El Cartel Records
Corporate brand
UnclaimedEl Cartel Records was a Puerto Rican record label associated with reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee and his recordings.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
El Cartel Records was a Puerto Rican record label founded and operated in connection with Daddy Yankee, one of the central figures in the international development of reggaeton. The company was previously known as Los Cangris Inc. and El Cartel Productions. Rather than functioning only as a conventional label, El Cartel served as an artist-centered platform for Daddy Yankee's recordings, collaborations, and related production activity. The label's best-known commercial milestone was the release of Barrio Fino, Daddy Yankee's breakthrough commercially successful album. The album's distribution marked El Cartel's first distributed album and helped connect the label's Puerto Rican reggaeton base with a much broader Spanish-language and international audience. Through Daddy Yankee's career, the label became associated with the expansion of reggaeton from a regional Caribbean urban genre into a globally recognized form of Latin popular music. El Cartel's catalog and related projects included albums, collaborative releases, mixtapes, and production work involving artists and producers from the reggaeton and Latin urban scenes. The label's documented mixtape activity included projects by Gerry Capo, Carnal, Los De La Nazza, Gotay, J Alvarez, and Jowell & Randy. Los De La Nazza's Imperio Nazza series was among the projects connected with the label's mixtape output, including several artist-specific and expanded editions. The company's later corporate history centered on its recorded-music and publishing assets. On October 18, 2024, Concord acquired El Cartel's catalog, including publishing interests and master recordings. The acquisition transferred control of important elements of the label's recorded legacy to Concord. Following the acquisition, the catalog was subsequently merged with Craft Latino's catalog operations. El Cartel Records ceased operating on April 23, 2025. Its closure occurred amid litigation involving Daddy Yankee's former wife, Mireddys González, and her sister, Ayeicha González Castellanos. Because the operating label was shut down while its catalog continued under new ownership and management, El Cartel is best understood as a defunct label brand whose recordings remain commercially and historically significant within Latin music.
History
El Cartel Records was a Puerto Rican record label created around the career and business activities of Daddy Yankee. It operated under earlier names including Los Cangris Inc. and El Cartel Productions. The label's identity was closely tied to the development of reggaeton, a Puerto Rican and Caribbean urban music style that later achieved broad international popularity. The label's defining early commercial moment came with Barrio Fino, Daddy Yankee's first commercially successful album. Its distribution represented El Cartel's first distributed album and gave the label an important role in bringing a Puerto Rican reggaeton release to a large Spanish-language audience. Barrio Fino also became a major reference point in the genre's movement from a primarily regional scene into the international Latin music market. El Cartel's activities extended beyond a single artist album. Its documented output included albums and mixtapes involving performers and producers in the Latin urban field. The label's mixtape catalog included Gerry Capo's Bastardo: Mixtape in 2010; Carnal and Los De La Nazza's Carnal (The Mixtape) in 2011; and multiple 2012–2014 installments related to Los De La Nazza's Imperio Nazza series. These included the original Imperio Nazza, its Gold Edition, editions associated with Gotay and J Alvarez, the Doxis Edition associated with Jowell & Randy and Los De La Nazza, Carnal: ReenCarnal, and Imperio Nazza: Top Secret Edition. The range of these projects illustrates the label's connection to collaborative production and mixtape culture within reggaeton. A further project associated with the label was Daddy Yankee's unreleased album El Disco Duro, listed in connection with El Cartel Records, EMI, and Capitol Latin. The label therefore occupied both an independent artist-company role and a relationship with larger music distribution partners. On October 18, 2024, Concord acquired El Cartel's catalog. The transaction covered both publishing and master recordings, shifting the ownership and administration of the label's recorded legacy to Concord. After the operating company closed, Concord merged the El Cartel catalog with Craft Latino, placing the recordings within a broader Latin-music catalog structure. El Cartel Records shut down on April 23, 2025. The closure took place amid a lawsuit involving Daddy Yankee's former wife Mireddys González and her sister Ayeicha González Castellanos. The shutdown ended the label's active corporate operations, but did not eliminate the continuing commercial or cultural relevance of its catalog. Its history remains closely associated with Daddy Yankee's rise and with reggaeton's transition into a globally visible music market.
- 2025
Label closes
[1]El Cartel Records shut down on April 23, 2025, amid litigation involving members of Daddy Yankee's family.
- 2025
Catalog is merged with Craft Latino
[1]Following the label's closure, Concord merged the El Cartel catalog with Craft Latino.
- 2024
Concord acquires the catalog
[1]Concord acquired El Cartel's publishing and master-recording catalog on October 18, 2024.
Label operates under earlier names
[1]The company previously operated under the names Los Cangris Inc. and El Cartel Productions before being known as El Cartel Records.
Barrio Fino becomes the label's first distributed album
[1]Daddy Yankee's Barrio Fino became the label's first distributed album and its most important early commercial milestone.
Products and positioning
An artist-led Puerto Rican reggaeton label centered on Daddy Yankee's recordings and related Latin urban projects.
Album
Barrio Fino
Daddy Yankee's first commercially successful album and the first distributed album associated with El Cartel Records. Its success helped connect the label and Puerto Rican reggaeton with a broad international Spanish-language audience.
Mixtape series · 2012
Imperio Nazza
A Los De La Nazza-associated mixtape project connected with El Cartel's collaborative reggaeton and Latin urban output. The documented catalog includes the original release, a Gold Edition, and several artist-focused or themed editions.
Mixtape · 2011
Carnal: The Mixtape
A mixtape credited to Carnal and Los De La Nazza, representing the label's involvement in collaborative producer-led and artist-led Latin urban releases.
Album
El Disco Duro
An unreleased Daddy Yankee project associated with El Cartel Records, EMI, and Capitol Latin. It is documented as an intended release rather than a commercially issued album.
Controversies
2025
Litigation surrounding the label's closure
El Cartel Records shut down on April 23, 2025, amid a lawsuit involving Daddy Yankee's former wife Mireddys González and her sister Ayeicha González Castellanos. The available reference identifies the litigation as part of the circumstances surrounding the closure but does not provide enough detail here to characterize the claims or their outcome.
Brand decisions
2025
Operating label is closedStrategyBackground
The label shut down amid litigation involving Mireddys González and Ayeicha González Castellanos.
Action taken
El Cartel Records ended its operating activities on April 23, 2025.
Aftermath
The catalog continued under Concord and was subsequently merged with Craft Latino.
2024
Concord acquires El Cartel's publishing and master catalogM&ABackground
El Cartel's recorded-music and publishing assets were transferred through a catalog acquisition by Concord.
Action taken
Concord acquired both the publishing interests and master recordings associated with the El Cartel catalog on October 18, 2024.
Aftermath
After El Cartel Records ceased operating, Concord merged the catalog with Craft Latino.
Sources2 sources
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