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By Lisa Gonzalez When Wisin y Yandel teamed up with 50 Cent on a track for their La Revolución album, it seemed to be an odd pairing. But "Mujeres in the Club" shot to the top of the Latin charts and is nominated for Best Urban Song at next month's Latin Grammys. The reggaetón giants say that kind of validation only paves the way for more hip-hop and Latin collaborations. (They also got some from validation at Thursday's Los Premios MTV, where they took home two of the night's biggest awards.) "That nomination confirms what I've said all along, which is that these collaborations are necessary," Wisin told MTV News. "50 Cent was never nominated for a Latin Grammy. Then he works with Wisin y Yandel, and he scores a nomination. And there's a good chance that he'll win, because that song is an international hit." The unlikely pairing came about when the multiplatinum duo released a Spanish remix of G-Unit's "Rider Pt. 2," which became a surprise dance hit. 50 later performed the song live at one of the group's sold-out concerts, thrilling their fans and planting the seed for them to work together on an original track. Not content to stop there, Wisin y Yandel continue to break boundaries on their upcoming La Evolución re-release, working with big-name artists like Akon and Auto-Tune king T-Pain, who appears on their latest single, "Imaginate." "After working with 50 Cent, I think this collaboration was inevitable," Wisin said. "T-Pain is an artist that's been around for a while, and he puts out hits. So we really needed to work together, I think, for him to break into the Latin market. ... We're both leaders, and we're trying to do big things." "They wanted to do something with me, and I wanted to do something with them," added T-Pain, who recently shot the music video with the group in L.A. "It's going to put them in my world and help put me in their world." And Wisin y Yandel's musical revolución seems to be catching on, as a growing number of urban acts are crossing over into the Latin market. Akon, 50 Cent, T-Pain, Ludacris, Rihanna, Wyclef Jean and Alicia Keys, who currently has a top 10 hit with Latin pop singer Alejandro Sanz, can all boast appearances on Spanish-language songs. And if 50 Cent and Wisin y Yandel were to win a Latin Grammy next month, there's no question that number would increase. The duo are currently on the last leg of their first major U.S. tour, which has featured numerous guest appearances: Akon in Atlanta, T-Pain in Miami and 50 Cent in New York. "We saw 50 in NY, and, as you can imagine, he's super happy about the nomination," Yandel said. "He's also had the opportunity to come to our shows and feel that energy from the Latin crowd. And he's sincere in his desire to work in the Latin market. So I think Latino audiences will continue to support him."
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