1990s–2005: Early years Joel Alexis "Jowell" Muñoz Martínez was born in
Springfield, Massachusetts on March 3, 1982 and grew up in
Cataño, Puerto Rico, one of the island's poorest municipalities. He began to take interest in music at the age of seven listening to Puerto Rican rapper
Vico C and his 1989
cassette La Recta Final. Jowell's first recording session was in 1996 for
Los Fugitivos at a studio in
Levittown, Puerto Rico alongside other rappers including
Nicky Jam,
Master Joe & O.G. Black, Camaleón, and Buru Fat Z. Songs had to be recorded in one-take; any mistake meant having to restart the recording all over again. Randy Ariel Ortiz Acevedo was born in
San Juan, Puerto Rico on July 16, 1983 Jowell and Randy first met during a friends reunion at Jowell's house. Randy was a friend of Jowell's younger brother at high school, which led to him being invited to Muñoz's house to watch a
Felix "Tito" Trinidad boxing fight on television in 2000 alongside other friends and relatives. Jowell still displays the award in his home as a tribute to the duo's first major commercial success. chosen by fan votes. Randy noticed the driver was Elías de León, a well known producer in Puerto Rico, owner of
White Lion Records and famous for discovering rapper
Tego Calderón, duos
Calle 13 and
Zion & Lennox, They approached de León with some of their
demos. The promotion by White Lion led to the song being broadcast on all radio stations and music-related television channels in Puerto Rico. On March 1, 2007, the song garnered two People Choice Reggaeton and Urban Awards for Best Collaboration of the Year and Best Song of the Year. They also won as the Revelation Duo of the Year and Randy's performance on "Soy Una Gárgola" received the Catchiest Chorus award. leading to guest features on
Zion's "Cuarto Nivel" from
The Perfect Melody,
Hector El Father's "Hola Bebé" from
The Bad Boy: The Most Wanted Edition,
Julio Voltio's "Pónmela" from
En Lo Claro, and the remix version of
Tito El Bambino's "
Siente El Boom". "Pónmela" was included on the 2008 video game
Grand Theft Auto IV and reached No. 41 on
Billboards
Hot Latin Songs, on January 26, 2008. "Siente El Boom (Remix)" was also included on the video game, giving credit only to Tito El Bambino and Randy, performers of the original version. and at No. 9 on Tropical Airplay on July 28, 2007. Randy was also featured on Tego Calderón's
El Abayarde Contraataca with the single "Quitarte To", which peaked at number 10 on Hot Latin Songs on December 8, 2007.
Casa de Leones and Los Más Sueltos del Reggaetón In 2006, Elías de León and Carlos "Karly" Rosario,
A&R of
White Lion Records Carlos "Karly" Rosario proposed to assemble a reggaeton quintet composed by Jowell & Randy, J King & Maximan, and
Guelo Star. The group was named
Casa de Leones and remained active until 2008, releasing a namesake studio album on June 26, 2007, under Black Lion Entertainment Inc and
Warner Music Latina.
Casa de Leones was No. 3 on
Billboards
Top Latin Albums chart for their debut week on July 7, 2007 and it also reached No. 126 on the
Billboard 200. The album received a five out of five score by Evan Gutierrez of AllMusic, writing that the group "may have created the most listenable reggaeton album to date". and became a major hit across American Latin radio stations going as high as No. 4 on
Hot Latin Songs on August 4, 2007 and No. 2 on
Tropical Airplay on October 27, 2007. It was originally written and recorded in 2004 by Jowell, Randy, and Puerto Rican producer
DJ Blass, who brought the idea from
France suggesting a fusion between urban and
soca music. and was nominated twice for the
2008 Billboard Latin Music Awards, for Hot Latin Song of the Year and
Reggaeton Song of the Year. The second single, "Shorty", was performed only by Randy and came out on October 16, 2007. The song peaked at No. 16 on Latin Rhythm Airplay on February 16, 2008. During mid-2007, the group was featured on a remix version of "
Impacto" by Puerto Rican rapper
Daddy Yankee. At some point in 2008, each member decided to focus on their own careers. Jowell & Randy's debut studio album as duo, titled
Los Más Sueltos del Reggaetón, was released on December 18, 2007, under White Lion and Warner Latina. The album was No. 42 on Top Latin Albums and No. 21 on
Heatseeker Albums on January 19, 2008. Its lead single, "Un Poco Loca", was released during late 2007 and featured fellow reggaeton singer and songwriter
De la Ghetto, but did not enter any
Billboard chart. The second single, "Let's Do It", was released in March 2008 reaching No. 32 on Hot Latin Songs on April 5, 2008. Both singles were accompanied by a music video; "Un Poco Loca" was filmed at a fast food restaurant in
Isla Verde, Puerto Rico and "Let's Do It" was filmed at a nightclub. The track "Agresivo II", a sequel to their first single, peaked at No. 35 on
Billboards Latin Rhythm Airplay chart on March 15, 2008.
El Momento During early 2008, they were featured alongside De La Ghetto on the remix version of "
Inalcanzable" by
Mexican Latin pop group
RBD. The song received a
Premio Juventud for The Perfect Combo on July 17, 2008. After the expiration of their contract with Warner Latina, the duo received various offers by record labels including
Sony Music Latin,
Machete Music, and
WY Records. During mid-2009, Jowell & Randy signed with the latter, founded by
Grammy Award-winners Wisin & Yandel, who were the most interested in them, according to Jowell. The mixtape compiled various duo and solo guest features by Jowell and Randy, as well as songs that were discarded for the final tracklist of their next album.
El Momento was released on May 4, 2010, under White Lion and WY, with Elías de León and Wisin & Yandel as executive producers. It featured reggaeton artists Wisin & Yandel, Franco El Gorila, Tico El Inmigrante, Yaviah, Gadiel, Guelo Star,
Cultura Profética, De La Ghetto,
Plan B, and
Cosculluela. Latin Grammy Award-winner
Tainy was among the producers of the album. and at No. 2 on Top Latin Albums on May 22, 2010. Internationally, the album went to No. 53 in Mexico on May 25, 2010, and remained on the chart for five weeks. The album garnered the duo a People en Español Award for Best Urban Singer or Group on August 13, 2010 and a Billboard Latin Music Award nomination for Latin Rhythm Albums Artist of the Year – Duo or Group in 2011. The promotion for the album was accompanied by the El Momento World Tour from November 2010 to December 2011. In the Americas, Jowell & Randy performed in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela, and the United States. The duo also performed in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. The lead single, "
Loco", was released on March 30, 2010, accompanied by a music video filmed in San Juan. A remix version featuring Wisin & Yandel came out on June 15, 2010. "Loco" became Jowell & Randy's biggest hit single as duo at the time, peaking at No. 22 on
Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart on August 7, 2010 and at number 3 on Tropical Airplay on August 14, 2010. The single's chart performance on Tropical Airplay garnered them a Billboard Latin Music Award nomination for Tropical Airplay Artist of the Year–Duo or Group in 2011. "Mi Dama de Colombia" was published on November 8, 2010 and was filmed in Colombia. "Goodbye" was released on March 9, 2011, was filmed in
Bogotá, Colombia, and was directed by Marlon Peña. "Solo Por Ti" (featuring Cultura Profética) premiered on August 15, 2011, was filmed in
Medellín, Colombia, and directed by Flickmotion company. None of them managed to enter any
Billboard chart. The track "Suave y Lento" (featuring Wisin, Tico El Inmigrante and Franco El Gorila) peaked at No. 21 on
Billboards Latin Rhythm Digital Songs chart on May 22, 2010.
2012–Early 2015: Third studio album and underground phase In 2011, the duo announced the release of a third studio album, titled
El Momento 2. According to Jowell, it was going to be a re-issue of their previous production with remix versions of "Dile a Él" featuring Puerto Rican group
N'Klabe, "Loco" featuring Wisin & Yandel; "Mi Dama de Colombia" featuring Colombian singers Pipe Bueno, Pipe Calderón, and
J Balvin; "Goodbye" featuring
Shakira, a
Colombian singer, among others. The idea was scrapped after Wisin suggested them to make an album with brand new songs and the duo focussed entirely on their following studio album,
Sobredoxis. They sang in
Melbourne and
Sydney, and stated that performing there was "a real honor". In January 2012, Jowell & Randy were featured alongside Julio Voltio on "
Ella Lo Que Quiere Es Salsa", a track by
Víctor Manuelle, a Puerto Rican-American
salsa musician, from his 13th studio album,
Busco un Pueblo. Its music video, directed by Steven Tapia and filmed in
Brooklyn, New York was released on July 29, 2012. The song topped the
Billboards Tropical Airplay chart on June 23, 2012, becoming the duo's first number 1 on any major
Billboard chart. It also became a success on Hot Latin Songs, peaking at number 29 on July 28, 2012. During late 2012, Puerto Rican disc jockey and producer
DJ Secuaz approached Jowell & Randy to convince them to record underground reggaeton tracks. The album became an inflection point in their musical style, starting to support old school reggaeton acts from the 1990s through a series of underground mixtapes titled
Back to the Underground as a tribute to their contribution to the genre. Both
Pre-Doxis and the original
Back to the Underground became popular in Puerto Rico and enhanced DJ Secuaz's career as record producer. On March 17, 2013, Jowell & Randy reunited with various reggaeton acts including Julio Voltio, J King & Maximan, Falo,
Yomo, Guelo Star, Isaak, Watussi, Chyno Nyno and Divino in order to record a tribute song titled "Que Descanses En Paz" (
Spanish for "Rest in Peace"). The music video of the remix version of "Hey Mister", a track from
Pre-Doxis, premiered on April 13, 2013, featuring Falo, Mr. Black, Los Pepe, and Watussi, and was dedicated to DJ Secuaz. It remains as their most-viewed
YouTube video, with more than 80 million views. Jowell & Randy were involved on every edition of the series, serving as guest features and executive producers, financing various music videos. During 2012, Jowell & Randy were involved in the
El Imperio Nazza mixtape series with Los de la Nazza, Daddy Yankee's producers from 2008 to 2014.
El Imperio Nazza: Doxis Edition was released on January 26, 2013, and featured Daddy Yankee, De La Ghetto,
Ñengo Flow, Luigi 21 Plus, Polaco,
Reykon,
Angel & Khriz, Tony Lenta,
J Álvarez, and
Jory. The track "Mucha Soltura" (featuring Daddy Yankee) peaked at number 13 on
Billboards
Latin Rhythm Airplay on May 25, 2013.
Sobredoxis Their third studio album,
Sobredoxis, was released on June 4, 2013, under White Lion Records and featured
3Ball MTY, Daddy Yankee, Arcángel, De La Ghetto,
Farruko,
Divino, and Tony Tun Tun. The album was recorded with a production budget of more than $100,000 ($106,983 in 2017 dollars). In the U.S., the album was less successful than
El Momento, peaking at No. 10 on
Billboards Top Latin Albums chart on June 22, 2013. Its first three singles, "Ragga Dub", "Sobredoxis" and "Sobredosis de Amor", did not make any
Billboard chart. The fourth single, "Báilalo A Lo Loco" (featuring Mexican trio 3Ball MTY), peaked at No. 12 on
Billboards Latin Rhythm Airplay chart on January 4, 2014. The fifth single, "Las Nenas Lindas", reached No. 18 on Latin Rhythm Airplay on May 10, 2014. The sixth and final single, "Living In Your World", went to No. 18 on Latin Rhythm Airplay on October 11, 2014. Jowell & Randy received a
Billboard Latin Music Award nomination for
Sobredoxis a Billboard for Latin Rhythm Album's Artist of the Year, Duo or Group in
2014. The duo traveled to various countries to film the singles' music videos. "Ragga Dub" premiered on July 24, 2012, was filmed in San Juan and was directed by José "Javy" Ferrer. "Sobredosis de Amor" was released on January 31, 2013, was filmed in
Buenos Aires and was directed by Santiago Ruiz and Mariano Dawidson. "Báilalo A Lo Loco" premiered on August 7, 2013, was shot in India, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Italy, Puerto Rico, and China, and was directed by Latin Grammy-Award winner director
Alejandro Santiago Ciena. "Las Nenas Lindas" premiered on February 13, 2014, was filmed in
Medellín, Colombia, and was directed by Andrés Villa; "Living In Your World" was published on July 14, 2014, was shot in
San Andrés, Colombia, and was directed by Flickmotion company. "Isla del Encanto" premiered on February 3, 2017. The music video was filmed in San Juan and was directed by Fabula Films company. In the Americas, Jowell & Randy performed in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the U.S., and Venezuela. In June 2014, they received the
key to the city in
La Ceiba, Honduras during the Great International Carnival of Friendship, one of the largest music festivals in Central America. On December 13, 2014,
Under Doxis, their third mixtape was released with guest artists. Its lead single, "Lo Que Quiero", peaked at number 11 on
Billboards Latin Rhythm Airplay on January 31, 2015. Three tracks from
Under Doxis had a music video. "Lo Que Quiero" premiered on December 24, 2014, was directed by Fernando Lugo. "Vamo' A Busal" was released on January 7, 2015, and was directed by Lugo. The song was recorded as a promotion for their first concert at
José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum on January 30, 2015. The show was the first stop on the Doxisland U.S.A. Tour, which ended in August 2015 and involved presentations in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, and Miami. The last music video from
Under Doxis was "Pa' Los Moteles", which was filmed in
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in August 2014, premiered on April 4, 2015, and was directed by JC Seven.
2015–present: Move to independent labels and fourth studio album In March 2015, the duo announced another studio album, titled
Viva La Musik, through a promotional single. "Directo al Grano" was released on March 10, 2015, and featured Puerto Rican singer Ken-Y, from the duo R.K.M. & Ken-Y. Later in March, Jowell & Randy announced their first collaboration with Vico C, to whom they gave a plaque during their concert at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, acknowledging his contribution to reggaeton music. Shortly afterwards, the duo stopped recording for
Viva La Musik and focused on putting out a mixtape titled
La Alcaldía del Perreo and respective solo albums. Jowell released two solo
EPs in 2015:
The Pre-Season on August 22 and
Roots & Suelto on December 21. They were released with independent label Well Done Music and individually featured Wiso G, Los Perchas, Ñengo Flow, Watussi, and Trebol El Artista. The recording is a fusion of urban and r&b music. According to Randy, the idea of a R&B solo album was rejected by White Lion's work team in 2006, and by Wisin in 2009, when the duo signed with WY Records. Their contract with White Lion expired in April 2015, and Ortíz signed with Molina Records, a Puerto Rican independent label founded by
Yadier Molina, a
St. Louis Cardinals baseball player in
Major League Baseball. Randy said that "reggaeton is not everything" and that "children should know that there are other interesting types of music with more professional lyrics".
Roses & Wine peaked at No. 22 on
Billboards Top Latin Albums chart on November 7, 2015. On March 19, 2016, Jowell & Randy became the first reggaeton acts to perform in
Monaco, during the Bal de la Rosa foundation gala. They were guests of
Albert II, Prince of Monaco and
Princess Caroline of Monaco and they talked with them about cultural themes linking
Latinos to Europe. The duo promoted the record traveling with a caravan through various municipalities in Puerto Rico. They promoted voting responsibly and criticized other reggaeton acts for performing pop music instead of
perreo songs, which is the mixtape's main characteristic. Six out of the mixtape's ten tracks had a music video. "Guadalupe" premiered on April 1, 2016, was shot in
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico and was directed by Fernando Lugo, parodying the 1973 horror film
The Exorcist. "La Pista Revienta" was published on June 17, 2016, was filmed in Monaco and was directed by Letour. "Me Prefieren" (featuring Ñengo Flow) was released on August 31, 2016, and was directed by DiCheco. "Un Poquito Na' Más" (featuring Tego Calderón) premiered on October 14, 2016, was shot in San Juan and was directed by Carlos Martin. The last two music videos, "Guadalupe (Jamaican Remix)" (featuring Mr. Williamz) and "Posición 4" premiered on March 11 and March 30, 2017, respectively. Casa de Leones reunited during mid-2016 to record three tracks for J King & Maximan's upcoming studio album. "El Regreso" became the first song to be recorded by all of the members right from the start after six years. In October 2012, Jowell & Randy and Guelo Star were featured on the remix version of "Que La Nota Le Suba" by J King & Maximan, in whose
outro an upcoming album by the group was mentioned. The album was scheduled to be released in 2014, but it never happened. In April 2017, J King & Maximan and Guelo Star were featured alongside Puerto Rican rapper Alexio on the second remix version of "Guadalupe" by Jowell & Randy. The quintet's first music video in nine years, "Regreso", was released on November 5, 2016, and was directed and produced by Alejandro Santiago Ciena. The single marked Jowell & Randy's sixth
Billboard Hot Latin Songs entry and the first one in five years. It went to No. 34 on July 8, 2017. Internationally, the song was No. 19 on the Mexican Streaming Songs chart on June 15, 2017 and No. 20 in Spain on June 22, 2017. In 2020, their fourth album
Viva el Perreo was released
, which was the duo's first album on Rimas Entertainment. == Discography ==