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Born October 18th, 1975 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Robert Jose De Leon Sanchez, better known as Papi Sanchez, demonstrated a love of music from a very young age.
At the age of 11, when most young boys are playing in the streets or starting a paper route Sanchez formed two successful hip-hop groups, seemingly escaping any semblance of an awkward stage. MC Connection and Escuela Peligrosa enjoyed mild success and gained a loyal local following. Four years later, Sanchez found himself at work in the industry that captured his interest as a young child. He became a popular DJ and recording technician at the now defunct radio station, La Brava in 1990. Later he would move on to Fiebre 90. The following year, he would work for KQ 94 where he eventually became the station director. His professional experience within the music industry allowed Sanchez to view music with a greater sophistication and professionalism, a perspective most musicians are never able to truly comprehend. In 1996 he formed the group FDC whose style was similar to the ultra-popular Proyecto Uno. Sanchez put his experience to work and landed FDC heavy local airplay. However, the group did not enjoy an extensive career and broke up not long after their first single “Subeme El Volume” achieved local success. Soon thereafter, Sanchez chose to sharpen his skills as a rapper. Shying away from the limelight, he appeared on several popular Latin hip-hop recordings as a guest rapper. His appearances include “Cama y Mesa” with Christopher Valoy, Mamajuana and “Eres Todo Para Mi” with Sexappeal, “Pagina Gloriosa” with Cuco Valoy and “La Masacre” with Adalgisa Pantaleon. As a young man of limitless potential and talent, the eventual birth of PAPI SÁNCHEZ was inevitable. This hometown hero decided to enter the music scene at full throttle. Intent on conquering the airwaves and captivating the public, Sánchez also had another more encompassing goal in mind: to revolutionize Merengue. Papi Sanchez’s style is genuinely unique. Blending Merengue, Old School beats, Hip-Hop and Reggaeton; he creates a sound that is truly his own. “I removed the piano from Merengue and did some things different from Merengue house, I had made Merengue hip-hop.” With his unique musical style and an endless array of ideas at his disposal, he would quickly become a hugely successful international phenomenon.
In 2003 Papi Sanchez officially arrived onto the music scene with his release Papi Sanchez: YEAH BABY, an eclectic arrangement of various musical styles characterized by original compositions and produced by the likes of Amarfis, Ramón Orlando, Niki Carey and Hamlet Vargas. Upon the release of his first full-length solo album, his songs were quickly in heavy rotation on both domestic and international radio airwaves. Subsequently, he was nominated by ACROARTE for a 2003 CASANDRA’s award for Album of the Year, the highest honor attainable by a musician in the Dominican Republic.
Papi Sanchez’s critical acclaim was not limited to his native isle. Other accolades included a 2003 Latin Billboard Awards nomination for Best New Artist, a Premio Estrella nomination also for Best New Artist the following year and a 2004 MTV Europe Video Music Award nomination for Best Dance Track. Early in 2005 Sanchez enjoyed his greatest success to date with his colossal hit single “Enamorame.” Papi Sanchez’s distinctive style made “Enamorame” popular in both dance halls and radio stations. The smash hit single would quickly thrust Sanchez into a popularity of stratospheric proportions. Sales in France alone quickly skyrocketed to over 400,000 units within only two months, earning Sanchez a gold-record. In this same brief time span, “Enamorame” was also downloaded onto over 100,000 cell-phones and achieved gold-record status in Benelux. “Enamorame” became Europe’s summer smash hit topping charts throughout the continent, removing music icons U2 and Destiny’s Child from their top spots. Sanchez began touring with stops in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain, all countries where Papi Sanchez dominated the charts. Wherever Sanchez performs, legions of screaming fans attend. The insanely popular rapper often walks onto the stage draped in the Dominican flag; “I wear it as a symbol of pride in my heritage, so that the people all over the world know where I am from.” The patriotic rapper also has a tattoo of his native isle on his right hand. Summer of 2005 would bring even more critical acclaim to Papi Sanchez. Belgium’s Radio 2 recently put on Summer Hits 2005 one of Europe’s largest and most popular concerts where Sanchez was named International Artist of the Year. The rap star speaks humbly of his most prestigious award to date stating, “I am very honored because this is the first time that not only a Latino, but a Dominican has won a Summer Hits award.” Regardless of his incredibly successful summer, Sanchez hasn’t let fame over inflate his ego “I now know what success is and nothing within me has changed…I don’t consider myself a phenomenon…just a hard worker and that’s what I will always be.”
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