Who Is Ryan Castro? How the Reggaeton Star Went From Performing on Buses to Headlining MSG

You want to know how busy Ryan Castro has been? Peep his Instagram. You’ll see he performed at Coachella with Karol G, dropped a collaborative album with J Balvin, hit the World Cup opening ceremony stage, hung out with Lamine Yamal in his hometown of Medellín, and is about to play his first-ever headlining concert at Madison Square Garden.

Castro has been building his career since emerging in the late 2010s, carving out a lane in Colombia's crowded market among faces like Feid, Karol, Balvin, Maluma, and Blessd—all of whom he's collaborated with.

Latin artists have been shedding the pop sheen reggaeton picked up on its way to the mainstream—reaching back into older Caribbean traditions. You can hear it on blockbusters like Karol G's Tropicoqueta and Bad Bunny's DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. Ryan never left, though; he's been working in the gritty space between reggaeton and dancehall from the start, from the blaring horns of "LA VILLA" to the hypnotic flutes of "QUEMA" with Peso Pluma.

You can credit Curaçao, where he spent part of his life. "Living on an island made me have more of that [sound] in my blood, in my body," Ryan tells Complex.

The artist, real name Bryan David Castro Sosa, was born in Bello, Colombia but spent much of his teenage years in the island country, where an early version of his sound began to take shape. You can hear traces of that upbringing in the music.

Take the "AWOO" yell that's become a signature. It comes from Papiamento, the Creole language of the Dutch Caribbean, and Ryan describes it simply as "what's up." "It's like a greeting, but from the street," he says.

“Curaçao is very special for my career, for my life, because culturally I learned a lot of things from Curaçao,” Ryan said. “ I like being there. I like Caribbean life, the music, the vibe, and being in the sea.”

However, he remains equally loyal to Colombia, spending time in his neighborhood filming numerous music videos, including his single with Feid, “MENTIRA,” and even making the official song for the Colombian national team, “EL RITMO QUE NOS UNE,” which features players Lucho Díaz and Juanfer Quintero actually rapping on the track.

As a teen, he split his listening between artists from the States and Jamaica. He rattles off his rotation—”2Pac, Biggie, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent”—before adding, “and I listened to a lot of dancehall, a lot of reggae.”

Listening to these genres pushed him toward making his own music. Well, that and a girl. “I wrote [my first song] when I was in school. For a girlfriend I had,” he said. “A romantic love song.”

Before anyone was paying attention, Ryan performed on buses. When he announced his sold-out Medellín stadium show in April, he posted a clip from those days: him rapping over a speaker blasting his own music, the passengers around him visibly annoyed.

He doesn't stay in one lane, though. His hits range from the perreo of "Jordan" to the caffeinated merengue of "Mujeriego," both produced by longtime collaborator SOG. Every song, he says, starts with a feeling rather than a genre.

"It all starts with getting on the same vibe as the producer. Once we're in sync, it depends on the mood we're trying to create," he said. "If I want something for a party, something romantic, or something a little sad, we build around that feeling. Based on the mood, we come up with the melody and everything else together... We pick the sounds, the drums, and everything."

Ryan Castro and Karol G have been friends for years.

They first connected when he opened select dates of her Bichota Tour in 2022. "Karol had already been listening to my music a lot and talking about me in some of her interviews,” he said. “Then we had the opportunity to meet, and from there our friendship developed very naturally."

Their first collaboration came on the remix of Cris MJ's smash "UNA NOCHE EN MEDELLÍN." She's kept pulling him up since—most notably at her first Coachella headlining set, where she brought him out to perform alongside J Balvin. "I'm especially grateful that she invited me to be part of such an important moment at Coachella," he said. "Some of my first experiences performing in stadiums came because she invited me to open her shows and join me on stage."

Their only other release together is the posse cut "+57," alongside Maluma, J Balvin, and Feid. But there's more sitting unreleased. "We also have a couple of songs together, but beyond the music, we've built a genuine friendship," he said.

J Balvin has always had an ear for promising talent. Over the years he’s collaborated early on with artists like Bad Bunny and Rosalía, and now Ryan Castro.

José believes so strongly in Ryan’s talent that the two have released a joint project, the Latin Grammy-nominated OMERTÁ, which echos Balvin's 2019 collaborative album with Bad Bunny, OASIS. But their history goes back much further, to 2016, when Ryan heard that Balvin was coming to Curaçao during his Energía era.

“J Balvin arrived on his private jet, and I didn't have the money to go see him perform,” Ryan said. “So I went to the airport to wait for him, hoping I could meet him, but I wasn't able to.”

It would take six more years of grinding before Ryan and Balvin finally connected on their first track together—"Nivel de Perreo," which dropped in 2022. From there, they released a string of singles and were seen together everywhere from the Super Bowl to the Grammys in the lead-up to their joint album.

Along the way, Balvin has become something of an older brother and mentor to Ryan, steering him away from the mistakes Balvin made during his come-up.

Ryan, who kicked off a massive U.S. arena tour earlier this month, confirmed to Complex that a new album is coming, though he's not announcing a title or date yet.

Last month he released "MENTIRA," an Afro-tinged track that blends dancehall, reggaeton, and hip-hop. He followed that up with "La Sapió," a pure perreo cut.

Describing the new album, he said, "It will have a lot of reggaeton, but it will also include other genres that have influenced me and that I enjoy making the most."