Daddy Yankee Told People on the Latin Grammy Red Carpet to Expect ‘Everything’ at Coachella, So Here Is the Set List We Are Manifesting

Daddy Yankee accepted the Latin Grammy Person of the Year award Wednesday night in Las Vegas, becoming the first urban music artist in the history of the Latin Recording Academy to receive that distinction. The honor placed him alongside figures like Shakira, Rubén Blades and Raphael, and the ceremony made the full arc of his career impossible to ignore, from the caseríos of Puerto Rico in the early 1990s to a Coachella headlining slot that is now officially on the calendar.

On the red carpet ahead of the tribute, Yankee was asked what audiences could expect from his Coachella performance. He told reporters to get ready because it was going to be very good, and that the audience could expect everything from him. For fans who have been watching his career closely over the last few years, that answer carries a lot of hope packed into very few words.

The Return That Needed a Redirect

When Daddy Yankee announced his retirement in 2022, he did so at the top of the world, closing out on his own terms after one of the most decorated careers in Latin music history. The retirement turned out to be short-lived, and when he came back, he came back differently, leaning into a more spiritual direction with the energy of Héctor El Father, an artist who famously stepped away from secular music for religious reasons before eventually returning to it. The pivot surprised fans who had grown up with the Daddy Yankee of “Gasolina” and “Rompe,” and while many stood by him through the transition, the response made clear that what people missed was the original version.

His most recent album, “La Postal,” showed signs of a return to what his audience had been waiting for, something closer to the sound that built his career in the first place. The Latin Grammy tribute reinforced that, with the ceremony moving through his catalog across reggae, salsa and classic reggaeton arrangements of his biggest records, reminding everyone in the room exactly what that catalog contains.

What the Person of the Year Award Actually Meant

Daddy Yankee was clear on the red carpet about what the Latin Grammy recognition represented to him. He described it as not his achievement alone but the achievement of an entire culture, an entire genre and the colleagues who built reggaeton from the ground up at a time when the genre was being dismissed and its artists were being treated as criminals by the very government of the island that produced them. He spoke about the DJs, the dancers and the fans in the housing projects of Puerto Rico who believed in the music before any institution did, and he dedicated the award to everyone who was present from day one.

Artists across generations showed up to honor him, with Jowell and Randy representing the old guard and Lenny Tavárez speaking for the new generation, telling reporters that barriers were falling in ways people had not fully processed yet. Jean Rodríguez, the musical director of the tribute, put it in terms that Puerto Ricans across the diaspora understood immediately, saying that Daddy Yankee put their island on the map, and that is what the room was celebrating that night.

What Coachella Needs to Hear

Daddy Yankee said the audience can expect everything, and we are going to take him at his word. The Coachella crowd is going to include people who discovered reggaeton through him, people who grew up dancing to these records in their living rooms, at quinceañeras and at house parties where the playlist started here and never really left. This is perreo in its purest form, the foundational material, and if Coachella is getting all of Daddy Yankee, here is the set list we are collectively manifesting.

Rompe
The song that opened every pregame, every party, every moment that needed an immediate temperature change. The beat drops and the floor fills, no exceptions, no negotiations.

Machete
This is what we put on when the party was about to get wild, and by party we mean someone’s random parent’s house that got lent out to a group of people with a keg nearby, some beers and absolutely nothing but good vibes. You know exactly the night we are talking about.

Machucando
One of the purest examples of what early reggaeton felt like before it became a global export. Gritty, urgent and built entirely for the dance floor.

Impacto ft. Fergie
The crossover record that proved reggaeton could command any stage in any language. If Fergie shows up for this one, the entire desert will collectively stop breathing.

Gata Gangster
This one is personal. There are people sitting behind their desks in their office jobs right now who still fully identify as gatas gangsters (aka me) and they will not be taking any questions about it. A time was had with this song and that time is ongoing.

Tu Príncipe
The slow burn in the middle of the set that everyone knows every single word to. This is the song that turned perreo into something cinematic.

Lo Que Pasó, Pasó
We have all cried to this song at least once, and honestly I will do it again. There is something about the way this record hits that makes the tears feel completely justified. We want that at Coachella and we want it at full volume.

Yamilette
Underrated by people who were not paying close enough attention. The energy on this record is relentless and a live crowd is going to rediscover exactly why it deserved more flowers.

Aquí Está Tu Caldo
Peak perreo sucio era. This record was not trying to be polished and that is precisely why it worked. The Coachella crowd is about to get a lesson in where this all started.

Mayor Que Yo
Yes, many of us are getting dangerously close to the age where someone might sing this song to us, and we are choosing not to think about that right now. This record still hits the same way it always did and we will be singing every word on that field regardless of our birth year.

Gasolina
There is no closing song. There is only this one.