Oye Mi Canto

For the Gloria Estefan song, see Oye Mi Canto (Hear My Voice).

"Oye Mi Canto" (English: "Hear My Song") is a reggaeton single by N.O.R.E. The song was originally released in 2004 as the lead single from the album 1 Fan a Day, which was heretofore unreleased. It is his second biggest hit, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was later included on the 2006 album N.O.R.E. y la Familia...Ya Tú Sabe. The song features Nina Sky and reggaeton artists Gem Star, Daddy Yankee and Big Mato. The song originally featured Tego Calderón in place of Daddy Yankee but was later changed for the video. However, the Tego version was released by famous reggaeton label Planet Records Italy, instead of Island Def Jam, N.O.R.E.'s original label. It's N.O.R.E.'s first venture into the increasingly popular Latin genre reggaeton.

"Oye Mi Canto"
Single by N.O.R.E. featuring Nina Sky, Gem Star, Daddy Yankee and Big Mato
from the album 1 Fan a Day (shelved) and N.O.R.E. y la Familia...Ya Tú Sabe
B-side	"4 a Minute"
Released	August 30, 2004
Recorded	2004
Genre	Reggaeton
Length	4:01
Label	Roc-La-Familia Militianment Musica Violator Def Jam Black Wall Lico
Producer(s)	SPK
N.O.R.E. singles chronology
"Hustler Musik" (2004) "Oye Mi Canto" (2004)
Nina Sky singles chronology
"Move Ya Body" (2004) "Oye Mi Canto" (2004) "Turnin' Me On" (2005)
Tego Calderón singles chronology
"Dominicana" (2004) "Oye Mi Canto" (2004) "Bandoleros" (2005)

In a 2006 interview with MTV, N.O.R.E. says of the single, "I fell in love with this music. I did this joint originally for a mixtape. The Latino people haven't been spoken to in a while, since [Big] Pun died. They haven't felt like they had something proud [in hip-hop] to stand on, so being both Latin and black, I wanted to rep my Latin side for once. Why not do it with this new music, instead of doing a Spanish rap record? This is what speaks for the inner-city Latino youth."

The song was included on Billboard's 12 Best Dancehall & Reggaeton Choruses of the 21st century at number two.^[1]

Track listings

Def Jam single (Daddy Yankee version)

1. "Oye Mi Canto" (radio)
2. "Oye Mi Canto" (explicit)
3. "Oye Mi Canto" (instrumental)
4. "4 a Minute" (radio)
5. "4 a Minute" (explicit)

Planet Records "Reggaeton Mix" single (Tego Calderón version)

1. "Oye Mi Canto" ("original" dirty mix)
2. "Oye Mi Canto" (clean mix)
3. "Oye Mi Canto" (instrumental)

Def Jam 1-track single (Daddy Yankee version)

1. "Oye Mi Canto" (radio edit)

Translation

"Oye Mi Canto" literally translates to "Hear My Song" in English. Oye is the imperative conjugated form of tuteo of the infinitive verb oír (to hear). [For the second singular person tú (Oye) in imperative, nor vos (Oí / Oid), neither usted (Oiga), the personal pronoun in spanish here is implicit].

Charts

Chart (2004–06)	Peak position
Canada CHR/Pop Top 30 (Radio & Records)[2]	17
France (SNEP)[3]	13
Italy (FIMI)[4]	29
US Billboard Hot 100[5]	12
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[6]	6
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[7]	24
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[8]	8
US Hot Latin Songs (Billboard)[9]	22
US Latin Pop Airplay (Billboard)[10]	25
US Tropical Airplay (Billboard)[11]	2

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[12]	Gold	500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	August 30, 2004 (2004-08-30)	Rhythmic contemporary · urban contemporary radio	Def Jam	[13]
	October 11, 2004 (2004-10-11)	Contemporary hit radio		[14]

References

1. Platon, Adelle (28 April 2017). "The 12 Best Dancehall & Reggaeton Choruses of the 21st Century". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
2. "R&R Canada CHR/Pop Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1584. December 3, 2004. p. 27. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
3. "N.O.R.E. feat. Nina Sky, Daddy Yankee, Gem Star, Big Mato – Oye Mi Canto" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
4. "N.O.R.E. feat. Nina Sky, Daddy Yankee, Gem Star, Big Mato – Oye Mi Canto". Top Digital Download. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
5. "N.O.R.E. Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
6. "N.O.R.E. Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
7. "N.O.R.E. Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
8. "N.O.R.E. Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
9. "N.O.R.E. Chart History (Hot Latin Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
10. "N.O.R.E. Chart History (Latin Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
11. "N.O.R.E. Chart History (Tropical Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
12. "American single certifications – N.O.R.E. – Oye Mi Canto". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
13. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1570. August 27, 2004. p. 17. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
14. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1576. October 8, 2004. p. 35. Retrieved July 6, 2022.