Ryan Castro

Early years

Castro was born in Bello and raised in the Pedregal neighbourhood in northern Medellín. He showed early musical talent in rap, freestyle, and dancehall during high school. After graduating at age 17, he began singing on buses to help support his household, later performing in bars, clubs, and music events. A trip to Curaçao provided inspiration by the sea for his music.

Musical career

Castro started his professional career in Colombia in 2017 with the single 'Morena', promoting his work on YouTube and SoundCloud. He gained notice after signing with Kevin Roldán's label, Kings Records. Success in his home country began in 2020 with 'Lejanía', followed by 'Wasa Wasa' and 'Malory'. On 12 November 2021, he released the duet 'Monastery' with Feid.

International success came on 17 December 2021 with 'Mujeriego', which entered the Billboard Global 200 chart. 'Jordan' also charted on the Spotify Global Top 50 for weeks, and its music video surpassed 400 million YouTube views. On 27 January 2022, he featured with Blessd on the 'Quién TV' remix. He performed 'Nivel de Perreo' with J Balvin at the MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2022, he signed a distribution contract with Sony Music and won two Premios Heat categories: Best Andean-Region Artist and Best New Generation—Male. His first EP, Reggaetonera, was released on 5 August 2022, followed by a second EP, Los Piratas, with producer SOG.

In June 2023, Castro sued Kings Records over mismanagement of his recordings and publishing disagreements. That year he released 'Ghetto Star', a song about rising from a humble neighbourhood, and traveled to Puerto Rico to film the video for 'X 1 Beso' with De La Ghetto. He also participated in remixes of 'Corazón Roto' and 'Mercho' alongside Lil Cake, Ozuna, Migrantes, and Nico Valdi.