Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

1994

Canary Islands native Jorge Gonzalez Villar is a singer/songwriter and rapper better known as Young Killer. Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1994, Villar started writing poetry at age 8 and singing at age 12. As a teenager, he formed Quitate un Kasko with friends CHK, Xriz, and Critika y Saik, before trying his hand as solo artist Young Killer (sometimes known simply as Young). Influences on his hip-hop- and R&B-inspired Latin sound came from American artists like Usher, Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, and Eminem. Early singles like "Mirame Ahora" and "Las Cosas Cambian," with Miriam, built his audience in 2010. He followed with songs like "Quiero volar Contigo," "Hasta el Final," "Quiero que Seas Tu," and "Me Doy Cuenta" with Critika. In 2017, he began building an international audience with singles "Diosa" and "Sola," later issuing "No Me Llores" in 2018 under the Young moniker. ~ Neil Z. Yeung