During the most critical years of his childhood, Boy Wonder musical sound was procured by his mother. From Michael Jackson to The Beatles, BW's sound is as eclectic as the Lond Island City, Queens NY streets he claims his home. During High School, his main influence was Hip-Hop; he listened to such great rappers like Nas, Biggie Smalls, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, Fat Joe, Big Pun, Capone & Norega. Hip-Hop would be what made his unique style. He organized freestlye battles in the lunchroom, and created beats from glasses, spoons and thumping fists. Although his latino roots were still apart of his upbringing, he was surrounded by a culture heavily submerged in Rap and R&B.
A few years later, Boy Wonder uncle, July Ruiz, reintroduced him to various latino sounds and enticed a motivation to get involved in Urban Latino music. He saw that there was an opportunity for his nephew to merge his Hip-Hop background into the genre and help bring forth a new sound. Following a 1999 trip to Dominican Republic, Boy Wonder returned to New York to establish his own production company globaly known as "CHOSEN FEW EMERALD ENTERTAINMENT" (CFEE). A mainstay in Pop culture, CFEE was confident Reggaeton would be a driving force with in this musical revolution.
"My crew in High School was called The Chosen Few, everything we were involved in had to be exclusive," describes Boy Wonder. "Emerald is my birthstone and means love and success something that I want for my colleagues for years to come."
CFEE's first success was marked by the production of an underground hit remix of Shakira's popular song, "Mi Vida". The next hit came with the release of a compilation CD Pocos Elegidos that began a buzz for Boy Wonder's production company, Chosen Few Emerald Entertainment. Soon after, Manuel was introduced to Adam Kidron, President of UBO, whom he explained his idea of making a compilation album with a DVD component that would serve as a documentary showcasing the rise of Reggaeton stars. Manuel's inspiration for the project was the desire to do something that displayed what the genre was really about, with credibility. And so was the birth of the award winning, Multi-Platinum compilation Chosen Few: El Documental. The album features many high profile Reggaeton artists including Zion, Lennox, Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderon, Don Omar, Voltio and N.O.R.E and boasts 25 exclusive tracks including the monumental Boy Wonder produced Chosen Few remix single "Reggaeton Latino" Featuring Fat Joe, N.O.R.E, LDA, and sensational DON OMAR. It spent 44 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts and has been documented as the 2nd biggest crossover track in history (2nd to Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina"). Upon winning Billboards 'Latin Compilation Of The Year' and an RIAA Double Platinum certification, the industry took notice and deemed Boy Wonder a trailblazer with in the Hip-Hop Community.
Several projects followed immediately after this success, including a nationwide tour the helped introduce the genre of music to remote places throughout the states. The tour was a landmark for Reggaeton / Latin Hip-Hop because it helped diffuse the bias that Reggaeton only came from Puerto Rico and became the blueprint for the next Urban Latino Movement - The 'American Idol' inspired El Draft 2005, a compilation album which debuted at 4 on Billboard's Latin Music Charts and made history when it became the first ever Reggaeton album to ship Latin Plantium.
Chosen Few: El Documental II, which will serve as a sequel, is destined to follow the success of the first release. Included is never before seen footage from the monumental Chosen Few Tour, as well as exclusive tracks from today's hottest artists with cameo appearences by Hip-Hop Heavyweights Fat Joe, N.O.R.E, Juelz Santana, Trina, Trick Daddy and Pitbull.
Chosen Few Documents the rapid rise of Reggaeton and Latin Hip-Hop's second generation of artists and is the official follow up story surrounding the rise of Reggaeton and Latin Hip-Hop.
Currently developing his own artists such as LDA, the first Male / Female duet in with in this category, Fuego, Reychesta Secret Weapon and Getto, Boy Wonder continues to follow along a successful path guided by one mission statement:
"IT'S NOT ABOUT MAKIN A HIT', IT'S ABOUT MAKIN' A CLASSIC!'
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