Farruko began his career in 2009. He credits Myspace with helping him create a fan base that would eventually result in him becoming a popular singer. In 2011, Farruko appears on a song with José Feliciano called "Su Hija Me Gusta". As his style developed he typically directed his music to younger people and relationships. As his songs grew in popularity online, Puerto Rican radio stations picked up on the internet hype and began to broadcast Farruko to a wider audience, solidifying his presence in the reggaeton scene. Farruko was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Music Album in 2012. In the summer of 2014, Farruko's hit songs, "Passion Whine" and "6 AM", both with J Balvin, "6 AM" changed Farruko's career for the best, both songs reached spots 1 and 2, respectively."Passion Whine" ranked on the Top Latin Songs list, published by Monitor Latino, for 26 consecutive weeks. The song "6 AM" earned Farruko nominations at Premios Juventud for Best Urban Fusion/Performance for "6 AM" and Best Urban Song at the 15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards.
He has been the lead singer or featured on top performing songs including "Krippy Kush", "Inolvidable", "Quiéreme", and "Calma" (remix). Farruko has collaborated with many artists including Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Ricky Martin, and Wisin & Yandel.
In 2014, Farruko and his manager, Franklin Martínez, cofounded the music label, Carbon Fiber Music, which as of 2022 has 9 artists signed to the music label.
On June 24, 2021, Farruko released his hit single "Pepas", which has over 1 billion streams on Spotify. The song is a mixture of tribal guarachero and reggaeton.
On February 12, 2022, during a performance at the FTX Arena in Miami, Farruko stopped the concert to give a speech, in which he devoted himself to preaching about God, expressing his problems and asking forgiveness for the lyrics of some of his songs. Responding to complaint of fans, Farruko replied that "Farru is retired and Carlos is here now" and that they will refund the money of dissatisfied attendees.[8] However, Farruko did not actually retire and resumed performing in May 2023.