Daddy Yankee changes it up

SEN. JOHN McCAIN was smiling as widely as the Cheshire Cat when he announced this week the surprise endorsement of a big Latin music star with a most patriotic name, Daddy Yankee. But McCain may not be as happy with the way politicians are depicted in the bloody new movie that marks Yankee's debut as an actor, "Talento de Barrio," which opens here next month.

The reggaeton rapper plays Edgar Dinero, a petty gangster who lords over some poor projects in Puerto Rico, killing rivals with a vengeance and peeling off bills from fat wads of cash to get his crew into raunchy discos. When his mother nags him to change his ways, Yankee shoots back that he's no different from lawyers and politicians who rob the people, but with suits on.

Sorry, senator. At the Phoenix news conference this week where the unlikely duo announced their mutual admiration, Yankee had nothing but good things to say about McCain, calling him "a fighter for the Hispanic community."

You might have expected the Republican candidate to get a celebrity nod from someone closer to his conservative musical tastes (ABBA). You also might expect a young rapper with African roots to go for Obama, along with the raft of Latino artists who have already endorsed the Democrat, including singer Alejandro Sanz and comedian George Lopez.

But the biggest surprise is to find Yankee, 31, still on the cultural radar. For some time, the star's profile has fallen, along with the music he helped popularize. As reggaeton receded, Yankee's career seemed to run out of "Gasolina." The fact that media reports this week kept referring to his 4-year-old hit tells you Yankee got stuck at the starting gate, at least when it comes to his crossover dreams.

Three years ago, he was being courted by major U.S. labels, including Interscope, home of 50 Cent and Eminem, which partnered with his label, El Cartel. Though he released two albums under the deal, they didn't live up to expectations in the American market, dashing hopes that Yankee would be the one to reignite the so-called Latin explosion in pop. Yankee still has a page on the Interscope website but it hasn't been updated for about a year, leaving the impression his career stopped dead in its tracks around mid-2007.

Yankee's dominance has dwindled in Latin music circles too. Not long ago, a new Daddy Yankee album would be considered an event. But his movie soundtrack, with 15 new songs, was released Aug. 12 without much fanfare. It's being distributed by Universal's Machete Music, but the label says promotion and marketing is being handled by Yankee's own team, which doesn't seem big on providing review copies for critics.