Nicky Jam, the renowned reggaeton singer, has openly discussed his lifelong struggles with weight and his decision to undergo gastric bypass surgery, joining a growing number of celebrities who have embraced weight loss journeys. Speaking in an interview, Nicky Jam revealed his decision to lose weight via gastric bypass surgery. The procedure has been tried and tested by other stars like Sharon Osbourne, Mariah Carey, Kelly Osbourne and Sally Morgan.
The Decision for Gastric Bypass
For Nicky Jam, he reportedly decided to take the journey after fighting with his weight and trying to be in shape his whole life. The 42-year-old revealed that he had undergone gastric bypass surgery six months ago. “The reality is I’ve been fighting with my weight my whole life because this is an industry where you have to be in shape, you have to do movies, you have to do videos,” he said. Inspired by a friend’s successful results, Jam decided to pursue the bariatric procedure.
According to UCLA Health, the procedure allows bariatric surgeons to change one's stomach and small intestines to modify how a body absorbs and digests food. The weight loss surgery makes it possible by limiting the calories and nutrients in the body and changing the gut hormones.
The Procedure and Initial Results
"I mean, you're always going to be nervous before you do surgery, so I was nervous. I ain't going to lie," he said. "But it's something that I really wanted." Six months after undergoing the procedure, he revealed he had lost a total of 110 pounds already.
However, Jam insists that his surgery wasn’t a simple fix as he described a prescribed liquid diet following his procedure, saying, “I was just drinking liquids and stuff like that, and I was going crazy. I ain’t going to lie. First few days I cried.”
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Jam continued, “You have to prepare yourself mentally for what's coming, and it's not easy. People say this is the easy way - they're wrong,” Jam says of choosing bypass. “Here, you’re obligated to not eat. You can’t even drink liquids and eat at the same time. Because your stomach is so small, you’ll get full [so quickly]. So it’s like you got to learn how to eat, wait 20 minutes, and then you drink some liquid.”
Maintaining the Weight Loss
Aside from the medical operation, he shared that he helps himself maintain his figure by staying active through basketball. He reportedly plays the sport every day with his friends, saying that he loses two pounds after every game. “Basketball, that’s what helped me. I play basketball every single day,” he shared. “I’m a big fan of basketball, and that’s what I do with my buddies, everywhere I travel. We have an indoor court here.
Nicky Jam also changed his diet while also feeling how his gut shifted. “I wake up and I’m the same guy, but I don’t wake up and think about food right away,” said Jam about overhauling his diet. “I used to wake up and I just wanted to eat. Now I take my time and I eat whenever I want. I feel better. I feel happy. I feel healthy. Two days ago, I did blood work, and I came out better than ever,” he went on.
Mindful Consumption
While Nicky Jam is happy with the results, he shared that he became mindful of his alcohol intake because of his new small stomach.
Another part of the Dominican-Puerto Rican star’s new lifestyle includes playing basketball daily and being mindful of his alcohol intake.
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Overcoming Addiction and Embracing a New Life
Still, it is a celebration for him as he previously struggled with drug abuse. Jam, who admits he struggled with an addiction to Percocet, blames the drug for making him gain weight. “Percs don’t make you skinny. It’s totally the opposite. I was fat and a drug addict. So I was taking the pills, and I was so big,” he recalled.
"I stopped drugs. I cleaned myself. I lost weight in those years, I lost weight, and people looked at me like, 'Yo, you look brand new. You look like a different human being,'" he went on. "And the way you love yourself and take care of yourself makes it easier for the world to love you and back you up.
Nicky Jam’s transformation is not only physical, but also emotional. The singer feels more self-confident and happier. “I feel better than ever,” said the singer. “I’m healthier and happier.”
The Importance of Aftercare
After bariatric surgery, it is important to follow a specific care plan to ensure a safe and successful recovery.
A Message of Hope and Overcoming
Nicky Jam’s story is a story of overcoming. The singer has overcome his struggles with obesity and is living a new life. Nicky Jam’s story is also a message of hope for people struggling with obesity. The singer shows that, even when things seem impossible, there is always hope. If you are fighting obesity, don’t give up.
Read also: Inspiring Health Transformation
Early Life and Career
Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known professionally as Nicky Jam, is an American singer. He is best known for hits such as "X", "Travesuras", "El Perdón", "Hasta el Amanecer", and "El Amante"; the latter three are from his 2017 album Fénix. He has frequently collaborated with other Latin artists such as Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Ozuna, Plan B and Anuel AA. Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to a Dominican mother and a Puerto Rican father, he moved with his family to Puerto Rico when he was ten years old. He began recording music at age fourteen with his first EP …Distinto a los demás (1995), and eventually caught the attention of Daddy Yankee. The two formed the group Los Cangris, which was active from the late 1990s to 2004. He then moved to Medellín, Colombia, where he rejuvenated his career and developed a more melodic style of music, which proved to be popular through the release of the singles "Voy a Beber" and "Travesuras" in 2014. His success was furthered by the 2015 single "El Perdón" and his 2017 album Fénix. He released the album Íntimo in 2019, which was a critical and commercial success.
While working at the Pueblo Xtra discount grocery store at age eleven, he passed time by rapping about the items he was bagging, which impressed a customer who invited him to record with a local indie label. He subsequently signed a contract without reading it and received no advance money for his recordings. He recorded and released his first EP …Distinto a los demás in 1995 at age fourteen. He endured a difficult breakup with his girlfriend shortly after the album's release and the emotional pain of the experience led him to try cocaine for the first time at age fifteen. Nicky Jam reflected on the experience by saying: "[I thought], 'why am I going to take care of myself? My dad didn't handle his drug problems. My mom did drugs too, so why not me?' I mean, I had drugs all around me, and the foundation of everything is your home.
Rise to Fame and Struggles
Despite his drug use, he managed to gain popularity in Puerto Rico as a hip-hop artist and eventually met his idol, Daddy Yankee. Nicky Jam recalled that Daddy Yankee was familiar with his work, explaining, "He looked at me and said, 'I know who you are. You're that little kid that sings rap in a little Mickey Mouse voice. I like your style.'" The two artists then formed a duo called Los Cangris. However, Nicky Jam struggled to adjust to his new lifestyle and began using drugs and alcohol to an extent that concerned his musical partner. Having used cocaine on and off since age 15, he later began using Percocet. Daddy Yankee began to criticize Nicky Jam's behavior and alluded to his bandmate in songs, including the lyric "your courage depends on a pill" from the 2004 song "Santifica Tus Escapularios". This led an incensed Nicky Jam to release a diss track in response that same year. Nicky Jam quickly regretted releasing the song, explaining, "That wasn't a good choice, because he came with [2004 Billboard Hot 100 hit] 'Gasolina.' [I] looked stupid. Los Cangris separated in 2004 after a falling out between the two musicians.
Hitting Rock Bottom and the Road to Recovery
After the breakup of Los Cangris, Nicky Jam struggled personally and professionally, calling himself the "embarrassment of the Latin Caribbean music industry". Deeply depressed, Nicky Jam gained a significant amount of weight, eventually reaching 300 pounds (136 kg).
People laugh when I say I came to Colombia and cleaned myself out of alcohol and drugs. But I've seen a whole different Colombia. [Colombians] will stop doing whatever they're doing to make you happy.
In 2007, Nicky Jam moved to Medellín, Colombia in an attempt to stop using drugs and focus on music. The musician was well received by the people in Medellín, and the singer reflected, "They made me feel like I was a legend. The boost they gave me made me want to be a better person. I started eating OK, I stopped drugs, I stopped alcohol. His increased popularity during this time led Nicky Jam to reunite in 2015 with his mother who had been deported to the Dominican Republic; he had not seen her for more than twenty years. He recalled, "Most of my life, I was trying to be famous, do music to see if my mom could listen to me and see me…when [the reunion] happened, it was like a movie moment. My bodyguard was like, 'There's this woman outside. She's fighting with everybody saying she's your mom and she wants to see you'…and automatically, I knew it was her because I remembered her voice."
Awards and Recognition
Nicky Jam was presented with the Warrior Spirit award at the 2015 Premios Tu Mundo for his "musical resilience". The following year, he recorded a remix of the 1992 song "De Pies a Cabeza" with Mexican rock band Maná, a collaboration Nicky Jam described as a "blessing". In 2016, his song "Hasta el Amanecer" became his first song to reach one billion views on YouTube. The song won the Billboard Music Award for Top Latin Song at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards.
"Fénix" and Continued Success
On January 20, 2017, he released the album Fénix. The album cover consists of a mural painted in Medellín of Nicky Jam with the Spanish word for "Phoenix" (stylized FEИiX). Fénix featured collaborations from Sean Paul, El Alfa, J Balvin, and Kid Ink and included Nicky Jam's first English-language songs "Without You" and "I Can't Forget You". With the album, he hoped to maintain an organic reggaeton sound, feeling that genre had evolved into an overly "futuristic" sound in Puerto Rico. The previously released singles "El Perdón" and "Hasta el Amanecer" were included on the album in addition to the new singles "El Amante" and "Si Tú la Ves", the latter featuring Wisin of reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel. The songs "El Amante" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, while "Si Tú la Ves" peaked at number 18 on the same chart. "El Amante" also reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. His collaboration with J Balvin, "X", peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for "X" drew comparisons to Sean Paul's "I'm Still in Love with You" and Drake's "Hotline Bling". The video debuted at the number one spot on YouTube's global music chart and amassed more than 200 million views in two weeks. Nicky Jam performed the song with J Balvin on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon while Jimmy Fallon danced onstage with the two singers. Reacting to the success of the song, Nicky Jam divulged, "I knew our music was going to be big, but I didn't think it was going to be the way it is now."
Later Career and Collaborations
Nicky Jam collaborated with Will Smith, Diplo and Era Istrefi for the official 2018 FIFA World Cup anthem, "Live It Up". In October 2019, Nicky Jam previewed the release of his documentary, Behind Nicky Jam's Íntimo, which was produced through Apple Music. He released the album Íntimo on November 1, 2019. It contained the singles "X", "Atrévete" featuring Sech, and "Whine Up" featuring Anuel AA. Billboard called the album "17 songs of pure reggaeton magic". In November 2019, he renewed his contract with Sony Music Latin. He collaborated with Daddy Yankee on the song "Muévelo" which samples Jamaican dancehall artist Ini Kamoze's 1994 hit, "Here Comes the Hotstepper". The video, filmed in Miami, serves as an homage to the period in the 1990s in which reggaeton was criminalized in Puerto Rico. The song appeared on the soundtrack for the film Bad Boys for Life. In August 2021, Jam announced that his first official post-pandemic tour will kick off in early 2022. and Canada, starting Feb.
Musical Style and Influences
Nicky Jam's music has been classified as Latin trap and reggaeton. Veronica Villafañe of Forbes wrote that Nicky Jam is considered "one of the architects of the Latino urban music movement". His music has been noted for both eliciting a party atmosphere and embracing overt sentimentality. His career began in the mid-1990s, when reggaeton was in its beginning stages in Puerto Rico.
Personal Life
Nicky Jam has four children. He married his girlfriend of two years, Angélica Cruz, in a private Catholic ceremony in Medellín in February 2017. J Balvin and Vin Diesel attended the wedding, which featured performances by reggaeton group Gente de Zona and salsa singer Jerry Rivera. In August 2018, the couple filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. That same month, he purchased a house in the Palm Island area of Miami Beach for US$3.4 million. On Valentine's Day 2020, Nicky Jam became engaged to model Cydney Moreau. The couple met on the set of his music video for "Atrévete", an encounter which the singer described as "love at first sight". After posting a photo alone on Valentine's Day 2021, Nicky Jam confirmed that he and Moreau are no longer together. He endorsed Trump for president at a rally in Las Vegas on September 13, 2024, wearing a Make America Great Again hat onstage and stating, "We need you. We need you back, right?
Nicky Jam's Philosophy
During a famous scene in the classic 1983 movie Scarface, as the sun is setting, main protagonist Tony Montana looks up to the Miami sky when a blimp shows up, with the words “The world is yours” flashing across its screen. Paired with Giorgio Moroder’s archetypal music, it’s one of the movie’s best and most poignant scenes. Forty years later, the world may well now belong to Miami-based reggaeton king Nicky Jam. With four billion cumulated views on YouTube, his Spanish-sung songs about love and loss have attracted a global audience far beyond the limits of urban music fans.
“Live your life because There’s only one life. If you’re going to hug Somebody, hug them like it’s The last time that you’re Going to do it.
“I show with my Story that, no Matter where you Come from, and how Much at the bottom You are, if you have Discipline and faith In god, you can Make it. I’m living Proof of that. That’s my legacy.
Sports helped me in everything. It changed my life. It changed my way of feeling the way that I feel about myself, because you look good. I sleep better. I do better shows on stage and I just love the sport. I love basketball. I play seven games a day. I train and do weights in the morning. I changed my life and changed the way I was eating and turned myself into a healthy person. I think that’s the best thing in the world. I didn’t do that my whole life. I was just punishing my body, and punishing my soul and making myself not even care about myself. When you love yourself, it’s easy to love everybody else.
I love being a Latino, like anybody would love where they come from. I love my people, I love my culture, and we have so much that people don’t know about. I’m happy that finally people know about how good we are and all the talent we have, and it’s not just the typical Pablo Escobar, dealing with cocaine and prostitutes, etc. … We have so much to give. We have so many beautiful things. We have hard-working people, beautiful music, beautiful food.
My style is very urban. I’m very bad boy, hardcore, “I-don’t-care” type of vibe. I’m very risky. I will tattoo any part of my face, but even the kids love that when they see me. I like the attention, I like having that. The crazy thing is that even though I have all these tattoos, you can still see my soul. You can still see that I’m a good kid, that I’m humble and that I’m a nice person. I’m glad that I have all these tattoos, and you can still see through me and say, “He looks like he’s a cool guy, a nice guy.” It’s just my vibe; I’m very simple. I don’t like wearing too much stuff, because I think I already have too much on my body. Just T-shirts, plain T-shirts, and I love dressing very retro.