“They say that everybody's best album is the first album,” Cosculluela tells Apple Music. Whether or not you accept that statement as true, at least in his case, there’s a strong argument to be made for the Puerto Rican rapper/reggaetonero’s El Príncipe. Originally released in 2009, that full-length debut’s legacy has endured and expanded over the years, particularly as Latin hip-hop’s global footprint grew beyond regional popularity into international ubiquity. Though he recalls being somewhat shocked by the success of its single “Prrrum” (“When I saw it on the tracklist I was like, ‘Yo, what is going on? This was a joke that I did!’”), he nonetheless maintains an affinity and affection for the album and what it did for his career. That said, it took a lot for Cosculluela to decide some 14 years later to release a sequel. Born out of a criminal case that left him restless and confined to what he describes as a farm in the Puerto Rican countryside, El Príncipe 2 finds him not merely returning to the well of his beloved earlier work, but reflecting upon himself and his craft with a newfound creative energy. Recording largely by himself in this tranquil setting was a stark contrast with his years of having an entire posse of friends and associates in the studio. “The vibe was perfect,” he says. “Sometimes you got to say, I want to work, get everybody out the studio. I want to see how I'm singing now.” With a guest list including Chencho Corleone, Ozuna, and Luar La L, the resulting 20 tracks here include some of the strongest and most honest work of his discography. What fans might find most surprising is the lack of tiraeras, something he acknowledges he was very much known for. “Everybody wants me to beef, and I'm tired of it, bro,” he says. “You don't know what this comes with. I'm not dissing nobody; I’m just giving you music.” Read on to learn the details behind some of the album’s highlights—in Cosculluela’s own words. “TLD” “I consider myself humble, but if you mess with me—everybody got a limit. These are the perfect verses for people when they start listening to the album and say, ‘Damn, the punchlines.’ I was listening to [Meek Mill’s ‘Dreams and Nightmares’] on repeat and I was like, ‘My Lord, I wish I could make something like that.’ I wasn't thinking about that when I made it, but I always listened to that and I always used to think, 'I wish I could make something like that.'” “Ese Kbrn” (feat. Ozuna) “When you got an ankle bracelet, everybody picks up the phone because they're like, ‘Yo, I know you in a situation, bro.’ Ozuna, he's a star and he always wanted to collaborate with me. Me too! And we did it!” “Mi Pistola” (feat. Luar La L) “I made 30-something tracks. Everybody wanted to jump on El Príncipe 2 from the new generation. I said I'm going to put the Luar one out and I kept the other ones for whatever comes after this.” “Les Ninnos” “I did this song for my kids, when my dad passed away. I was really close to my dad, but when my dad was passing away, I had a son being born at the same time. That sounds really crazy, because you're thanking God for your son, but at the same time it was like, your dad's sick, boom—couple of days. I started it for that son of mine especially. This kid, he’s the same as my dad. He got the same eyes, he got the same looks, he got everything like my dad. That emptiness that I felt when my dad passed away, that kid, he filled it up. It was like my dad's in him.”