Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1977), known by his stage name Daddy Yankee, is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican reggaeton recording artist. Ayala was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and was raised in the Villa Kennedy Housing Projects.  While still dabbling in music, Ayala aspired to be a professional baseball player. As a teenager, Ayala tried out for the Seattle Mariners Major League baseball team. Before he could be officially signed by the team, Ayala was hit by a stray round from an AK-47 rifle while taking a break from a studio recording session with reggaeton mixtape icon DJ Playero. Ayala spent roughly one and a half years recovering from the wound in a hospital, and was temporarily restricted to moving about only with a wheelchair. The bullet was never removed from Ayala's hip, and he credits the shooting incident with allowing him to focus entirely on a music career.