| Real Name: | Nick Rivera Caminero |
| Birthday: | March 17, 1981 |
| Net Worth: | $5 million |
| Height: | 176 cm |
| Occupation: | American Singer & Songwriter |
Nicky Jam is the stage name for Nick Rivera Caminero. He is an American singer and songwriter. Nicky produces music in the Latin trap and reggaeton genres. Some of his best hits are Te Busco, El Perdon, El Amante, X, and Travesuras. His career started great, but then it went down before he resurrected it a few years ago. He is one of the more successful reggaeton artists. So, how much is Nicky Jam net worth?
Nicky Jam was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. His mother is from the Dominican Republic while his father is from Puerto Rico.
When he was 10 years old, his family moved to Puerto Rico. This is where he started producing and making music. There, he met with Day Yankee and formed the group Los Cangris. After the split, his career took a decline, before he moved to Medellin, Colombia. There, he rejuvenated his career and developed a more melodic style of music.
Career Ups and Downs
As we said before, Nicky expressed interest in music when he moved to Puerto Rico. The move was a culture shock for the little kid. He never spoke Spanish before arriving on the island. But he quickly made friends and after spending time in the streets during middle school, he wanted to pursue a career in music.
In the beginning, Nicky Jam used Caribbean hip-hop and reggaeton. This helped him polish his Spanish. His first stage name was Nick MC but later changed it to Nicky Jam.
He was just 14 years old when he recorded and released his debut album. Titled Dstinto A Los Demas, the album was not a hit. But it helped him get access to the music industry and producers.
Eventually, he met with Daddy Yankee, his idol. The two formed a highly successful duo called Los Cangris. They had great success with the first album, Los Super Amigos. They recorded another album. In the meantime, Nicky worked on his solo album and released it in 2001.
But the collaboration was not smooth. Jam struggled to adjust to the new lifestyle. Fame and fortune brought drugs and alcohol to his life. This concerned his partner. Daddy Yankee even began criticizing Jam in his songs. Offended, Nicky Jam released a diss track as a response in 2004.
After the dispute, the group disbanded in 2004. After the breakup, Nicky struggled both personally and professionally. He called himself “the embarrassment of the Latin Caribbean music industry”. He gained a significant amount of weight, reaching 300 pounds. He also got into trouble with the police.
But while this was the lowest of the lowest periods, it was also a time he developed his voice. When he moved to Colombia in 2007, he stopped using drugs and alcohol. He focused solely on music. Local fans praised him and made him feel like a legend. In 2010, he suffered a nearly fatal overdose. This served as the impetus to stop using drugs completely.
At that point, he lost 100 pounds and tattooed his body. He considers his neck the symbol of the recovery. Some years later, he met with Daddy Yankee on a plane ride. The two apologized to each other. In 2014, they toured together.
Jam rejuvenated and resurrected his career with the Travesuras song. This was his first solo song that reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. Enrique Iglesias contacted him, and the two worked on the El Perdon song.
Thanks to his increased popularity, Jam reunited with his mother in 2015. She got deported to the Dominican Republic. After 20 years, he finally saw her again. In 2016, he released the Hasta el Amanecer song. This was his first song to reach one billion views on YouTube.
In January 2017, he released his Fenix album. For the album cover, he used a mural painted by fans in Medellin, Colombia, with the Spanish word for Phoenix. Fenix is the symbol of his rebirth. On this album, he collaborated with artists like Sean Paul, Kid Ink, J Balvin, and El Alfa.
His collaboration with J Balvin, X, peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video draws comparisons with videos by Drake and Sean Paul.
In October 2019, he released the documentary Behind Nicky Jam’s Intimo, which was a documentary about his Intimo album. He released the album the following month.
Musical Style
You can classify his music as a Latin trap and reggaeton. He is one of the architects of the Latino urban music movement. Fans praise his music for eliciting a party atmosphere and embracing overt sentimentality.
When he began his career in the 1990s, reggaeton was in its beginning in Puerto Rico. Nicky says that Michael Jackson was a big influence. When he saw the video for Thriller, he knew he wanted to produce music. Jam wanted people to fall in love with his music.
When he moved to Puerto Rico with his parents, he noticed people dancing to reggae at house parties. Caribbean music played a huge role in his life.
After the split with Daddy Yankee, he adopted a more melodic and romantic approach to music. He used Colombian genres like vallenato in his music. He also praises American soul music.
Personal Life
Nicky Jam net worth is $5 million. He has four children, Yarimar, Alissa, Luciana, and Joe. He met his last girlfriend, Angelica Cruz online. The two got married in 2017 in a private Catholic ceremony in Medellin, Colombia. However, in 2018, they filed for a divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
After the breakup, he bought a house in the Palm Island area of Miami Beach for $3.4 million. On Valentine’s Day in 2020, he got engaged to model Cydney Moreau. The two met during recording the music video for Atrevete. Nicky says the meeting was love at first sight.
Nicky Jam suffers from attention-deficit disorder. He acknowledged that in an interview with Vibe.
