Highs And Lows Of The Reggaeton Star's Life

Nicky Jam may sing in Spanish, but some fans may be surprised to learn that it's not his native language. The "El Perdón" singer's mother is Dominican, and his father is Puerto Rican, but Jam himself grew up in Lawrence, Massachusetts, speaking English. When it came to his time in Lawrence, Jam told Dolce, "It was always hard. Massachusetts is very Irish. There were a lot of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans in my town, and it was the crack era. It was very ugly."

When Jam turned 10, his family moved to a suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico, where, per Euphoria, he experienced a major "culture shock" since he didn't speak Spanish. He was able to pick it up by listening to reggaeton and Caribbean hip-hop, though. For Jam, it was important for him to assimilate, telling Dolce, "I focused on learning the language." He continued, "You learn the language quickly when you live in the country. I needed to." 

Yet Jam didn't just learn how to speak Spanish, considering that he learned to rap in it too. He explained, "I feel that, musically, I'm just very smart. My mind goes so quick." Jam did admit that he later forgot how to speak English at times, but that it came back to him when he moved to Miami. And while he eventually did leave Puerto Rico, he told People, "I always had Puerto Rico in my heart ... I can't stop feeling like a Puerto Rican."

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