1993–2013: Early life Raúl Alejandro Ocasio Ruiz was born on January 10, 1993, in
San Juan, Puerto Rico and was raised in
Canóvanas and
Carolina. His father, guitarist Raúl Ocasio, his brother, Pedro Ocasio Ruiz and his mother, backing vocalist María Nelly Ruiz, introduced him to some of his musical influences like
Elvis Presley,
Michael Jackson, and Rihanna. Raul's father was born and raised in
Brooklyn, New York City, and later moved to Puerto Rico. Additionally, Rauw has mentioned a personal connection to his
Italian heritage, as his great-grandfather was from
Palermo,
Sicily. For many years, Alejandro and his father lived in the mainland
United States, mainly
Miami and
New York City, where he got inspiration from the
R&B and
dancehall genres. Alejandro and fellow Puerto Rican rapper
Anuel AA are childhood friends; they both went to the same school and had classes together. As a child, Alejandro competed in school
talent shows because he has a passion for dancing. After graduating high school, he enrolled at
University of Puerto Rico. From the age of six until he was twenty, he played
soccer, but later quit because he "could not perform as he expected to" after suffering an injury. He moved to
Orlando, Florida, intending to be scouted to play in the
Premier Development League (PDL), but ultimately was unsuccessful. In November 2016, he released his debut mixtape titled
Punto de Equilibrio. In 2018, he was chosen by
Sony Music Latin to be part of "Los Próximos", a musical project in which the label sought to enlist new musical talents. The musical project helped him gain fame, and, as a result, other noteworthy artists began to hear his music. Alejandro was then featured in multiple collaborations, including
Kevin Roldán and
Khea's "Pa' Tu Casa" and "Luz Apagá" with
Ozuna,
Lunay and
Lyanno, that year. In December 2017, he released his first single as lead artist, titled "Toda", with Alex Rose. It peaked at #29 on the
Billboard Hot Latin Songs charts in November 2018. A subsequent remix of "Toda", featuring Argentine artist
Cazzu and fellow Puerto Ricans
Lenny Tavárez and Lyanno, was released in May 2018. The remix proved successful, with the music video having over 1 billion views on
YouTube as of November 2020. In January 2019, he released his single "Que le dé" with
Nicky Jam. In December 2019, his song "Fantasías", with
Farruko, peaked at the #12 spot on the US Hot Latin Songs chart; he also recorded a hugely popular remix (and accompanying music video) to the single, featuring additional verses by Anuel AA, Lunay, and Dominican singer
Natti Natasha. "Fantasías", at the time, charted at the highest position of any of his songs on the US charts, along with the song "Tattoo". Both songs stayed for around 20 weeks on the charts, eventually winning the
Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Fusion/Performance in 2021. The remix video for "Fantasías" has received over 425 million views on YouTube.
2020–2021: Afrodisíaco and Vice Versa On September 4, 2020, Alejandro was featured on the remix and in the music video to the Lyanno song "En Tu Cuerpo", the two once again collaborating with Lenny Tavárez, and also featuring new Argentine singer
María Becerra, just 20 years old at the time (in 2020). The music video has over 386 million views on YouTube. On May 20, 2021, he released "Todo de Ti", which peaked at the number 2 spot on
Spotify's Top Songs Global chart. On June 25, 2021, he released his sophomore album,
Vice Versa, through
Sony Music Latin and Duars Entertainment.
Afrodisíaco earned him a nomination for
Best Música Urbana Album at the
64th Annual Grammy Awards. In July 2021, Alejandro was featured on the
Jennifer Lopez song "
Cambia el Paso" and appeared in its accompanying music video, shot in Miami. In July 2021, he embarked on his
Rauw Alejandro World Tour which lasted until December of that year.
2022–present: Saturno, Playa Saturno and Cosa Nuestra In April 2022, Alejandro featured on Colombian artist
Shakira's single "
Te Felicito" and in its accompanying music video. The song proved to be among his most successful, reaching the #1 position (or within the top five) across Latin America and Spain (#2), as well as charting in several non-Spanish-speaking countries, including Brazil (#10), Croatia, France, Portugal, Switzerland, and Ukraine. The single would also reach #3 in Russia. "Te Felicito" reached #1 on the
Billboard US
Latin Airplay,
Latin Pop Airplay and
Latin Rhythm Airplay charts, and #10 on the
Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. The single's official music video has received over 606 million views on YouTube. On November 15, 2024, Rauw Alejandro released his album titled
Cosa Nuestra through Sony Music Latin and Duars Entertainment. The album features 18 tracks and has a total runtime of 1 hour and 7 minutes. It includes collaboration with artists such as
Laura Pausini,
Romeo Santos, and
Bad Bunny, blending elements such as
salsa, reggaeton and other genres. As for the release of the album, he went for a mafia concept for this specific album. The release marked Alejandro's first album of 2024, following the earlier release of the single "Pasaporte" which was also included as part of the Cosa Nuestra album as track #14. On September 26, 2025, he released his 6th studio album,
Cosa Nuestra: Capítulo 0, a sequel to
Cosa Nuestra. The album is an homage to Puerto Rican and Caribbean origins and ancestral culture, featuring many different sounds including
bomba,
salsa,
bachata,
reggaeton,
plena,
afrobreats, and more. The album also includes notable features such as
De La Rose,
Mon Laferte,
Rvssian,
Ayra Starr,
Wisin,
Ñengo Flow, and Jey One. A notable song featured in the album is
Carita Linda, a neo-bomba hit, blending modern beats with Afro-Caribbean sounds. The song was first released as a single and, "reached No. 1 spot on Latin Airplay and Latin Pop Airplay charts." The release of the album also included Rauw Alejandro's first bachata song,
SILENCIO, in collaboration with bachata artist,
Romeo Santos. The song,
Guabansexxx, draws heavy inspiration from the
Taíno deity of weather and storms,
Guabancex, in which lyrics and sounds allude to the destruction and chaos of a heavy storm. During his
Cosa Nuestra World Tour stop in Brooklyn, New York,
Rolling Stone called him "the greatest showman in Latin music" and compared his concerts to a Broadway production. Rauw performed a medley of his songs at
26th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Rauw gave a free concert in
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on December 13. The concert took place at the Parque Eugenio María de Hostos. The show was dubbed
Noche Caribeña and held over 40,000 attendees. == Artistry ==