Ala Jaza
Ala Jaza | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Enmanuel Jiménez |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | October 12, 1987 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Origin | Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic |
| Genres |
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| Years active | 2001-present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
Enmanuel Jiménez, known professionally as Ala Jaza, is a Dominican singer, songwriter, musician, producer, and actor who developed his own merengue style called "MamWali". This new style of merengue music brought him to fame when he released his cover of "Mi Forma de Ser" by Farruko. Jiménez then collaborated with Farruko in the remix of Mi Forma de Ser, which dominated the Billboard Tropical Charts in 2018.[1] He is known for his hits such as "Mi Forma de Ser (with Farruko)", "Nadie Se Meta", "Si No Me Amas", "Hay Dema", "Baila Baila Baila (with Ozuna)", and "Culpables", among others. In 2019, he won three Soberano Awards in the merengue category.[2]
Early life[edit]
Jiménez was born on October 12, 1987 in the city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and grew up in the city of Jarabacoa. His father, who was a professional merengue singer, taught him to play tambora and guira.[3] His father then enrolled him in music classes. Jiménez chose to learn the guitar but he didn't like it, so he decided to learn bass guitar.[4] He relocated to New York City at the age of 13, where he would become a local musician.[4] Jiménez, besides singing, plays multiple instruments such as the bass, piano, tambora, guira, congas, bongos, timbales, among other instruments.[4]
Music[edit]
At age 13 he was already playing with local bachata groups. He was recognized by local musicians as the youngest bachata bassist in New York City with his nickname Rompe Plantica (amp breaker).[4] He entered the world of producing and engineering by working in the studio of Gerson Corniel, a local bachata musician / artist. Gerson taught him audio and sound engineering.[4] Jiménez began working with artists such as Gerson Corniel, Daddy Yankee, Alex Bueno, Don Omar, Lenny Santos and Henry Santos from Aventura, Yoskar Sarante, Xtreme, Hector Acosta "El Torito", Frank Reyes and many more.[3][4] He also accompanied Aventura when Mikey, the bassist, would bring him on stage at events to perform alongside them.[4] In 2007, Sony Music signed Jimenez as a member in the bachata group Optimo where he was a bassist, co-vocalist and co-producer. Optimo released hits such as "El Cuchillo", "Te Odio", "Ya Te Perdi", "Conectate", among others.[4]
In 2009, Jiménez decided to leave Optimo to pursue a solo career in urban merengue under his new stage name "Ala Jaza". In a YouTube interview, Jiménez reported always having liked merengue and believed he could become the genre's next big artist.[5] In the interview, he also stated that any producers and record labels neglected him when he showed them his project as a solo artist.[5] Wanting to show his talent to the world as an urban merenguero, he released his debut single "Vamo a Maja Cacao" in 2010. It did not do well.[3] In 2011, he collaborated with bachata artist Luis Vargas on the track "Su Hija Me Gusta". The track did fairly well but did not help bring Jiménez to a mainstream level. He then made his big break when he released "Hay Dema" in 2013 which became his first hit, gathering 2.5 million on YouTube.[6] After his hit single, "Hay Dema", he released more music that didn't do so well commercially. That all changed when in 2018, he decided to release Farruko's "Mi Forma de Ser" in MamWali, his new and original style of urban merengue.[7] The song became an instant hit and blew up on the Billboard charts. Farruko then decided to collaborate with Jiménez and release the official remix and music video to the song. The song brought Ala Jaza to the mainstream, gathering millions of views on YouTube.[1][8][9] Jiménez also released "Mi Forma de Ser" in a merengue tipico version which he dubbed "TipiWali". He then released "Nadie Se Meta" which turned into another hit, also gathering millions of views on YouTube.[10] The song peaked at No.4 on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart.[11] Yankees player Gary Sanchez used the song to walk out onto the field when they played the Astros in 2019.[12] Jiménez got to perform and bring his new MamWali style of merengue to the world famous Madison Square Garden in 2018, one of the biggest achievements in his music career.[13] Since then he has released chart topping hits such as "Baila Baila Baila (Version MamWali) (with Ozuna)",[7] "Si No Me Amas", "La Mejor Version de Mi", "Culpables", "Te Soñe", "Somo Artita (En Vivo 2k18)", "Mujeriego", among others. In 2020, Jiménez collaborated with Lenny Santos and Max Santos from Aventura in the song "Luna".
Acting[edit]
Jiménez made his acting debut in the 2019 film "Que Leones". He played himself as a cab driver.[14][15]
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
with Optimo
- Optimo FDL (2007)
- A World Tour (2008)
As Ala Jaza
- 2k17 En Vivo (2017)
- La Escuela del Mamwali (2017)
- Mamwali Vol. 2 (2019)
Awards and nominations[edit]
Premios Soberanos[edit]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Nadie Se Meta | Merengue Del Año | Won |
| Mi Forma de Ser (with Farruko) | Colaboración del Año | Won | |
| Ala Jaza | Merenguero De Calle | Won | |
Source:[2]
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External links[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Farruko Mi Forma de Ser (feat. Ala Jaza) Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-02-04. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Nominados y Ganadores | Premios Soberano 2019" (in español). 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Dominicana (2019-09-23). "Biografía de Ala Jaza". Chequeador.com (in español). Retrieved 2020-02-04.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 "Ala Jaza | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Ala Jaza - Entrevista Completa en "Énfasis TV" con Iván Ruíz". YouTube. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "HAY DEMA - Ala Jaza (Vídeo Official)". YouTube. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Ozuna Ft. Ala Jaza "Baila, Baila" Remix Video | LaMezcla.com". 2019-03-28. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
- ↑ "Ala Jaza - Mi Forma De Ser (EnVivo2k18)". YouTube. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Farruko - Mi Forma de Ser (feat. Ala Jaza) [Mambo Version] (Official Video)". YouTube. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Ala Jaza - Nadie Se Meta (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Chart Search". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
- ↑ McGriff, Ryan (2019-10-12). "Hear the music Yankee 'savages' have chosen for walk-up songs". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
- ↑ Jiménez, Karina (2018-12-06). "Ala Jazá lleva con éxito su "MamWali" al Madison Square Garden". Periódico El Caribe - Mereces verdaderas respuestas (in español). Retrieved 2020-02-12.
- ↑ "Ala Jaza". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
- ↑ Que Leones (2019) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-02-04
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