His mother, Carmen Rosa, was a former member of the all-women merengue group, las Chicas del Can, who were popular during the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.

Arcángel & De la Ghetto rose to fame in 2006 on the reggaeton compilation album hosted by Héctor el Father, Sangre Nueva, with their hit song, "Ven Pégate".

This was due to a conflict with Baby Records because the company was not releasing any material by Arcángel & De la Ghetto onto an album of their own.

[6][8] After the separation of the duo in early 2007, Arcángel began his solo career, working with various reggaeton producers and performers on compilation albums.

[10] The album was an upbringing of different artists trying to rise to fame, one of those including Arcángel, who made a track titled "Chica Virtual", which went on to be one of his most recognizable songs, as well as being a popular airplay single on American Latin Urban radio stations, charting at number 9 on the Billboard Latin Rhythm Airplay chart.

[14] One of the internet leaks, a song titled "Pa' Que la Pases Bien", went on to be a popular airplay track on American Latin Urban radio stations across the United States.

The unreleased album being leaked onto the internet resulted in making Arcángel more popular among reggaeton fans in the United States, as well as Puerto Rico.

[8] In mid-January 2009, Arcángel announced plans of a European tour sometime during 2009, in promotion of his debut album, El Fenómeno, and to receive more exposure across the world from reggaeton fans.

[15] Arcángel confirmed to be touring in several countries, including Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, England, the Netherlands and Denmark.

[8] In February 2012, Arcangel signed with Pina Records, which is based in San Juan, Puerto Rico and operates offices in Colombia and Venezuela.

Through the label, Arcángel released "Hace Mucho Tiempo", the lead single from his 2013 album[16] Sentimiento, Elegancia & Maldad, which both performed successfully.

[27] That same year, he would end his contract with Pina Records and sign with Rimas Entertainment, where he released singles to promote his fourth studio album, Historias de un Capricornio, which contains collaborations with Ozuna, Bad Bunny, Myke Towers, among others.

[39] In April 2021, Arcángel and Colombian rapper Farina would release their collaborative EP FloWres, which was supported by their single "La Boca".

[40] In September of the same year, he released his sixth studio album Los Favoritos 2.5, which was supported by the single "Insegura" and contains collaborations with Zion & Lennox, Nicky Jam, Tempo, among others.

[41][42] In November 2021, Arcángel's younger brother, Justin Santos, died in a car accident while on a visit to Puerto Rico.

[52] Since 2007, Arcángel has released a series of tiraderas (diss tracks) under the title "Feliz Navidad", with most of them being produced by DJ Luian.

Also responding to the singer again through an Instagram post, Anuel claims that nobody noticed that he released his album, Sentimiento, Elegancia y Más Maldad, adding that "[he's] waiting for Bad Bunny to collaborate with him to revive his career.

[60][61] Justin Santos, who was Arcángel's brother, died at the age of 21 on November 21, 2021, in a car accident on the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge in Puerto Rico.