page_title: Residente
section_title: 2016-present: Solo career
hierarchical_section_title: Residente / Career / 2016-present: Solo career
caption_attribution_description: Español: Concierto de Residente en el Festival MUPA 2019 en Panamá.
context_page_description: René Juan Pérez Joglar, known professionally as Residente, is a Puerto Rican rapper, writer, filmmaker, and also one of the founders of the Puerto Rican alternative rap group Calle 13. He released five albums with Calle 13 before announcing his solo career in 2015. Residente released his debut solo album in 2017. He has won four Grammy Awards and 25 Latin Grammy Awards—more than any other Latin artist. Residente has also delved into producing documentaries including Sin Mapa and Residente and has directed some of his own music videos.
  Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Residente developed an interest in art, music, and left-wing politics at an early age. He studied art at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, returning to Puerto Rico in 2003 to work on music with his step-brother, Visitante, with whom he formed Calle 13. Early in his career, his sarcastic and self-deprecating lyrical style garnered both praise and controversy. The group recorded five critically and commercially successful albums.
context_section_description: Hoping to understand his genetic background, Residente took a DNA test that revealed his roots trace back to 10 different locations around the World, including Armenia, Ghana, China and his homeland Puerto Rico. Such diversity inspired him to produce what would later result in a solo album, a documentary and a book released via Fusion Media Group (Univision Communications) under the same common title Residente. In April 2015, Residente announced that he was in Siberia working on his debut solo album. Residente released his debut solo album titled Residente in 2017. The album received acclaim from the Latin music academy and mainstream critics winning the Latin Grammy for best urban music album and being named Billboard's Best Spanish Language Album of the Year.
  During an interview with Billboard, Residente criticized modern Spanish urban music citing it as uninspired, simple, ignorant and redundant. This prompted hip-hop and reggaeton artist Tempo to respond lyrically which led to a highly publicized rap battle. Mainstream Latino journalists declared Residente victorious as well as many mainstream audiences and outlets on social media. His song "La Catedra" is a 12-minute, 1,900 word record diss track, beating the previous Guinness Book of World record-holders, Emimem and MC Harry Shotta.
  On March 11, 2017, the artist's self-titled documentary, Residente, was released. After receiving the results of his DNA test, the documentary follows Residente on a global journey tracing back his ancestors through different continents and countries. Residente travels to various countries and regions including Siberia, Georgia, Moscow, China, Burkina Faso, Ghana and his home country, Puerto Rico. As he travels through different regions, he collaborates with different local musicians playing indigenous instruments, creating his debut self-titled album, Residente.
  In April 2018, Residente released the single "Sexo" in collaboration with American producer Dillon Francis. In the song, Residente theorizes that the main motivation behind all human activity is sex. Residente directed the accompanying music video, which was filmed in Colombia. The upbeat song and colorful video were considered to be a stylistic departure from the more serious, introspective work showcased on his solo album, with Billboard explaining that the song "talks about sex in a joyful, all inclusive (the lyrics are intentionally gender-neutral), G-rated manner." In July 2019, Residente released the single "Bellacoso" featuring Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny. Musically, the song was inspired by Daddy Yankee and the lyrical content was inspired by feminist resistance, with the song advocating for consent and denouncing sexual harassment. The music video, filmed in Puerto Rico, was directed by French cinematographer Gregory Ohrel.
  Residente released a collaboration with Bad Bunny titled "Afilando Los Cuchillos" ("Sharpening the Knives"), a political polemic against Puerto Rican governor Ricardo Rosselló. He took part in mass protests against this governor, alongside Bad Bunny and Ricky Martin. In February 2020, Residente released the single "René". The introspective song discusses depression and the killing of a close friend of the rapper by police. The seven-minute music video, directed by Residente, features the artist standing on a baseball field, reflecting on his childhood and career. He described creating the song and video as therapeutic, explaining "It makes me feel like maybe people will know me a little bit more, and knowing that makes me feel better." In May 2020, he released the song and accompanying music video for "Antes Que El Mundo Se Acabe", which features couples from all around the world kissing, including celebrities such as Bad Bunny and girlfriend Gabriela, Lionel Messi and his wife Antonela, and Ricky Martin and his husband Jwan Yosef.
caption: Residente performing at the MUPA Festival in Panama in 2019
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