User:Masterpiecemuzik

Background information Born May 22, 1985 (1985-05-22) (age 25) Origin San Juan, Puerto Rico Genres Reggaeton, Latin rap, Hip hop Years active 2000 — present Labels Masterpiece Muzik Records Brutal Noise Music Website www.masterpiecemuzikrecords.com Virgilio Ricardo Estrada (May 22, 1985 ), known artistically as Masterpiece, Masterpiece is a reggaeton recording artist. Estrada was born in Río Piedras, the largest district of San Juan, where he became interested in music at a young age. In his youth he was interested in law studies, and aspired to become a lawyer. He lost interest in this goal when he received an injury to his jaw, leaving him unable to talk correctly for some time. Upon his recovery he then became involved in the underground reggaeton scene in New York City he often received lessons from several artists in the genre, he developed an independent career, first recording in a production titled La Antesala. After this he began to produce independent mixtape albums his first being "La Antesala VL II" he briefly formed a duo with fellow artist Ben G after their break up he focused on starting his own record label Masterpiece Muzik Records and the release of great reggaeton music which has led him to be one of today's most successful reggaeton acts among many in the genre.

In 2002 Mi Victoria became Estrada's first underground album with international success, receiving coverage in the markets of New York and Miami. Mi Victoria was released in 2004, and the album received numerous awards, including a Premio Artista Underground Del Año and a Latin Urban Vocalist Of The Year, as well as receiving nominations for the World Underground Latin Awards. Mi Victoria performed well in the underground reggaeton charts of the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Japan. On June 5, 2007, Brutal Noise Music released Masterpiece: Mis Comienzos, which was ranked as the top-selling Underground album in the Underground reggaeton music scene in 2007. He promoted the album with an international tour of small performances and concerts which began in the United States and continued through Latin America, breaking attendance records in Seoul,South Korea and Puerto Rico.

He has performed and appeared on more than 70 underground reggaeton albums, including compilations such as "Las Voces Con Flow" and Brutal Noise Music VL I. Outside of his work as a musician, Estrada is also enlisted in the US Army. Throughout his career, he has been generally reticent to discuss his personal life, but has publicly expressed the importance of his children Steven And Serenity to him.

Contents: 1 Early life 2 Musical career 2.1 Independent productions 2.2 2000–2005 2.3 2006–present 3 Personal life 4 Discography

'Early life:' Estrada was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was influenced by several musicians, like Daddy Yankee and some of his mother's musical tastes. During his childhood he practiced singing and focused on lyrical improvisation. Although Estrada's first aspired to be a lawyer, he abandoned this goal after being involved in an altercation outside of his mothers house when he was seventeen, he was caught in the jaw with a blind sided punch. the blow severly injured his jaw and required major surgery.

Following the incident, he became interested in the underground rap and reggaeton movement, which at the time was in an early organizational stage. He also took more interest in the events that took place in the neighborhood in which he was raised, Queens and the Bronx both in New York City. Early in his career he attempted to imitate the style of Don Chezina. He then went on to emulate other artists in the genre, including Daddy Yankee, Big Boy, and Nicky Jam, taking elements from their styles in order to develop an original style. In doing so, he eventually abandoned the traditional model of rap and became one of the first artists to perform underground reggaeton. Estrada's first recorded with Ben G who is also credited with disovering him as a featured artist in his production titled Ben G Music VL I, which was released in 2005.

Musical career and Independent productions: His first album, titled Mi Victoria, was produced in 2002 when Estrada was seventeen years old. The production sold very well, and he continued his work within the genre for the rest of the time, eventually forming a duo with Fellow Artist Ben G. One of the duo's songs, "Posición", was included in the Mi Victoria Album, In The Beginning of 2003, Estrada began concentrating more on his solo career, releasing albums produced outside studios. The first production he released was titled La Amenaza, featuring elements of the mixtape style. In the summer of 2003 La Amenaza II was released, a direct sequel to the previous production, and influenced by similar genres.

In 2005 La Amenaza III was released, and became the first album in Estrada's career to sell well outside Puerto Rico, mostly in the United States. The album was produced by Ben G Music, an independent recording studio in Puerto Rico, and was not supported by a major label. The most successful single from the album was "La Vida", which received significant play on radio stations in New York and Miami. The album reached #43 on Top Underground Latin Albums chart. Following the release of this disc, Estrada performed at the Tacoma Dome before 2,000 fans. The following year Brutal Noise Music produced El Verdadero. The album became the leader in underground sales in Puerto Rico during a year in which several other reggaeton artists released significant productions, including Los Duros:Flow, J & M's The Last Straw, and Ben G's El Poderoso. The album's undergeound success helped Estrada receive the publicity required for a crossover to the United States market, and marked the last album he released with Ben G Music before signing a contract with Brutal Noise Music.  2006–Present On April 30, 2006, Estrada was named one of the 100 most influential underground artists by wikiton magazine, which cited the five thousand digital copies of La Amenaza III sold, Estrada's $25,000 arstist development contract with Brutal Noise Music, and his other endorsements. During this period, Estrada and Benjamin Araujo (more commonly known by his artistic name Ben G) were involved in a rivalry within the genre, dubbed "tiraera". The rivalry received significant press coverage despite being denied early on by both artists. It originated with a lyrical conflict between the artists begun by Estrada's comments in a remix single, where he criticized Araujo's common usage of the nickname "El Poderoso". Ben G responded to this in a song titled "Ahora Soy Mejor", part of his album El Poderoso II.

According to Wikiton magazine, Masterpiece: Talento & Progreso is expected to be the top-selling album among reggaeton music categories in 2011. At the moment release of the album is scheduled for Jan 11 2011, the album is esxpected to sell 500,000 copies in the United States and 50,000 in Mexico. In an online interview from Iraq, Estrada said that he was happy that his album is being expected to do so well and he hopes that those numbers will be as accurate as many predict. He stated "To sell more albums than those of other artists in my genre would be a true honor, and that this was an "official proof that he is the one of leading underground reggaeton exponents. Estrada made a guest appearance in an album titled "Caribbean Connection" released on June 24, 2009. The production included participation by other underground artists such as Vakero, Sensato and La Material, along with Jamaican musicians such as Inner Circle, Bounty Killer, Ely Man and Wonder.In July 2009, Estrada announced that as part of his work, he would produce a new song, Ten Paciencia. Prior to the album's release, Estrada has scheduled several activities, including an in-store contract signing to renew his contract to Brutal Noise Music. On August 27, 2009, he performed at the Artistas Urbanos del Futuro, An International Song Festival in Seattle,WA. In this event, the artists receive awards based on the public's reaction. After performing "Mi Vida", "Solo Una Palabra", "Yo Quiero Hacerte El Amor", "Si Tu No Estas Aqui", "No Te Dejes Caer" and "Pegate" over the course of two hours, Estrada received the "Silver Torch", "Gold Torch" and "Silver Seagull" recognitions. On September 24, 2009, he received the Urban Latin Artist Spirit of Hope Award as part of the Latin Underground Music Awards ceremony. The recognition is given to the artists that participate in community or social efforts throughout the year. The single "Me Duele" will be released on early January, 2011, in order to promote his mainstream debut album, Masterpiece:Talento & Progreso. Despite releasing "No Te Dejes Caer(Esperanza)" more than a month ago, that single was not considered the first official promotional single for the Masterpiece: Talento & Progreso album.

Early in 2008, Estrada participated in a campaign to promote voting in the 2008 general elections in Puerto Rico. This initiative included a performance in a concert titled "Vota o quédate callao". On August 25, 2008, Estrada endorsed Barrack Obama's candidacy for President of the United States, stating that Obama "has been a fighter for the Hispanic community". As part of this campaign, Estrada moderated a online debate titled “Vota o quédate callao: los candidatos responden a los jóvenes”, which was aired on October 9, 2008.

Estrada has been involved in the administration of three organizations, the first being Masterpiece Muzik Records which he Founded and owns. He also created the Fundación Cielo Azul, a charitable organization in Puerto Rico which works with young cancer patients. On April 26, 2008, he was presented with a "Latino of the Year Award" by the student organization Presencia Latina of Harvard College, receiving it for his work with Puerto Rican youth and creating Cielo Azul. On February 6, 2008, Estrada announced in a press conference his signing to major record label Brutal Noise Music.

Personal life: Estrada is never been married however he is currently dating a puertorican college student named Liza Katiuska Brito Medina, they haven been dating off and on for the better part of a year. He has two children: Steven 3 yrs old and Serenity 8 Months Old. Throughout his career Estrada has kept most of his personal life private, rarely speaking about it at all. He has said that he avoids doing so because such details are the only aspect of his life that are not public and that they are like a "little treasure" to him. He made an exception at the end of 2009 when he spoke about his relationship with his son Steven in a radio interview. He stated that his relationship with his son is strong because he and his son's mother Yadira Sanchez are "great friends", adding that he has tried to ignore the lapses in communication that he has encountered because "it causes the weakness which he blames for the downfall of several of his fellow artists. "He also described his "very close" communication with his girlfriend Liza, Saying that he tries to offer their relationship as much of his time as he can but often his artist and music obligations dont allow him as much time as he desires to devote to their relationship, he also said that the thing one thing that maintains them both so strong as a couple is her general understanding and support of his career. His first daughter Serenity was born when he was twenty six years old and deployed to Iraq, from an old time girlfriend Miracle Jimenez(while separated from Liza), he has described that finding out about Serenity was exciting at first but that he hopes that challenge of raising a daughter at this age will not be a hard experience for him.

Discography: Mi Victoria-2002 La Amenaza-2003 La Amenaza II-2003 La Amenaza III-2005 Ben G Music VL I-2005 Talento & Progreso-2011