"Yo Contra Ti" (; English: "Me Against You") is a song by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee featuring the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. It was composed for a breast cancer campaign in partnership with foundations Susan G. Komen Puerto Rico and J. Walter Thompson. The song was released on September 1, 2017 accompanied by a music video directed by Kacho López and filmed at a Comprehensive Cancer Center in Puerto Rico. The clip shows a woman with breast cancer being injected during a chemotherapy process which gives her strength, proceeding to stand up and lip-sync the lyrics while Daddy Yankee performs the track. The song was written by Daddy Yankee and was produced by Echo, with additional production by Beatboy and Daddy Yankee.
It is a hip hop song with lyrics about breast cancer and empowerment, representing the struggle of women who are diagnosed with it. "Yo Contra Ti" has been critically well received, garnering Susan G. Komen Puerto Rico and J. Walter Thompson numerous awards for its campaign, as well as five nominations at the 2018 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the song and music video. "Yo Contra Ti" was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Fusion/Performance at the 19th Latin Grammy Awards. Commercially, the single failed to rank on any chart, although it was reported that the campaign has amassed over a million dollars for Susan G. Komen.
Background and release
On August 2, 2017, Daddy Yankee announced a partnership with Susan G. Komen Puerto Rico foundation to raise funds for women with breast cancer on his natal Puerto Rico after learning that a close friend of his was diagnosed with cancer. He interacted with cancer patients in order to "capture how they feel and give voice to their anger." He stated that his perspective about how the disease is handled changed after meeting them. Daddy Yankee wanted to write motivational and positive lyrics because he believes that "sometimes the themes directed to this goal incline towards pain and pity, and is the least that a person wants to feel in those moments." Amarilis Reyes, executive director of Susan G. Komen Puerto Rico, said that the track represents "the feeling of our survivors and a clear message of our purpose." According to Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día, breast cancer "is the leading cause of death in females per year on the island."
The song marks the first collaboration between the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and an urban act. Puerto Rican musician and director of the orchestra Ángel "Cucco" Peña stated that "the frontiers that have traditionally separated classical and popular music have disappeared in the 21st century." He also hopes that "this new initiative will serve to facilitate new projects that contribute to the country and our culture." Daddy Yankee expressed that recording with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra "was something that was on [his] bucket list."
The track was recorded at La Huerta Music Studios in Madrid, Spain, at Playbach Studios in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and at the Sala Sinfónica Pablo Casals in Santurce, Puerto Rico. It was produced by Puerto Rican record producer Echo, who had previously worked on a similar project titled "Porque Soy Tempo" by Puerto Rican rapper Tempo featuring the London Symphony Orchestra in 2008. Daddy Yankee and Mexican record producer Beatboy served as additional producers. The song was mixed by Echo and Spanish recording engineer Rafa Sardina at After Hours Studios in Woodland Hills, California. Sardina has stated that the track "brings together two worlds that until now were quite distant in many people's minds, the urban world and the classical world." He described the musical arrangements as "very classical with cinematic hues."
On August 30, 2017, Daddy Yankee announced that "the genre's biggest tiraera (diss track) is approximating." The song was digitally released on September 1, 2017, a few hours after the premiere of the music video. The single's cover art is composed by a shot from the music video and features cancer patient Jessie Reyes, who is shown smiling after receiving an injection on her chest during a chemotherapy process. Daddy Yankee stated that the fifty percent of the profits from digital downloads and track streams will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Puerto Rico foundation. J. Walter Thompson reported that the song garnered over a million dollars in charity and that it was "transformed into a fundraising platform for the Susan G. Komen Foundation."
