Ryan Castro

Early life in Medellín

Bryan David Castro Sosa was born on 14 January 1994 in Bello, Antioquia, and grew up in Pedregal, a neighborhood in northern Medellín. He was raised largely by his mother's cousins and the wider community of the barrio, and from an early age he gravitated to rap, freestyle and dancehall. Hip-hop biopics such as Eminem's 8 Mile and 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' gave him a template: young men who picked up a pen instead of a gun.

After finishing high school at 17, Castro sang on buses and at bus stops with a portable stereo, using the tips to clothe himself, help support his household and pay for his first recordings. He graduated from the street to bars, clubs and local music events, and the neighborhood gave him the handle he still answers to: friends and fans named him the cantante del ghetto, the singer of the ghetto.

Curaçao and the first recordings

A move to the Caribbean island of Curaçao, to live with his mother, redirected his sound. Castro performed in hotels, restaurants and clubs, and the island's reggae, dancehall, danzón and kizomba seeped into his writing. He uploaded early songs, including the romantic reggae of "Morena" and the breezy "Mi Styling," to SoundCloud and YouTube, funding the productions himself.

When "Morena" caught fire in Colombia in 2017, Castro returned to Medellín to find an audience already waiting. His reach brought him to Kevin Roldán, the Colombian singer he credits as the first artist to support his music, and to the Kings Records operation. Singles such as "Entre Nos," "Miami" and "Cositas Al Oído" kept him productive, while "Lejanía" in 2020 widened his recognition across the Andean region.

International breakthrough, 2021–2022

"Monastery," a November 2021 duet with Feid, and the merengue-charged "Mujeriego," released later that month, changed Castro's scale. Both "Mujeriego" and "Jordan" entered the Billboard Global 200 and logged weeks on Spotify's Global Top 50, and "Mujeriego" became a durable short-video sound. In January 2022 Sony Music Colombia announced a deal with him, and his releases thereafter carried Sony Music Latin distribution.

The run that followed was dense: the seven-track EP Reggaetonera in August 2022, the SOG collaboration Los Piratas later that year, opening slots for Karol G, and a performance of "Nivel de Perreo" with J Balvin at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards that BMI called his U.S. television debut. He won the Heat Latin Music Award for best new artist, earned two Premios Juventud nominations, and toured the United States and Europe.

The King Records dispute

Progress came with litigation. In June 2023 Billboard reported that Castro had filed two breach-of-contract complaints in Medellín against King Records, the label owned by Kevin Roldán, covering management and recording agreements, with a third publishing suit expected. The complaints alleged that financial statements were withheld and that funds were moved out of Awoo King Records, a joint company formed in 2021 in which Castro was to hold a 50 percent interest. His lawyer and manager said the legal fight did not prevent him from working.

From "Quema" to El Cantante del Ghetto

"Quema," recorded with Peso Pluma and SOG and released in July 2023, pushed Castro onto the Billboard Hot 100, where it debuted at No. 92, and onto Hot Latin Songs. He spent two months touring Europe that autumn and kept the collaborations coming, including "Ghetto Princess" with Bad Gyal and Ovy on the Drums. Peso Pluma, in turn, chose Castro for Rolling Stone's Future 25 class.

El Cantante del Ghetto, Castro's debut album, arrived in May 2024 on Sony Music Latin. The 18-track set is an ode to Pedregal, folding salsa, dancehall and rap into a reggaeton foundation, and it gathered already-known songs such as "Quema" and "Ghetto Star" alongside collaborations with Arcángel, Blessd, Yandel, Jowell & Randy and Rich the Kid. Later in 2024 he joined Chris MJ for a surprise appearance at one of Karol G's Santiago Bernabéu shows in Madrid.

On 8 June 2024 he released "El Ritmo Que Nos Une," built with members of the Colombia national football team, among them Luis Díaz and Juan Fernando Quintero, who deliver verses. The single sits beside his music work as a statement of the sports-and-culture overlap he has pursued since, including an equity interest in the Paisas Basketball Club of Medellín.

Caribbean return and continued output

Sendé, released in 2025, turns Castro's attention back to Curaçao, with dancehall and reggae at the center and guests that include Shaggy, Manuel Turizo and the Curaçaoan rapper Dongo; the companion album Hopi Sendé goes further into Caribbean styles. In 2026 he and J Balvin released Omertà, a collaborative album grounded in their shared Medellín upbringing.

Castro has said he wants to carry the barrio with him "so I don't forget where I come from," and he frames his platform as a duty to the next generation of Colombian artists, crediting J Balvin, Karol G, Maluma, Feid and Blessd for the path they cleared. He continues to release music, tour, and pursue ventures outside the studio, describing his aims as filling bigger venues and crossing borders.