also created activist music that would make you think deeply.Eddie Dee – Censurarme HQ(Reggaeton Version)
His 1997 project, Tagwut, featuring hit songs like “Senor Oficial,” won him the Puerto Rican Rap and Reggae Award for Best Lyrics in the year of its release. The record was followed by El Terrorista de la Lirica (2000) and Biografia (2001), both of which were immense underground successes, solidifying Eddie as a reggaeton icon whose work was admired even by the genre’s mainstream artists who outsold him. Senor Oficial- Eddie Dee – Señor Oficial
Source: https://www.last.fm/music/Eddie+Dee/+wiki
The Come Up:
In the middle of the year 2000, Eddie Ávila launched the most important record production in his career, the one that was called “El Terrorista de la Lirica” which had many features, including the legendary Maicol and Manuel, Salsa singer Frankie Ruiz, a young Tego Calderón, Horny Man, Panty Man, OGM Y Oakley and Cookee.
Fun fact: Eddie Dee introduced Tego Calderon to the world! Eddie was the first one to give Tego Calderon the co-sign.
Defining Moment: Los 12 Discipulos
Eddie Avila would launch on January 29, 2004, the most important record production in his career history. Under the biblical name of the “12 Disciples”, the one born in a popular neighbourhood of Puerto Rico would be in charge of uniting, in the same production, the hottest Latin urban artists, with the greatest impact of the time, in an album that would become legendary.
With the participation of Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, Vico C, Zion & Lennox, Nicky Jam, Voltio, Johnny Prez, Ivy Queen, Wiso G, and the poet Gallego. Eddie Dee would present a production wherein more than 14 songs, 12 different artists would give their best. “Quítate Tu Pa’ Ponerme Yo” (English: Move So I Can Come) was the hit song from the album.
A salsa version of the song is also available on the album’s special edition, released in 2005. The song reached number eight on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart, thus earning a 2005 Billboard Latin Music Award nomination for “Tropical Airplay Track of the Year, New Artist.”
The main “hook,” or chorus melody, says “Quítate tú pa’ ponerme yo…” throughout the song; this is originally from a salsa song by Johnny Pacheco of Fania All Stars simply called “Quítate Tú”. According to the Chilean magazine Publimetro, Ivy Queen’s verse in the song was a “feminist statement,” claiming that women have the power.”
“Los 12 Discípulos” was performed at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2005. Not all of the singers participated led by Eddie Dee, however, Daddy Yankee was replaced with Eddie Dee, as he performed his worldwide hit “Gasolina” on the show. Eddie Dee also performed Wiso G’s verse. Tito El Bambino replaced Nicky Jam on the final chorus. Instead of Ivy Queen beginning her verse with “Quítate tu que llego la caballota, la perra, la diva, la potra”; Ivy Queen opened with “Quítate tu que llego la caballota, la reina, la diva, la potra”; replacing “perra” which literally means “bitch” with “Reina” which means “queen.” The album represented what they were trying to promote at the time, that unity was the only way the genre would blow up, globally.
The album was released by the independent label Diamond Music, by the mogul Iván Joy “12 Discípulos” and would become the first album produced by an urban exponent to debut on the Billboard list and to be nominated for the Latin Grammys. The album also produced the hits by Tego Calderon “Punto Y Aparte,” “Si No Cuidas Tu Mujer” and “Taladro.”
Source: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Los_12_Disc%C3%ADpulos
Side note: Ivan Joy is the man behind the Kilates albums, where I first heard a young Jowell Y Randy- Yo soy.
Beef With Daddy Yankee
In an interview, Eddie Dee claimed that Daddy Yankee dropped the song ‘Grito Mundial’ on the same day he released his song “Eso No Va Conmigo.” Eddie said, “4 days before the song’s release, Yankee got the bright idea to drop his own song on the same day.” October 8th, 2009, was when Eddie had planned to drop his single. He believes it was not a coincidence. Eddie goes on to say that his issues with Yankee are friendship, trust, loyalty, and how they do business, which is what Eddie seems to hold dearly and the code he lives by.
It seems as though Yankee perhaps failed him in one or more of those areas. Eddie mentions that the last time he spoke with Yankee was in 2007. Many fans speculated that his song “Eso No Va Conmigo,” was a diss song to Yankee, but he denied that claim. He said it was more of a “relief,” a way for him to express how he was feeling about himself, the fans, the industry etc. He says it wasn’t a diss song, but he did have some bars directed at Yankee.
The song “Amigo Fiel” was definitely a diss song.
Diss song to Daddy Yankee:Eddie Dee – Amigo Fiel (Tiraera A Daddy Yankee)
The label of “musical genius” comes with a lot of criticism for Eddie Dee. Eddie has received a lot of negative feedback from producers and artists. DJ Adam claimed that Eddie is difficult to deal with since he is a perfectionist. Eddie Avila was the musician DJ Urba claimed to have worked with who was overly concerned with the details. Wiso G claimed, “He (Eddie) can have 40 tracks ready to go and decide to suddenly scrap them and start again. According to rumours, Daddy Yankee learned how to write bars from Eddie Dee.
Gasolina Controversy
It was in 2004 when a catchy song caught the attention of many and quickly became an international hit. It was “Gasolina,” a song performed by Daddy Yankee, who, at that time, was already a revelation in the world of reggaeton. “She likes gasoline,” “Give me more gasoline” are phrases that are part of the chorus of the song “Gasolina,” performed by Daddy Yankee and written by the urban artist himself along with Eddie Dee and produced by LunyTunes. The creators of this song never thought that its success would transcend borders and would be heard in various parts of the world, becoming one of the most important and famous songs in the reggaeton genre.
To write this song, Eddie Dee and Daddy Yankee were inspired by -according to heabbi– the lifestyle of women who like to ride cars. This is how the lyrics “Ella le gusta la gasolina” or “She likes gasoline ”are born. Also, the news portal Que Noticias mentioned that he also talks about the origin of the song. To do this, he recalls the description given by Rolling Stone magazine, where he specifies that ” Gasolina ” originated when Daddy Yankee heard a man on the street yelling at a woman: “ Check it out, mija, how do you like gasoline! ”, in a clear allusion to the vehicles to get to the parties.
“Gasolina” has had valuable nominations over the years. Thus we have his nomination for the Latin Grammy (Record of the Year) and Latin Billboard (Ringtone of the Year) in 2005. In addition, his striking video competed in the US MTV Video Music Awards and the Japanese version as well. It should also be noted that this song was included in the best 500 songs in history published by Rolling Stone magazine.
Yankee said most of the song was already written by Yankee himself and that Eddie simply added some bars to the song. It is believed that Eddie feels like that is not true and that he was a major part of the song.
In an interview with Puerto Rican media personality Molusco, Yankee was asked about what happened between him and Eddie Dee. Daddy Yankee responds saying that it is a topic that’s been following him for years and one that he’s never cared to explain, until now. He says “ I want to explain the difference between an author and a co-author.” He said he came up with the flow for the song while he lived in his old neighbourhood of Via Kennedy projects in PR. He said he came up with the hook and chorus while living there. He wondered, “What beat can I add these lyrics to? He remembered the song he made, which was his hit “Cojela Que Va Sin Jockey” produced by LunyTunes and said he wanted to re-create that same energy. This was when he invited Eddie Dee to help him write some bars.
Then, they linked up with singer/rapper ‘Glory,’ the artist whose voice we hear in Gasolina responding to Yankee saying, “Dame mas gasolina.” All while recording this over the ‘Cojela Que Va Sin Jockey’ instrumental. He reminds us once again that he’s explaining the difference between the author and the collaborator. He explains that it took a team effort to make it happen. This is why he says he had collaborators in the song, but he’s the song’s author.
Yankee further explains that the issue with how they did business back in the day was that it was all done in “good faith,” with a handshake but nothing in writing or done legally. Eddie Dee helped co-write a few songs like “Taladro,” Donde Hubo Fuego,” and also mentioned that he (Yankee) wrote the chorus for “Quitate Tu Pa Ponerme Yo,” which was originally written for Don Omar to sing, but things were happening in Don’s life so, it didn’t happen that way and a few of the song’s artists helped sing the chorus.
What happened with the “El Diario” album?
“El Diario” would be the album that would take him to the next level… but it never arrived. Mr. Dee disappeared from the music scene, and little is known about him since. I could compare Eddie Dee to Jay Electronica because of their need for the timing to be perfect to release their music.
“Even so, when the interviewer, Adelle Platon, later referenced the fact that Jay Z has publicly urged Jay Electronica to put an album out, he responded with this gem:”
“When it’s ready, when it’s ready.” “It don’t matter if Donald Trump say,” “Put the album out.” “Maybe if Minister [Louis] Farrakhan said put the album out then maybe I might go home tonight and throw something together and put it out.” “Say like with Jay, that’s almost like [asking],” “How’s the weather now?” “If I walk outside right now, go across the street and if somebody recognize me, the first question they gonna ask me is,” “When is the album coming?”
“So it’s almost like it’s not a thing that’s just normal to get asked that. But I guess the question you asked me is what will it take. When it’s finished. When it’s something that I’m pleased with because regardless of the six billion people on planet Earth, even if I put something out and the whole six billion say it’s absolutely beautiful and I don’t feel okay with it, I’m the one that carries that.”
“I have to be at a place where I’m pleased with the offering. So, it will come — it’s coming soon.”
Source:Jay Electronica Says He Hasn’t Made An Album Because Albums Are A “False Concept” (stereogum.com)
Jhay Cortez mentioned in an interview with Chente Ydrach that he sang in the intro of El Diario when he was about 14-15 years old.
During an interview between Jhay Cortez and Molusco of Molusco TV, Molusco asked if Eddie Dee’s album would be well received if it dropped tomorrow. Would he have the engagement or the impact that we all hope it would? Jhay replies that when people wait too long for something, the expectations become too high. He said that he would really need to put in the work to promote it.
Source: JHAY CORTEZ habló de Tego Calderon y Eddie Dee… dice que “El Diario” esta duro 💪🏽
Source: Jhay Cortez grabó en El Diario de Eddie Dee
Christian Latin Urban rapper, Redimi2 said that he linked up with Eddie Dee years ago. He wanted to do a song with him. He was invited to go to Eddie’s home studio, where he played a few tracks off the album for him. Redimi2 said that he has songs on there that would sound like today’s music if they were to drop now. Unfortunately, their collaborative effort never came to life due to Redimi2 being in the process of moving from PR to USA at that time.
Source: Redimi2 escucho “El Diario” de Eddie Dee
When Will Eddie Dee Come Back To Music?
Eddie had been teasing an album titled “180” or “180 degrees,” which he had mentioned in an interview around 2010. That album also never came. He said in an interview that he loves music, but hates the music business.
According to a clip I saw from the YouTube channel Chente Ydrach clips, producer DJ Urba said that Eddie Dee was invited to go on stage with Bad Bunny at a concert, but apparently, he denied the request because he said that it was not time for him to make his return.
In an interview with Zion of Zion Y Lennox, Zion mentioned that he wishes he could work with Eddie Dee again to possibly make a part 2 to their hit song “Amor De Pobre.” But Eddie is ghosting everyone. He also gives Eddie his flowers and says he is the most lyrical artist in the Latin Urban genre. Both secular and Christian genre artists agree that Eddie Dee is the missing element in today’s Latin Urban music scene. I really hope he comes back very soon, or hopefully, when he reads this or if he reads this, it can trigger his decision to return and show these current artists how it’s meant to sound today.
Here’s a track that he teased back in 2019, but still, no return, yet.
‘Mi Regreso’
Mi Regreso
What Can We Learn From This?
I learned that working with friends isn’t always simple from this experience. The details of their exchange are only known by Yankee and Eddie. They are the only ones who have access to the truth. In order to reach CEO and superstar status in any field, I truly think that individuals must step on others (allegedly.) It is in accordance with the biopics I’ve seen, such as “The Founder,” which is a film about McDonald’s. Due to my fandom, I find it difficult to accept that Yankee may be a snake. But, Eddie Dee is someone I also like. When it comes to the content of his lyrics, Eddie has also kept it 100.
Even Yankee admitted that he was new to the game. There wasn’t a structure for truly monetizing what they were doing or an established industry. Around the time he and Eddie fell out, money was coming in. Yankee mentioned briefly how Luny, from the production duo LunyTunes, came to him about payment because he was learning about the industry and realized he should be collecting more. It could have gone south between him and Luny, but he used this example to support his stance that he’s always kept his word and does honest business. They are still friends to this day. It’s the classic tale of not knowing the business of music. The music business is 90% business and 10% artistic expression, studio time, touring, promo, sponsorships, photoshoots, etc.
All of the business needs to happen in order to make one or all of the things mentioned above that are the “fun things” come to life. And that’s what the pioneers of the reggaeton industry realised when they started putting in the work to learn the music business portion of their art. Eddie Dee has been teasing his return for years. Let’s hope that happens soon.
Let’s also learn from these artists and get all the paperwork in order when we are working with others. When you’re going into business with anyone, especially friends, you may end up paying a higher price than you can imagine. Just ask the Isley Brothers. Look it up. I’ll discuss this in the podcast version of this blog post.
https://nypost.com/2023/03/23/rudolph-isley-sues-brother-ronald-over-the-isley-brothers-trademark/
Some of my favourite tracks:
Ediie Dee, Frankie Ruiz- Quiero
Hablame Claro
Taladro Ft Daddy Yankee
Locura Automatica Remix
Vivito Y Coleando
Amor Mio Ft Cultura Profetica
Para mi Barrio (Remix)- Vico C, D’ Mingo, Eddie Dee, Tony Touch, Dj Blass
Si La Yale Busca
No Amarres Fuego
Amor De Pobre- Zion, Eddie Dee
Eso No Va conmigo
Se Escaman- Vico C, Eddie Dee
Written By: Mario Funes
Contact: Info@wokeuparebel.com
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Sources:
Eddie Dee – Biografía, historia y legado musical (buenamusica.com)
13 razones por las que el reguetón necesita a Eddie Dee – El Calce
Source: La Historia detrás de Eddie Dee. | Urbans History
Molusco TV interview
Que paso entre DY Y Eddie Dee? DADDY YANKEE, la gasolina y la polémica con Eddie Dee 👀
Source:Eddie Dee rechazó a Bad Bunny
LA CANCIÓN QUE TE EXPLICA LA RAZÓN POR LA CUAL EDDIE DEE “EDDIE AVILA” NO LANZA “EL DIARIO”-LA CANCIÓN QUE TE EXPLICA LA RAZÓN POR LA CUAL EDDIE DEE “EDDIE AVILA” NO LANZA “EL DIARIO”
El Feo – Eddie Dee & The Ghetto Crew [WWW.ZONABORICUA.TK] [#ZONABORICUA]
Eddie Dee and The Ghetto Crew
9 Eddie Dee
Source: ZION HABLA POR PRIMERA VEZ DE EDDIE DEE Y LE ENVIA MENSAJE “¿DONDE ESTAS C@BRON?”
Source: Reggaetonero Eddie Avila desenmascara a Daddy Yankee
Don’t forget to check out the Artist Spotlight section of the Newsletter to find out what our picks were that stood out from the Woke Up A Rebel Playlist.
Have a blessed week!
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