Arcángel

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Arcángel is the stage name of Austin Agustín Santos, born on 23 December 1985 in New York to a Dominican family. As a baby he moved with his family to Puerto Rico, and from the age of twelve he commuted between New York and the island. His mother was a member of the merengue group Las Chicas del Can. Around 2002 he wanted to become a reggaeton artist, and in Puerto Rico he met De la Ghetto. Together they formed the duo Arcángel & De la Ghetto, which signed with Baby Records, the label of the reggaeton artist Zion.

Music and breakthrough

The duo never released a studio album, only individual tracks on compilation albums, including Aparentemente, Agresivo, Sorpresa and Mi Fanática. After the split in 2007 Arcángel began a solo career and founded his own label, Flow Factory, with his mother becoming his manager. His debut album El Fenómeno came out at the end of 2008, after an earlier plan, La Maravilla, was leaked. In 2012 he signed with Pina Records, and Sentimiento, Elegancia & Maldad, which followed in 2013, reached number 1 on the American Latin albums chart. Later came Los favoritos in 2015, Ares in 2018, Historias de un capricornio in 2019 and SR. SANTOS in 2022.

Influence

Arcángel is seen as one of the most influential artists of Latin urban music and as a pioneer of Latin trap. He shows how reggaeton developed from the streets of Puerto Rico into a worldwide sound.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 2008El fenómeno
• 2013Sentimiento, elegancia & maldad
• 2015Los favoritos
• 2018Ares
• 2019Historias de un capricornio
• 2020Los favoritos
• 2021Los favoritos
• 2022SR. SANTOS
• 2023Sentimiento, elegancia y más maldad
• 2024Papi Arca
• 2025Sr. Santos II: Sueños de grandeza
• 2026LA 8VA MARAVILLA

Mentioned in other articles

• Latin trap GenreDe La Ghetto and Arcángel were already rapping over trap beats around 2007, but around 2016 it became a wave, via SoundCloud and YouTube.