Grammy-Nominated Superstar Producer Tainy Isn’t Going Anywhere

“The past year has been crazy. At least, that’s one way to put it — it’s been special. I’ve waited years to put out my album, and it finally happened,” global hitmaker Tainy tells Refinery29 Somos right before he goes on stage to participate in a panel discussion during Miami Art Basel “The Art of Being Latin” with his NEON16 partner Lex Borrero and Creative Director Elliott Muscat.

Sitting on a Wynwood rooftop, surrounded by a team of eight plus, the producer giant is affable and triumphant as he starts to talk about his debut full-length project DATA — the critically acclaimed experimental-but-make-it-reggaeton album that was released on June 29, 2023. The 20-track album was named the Best Spanish-language Album of 2023 by Rolling Stone, and is up for a Grammy nomination for “Best Musica Urbana Album” this Sunday at the 66th annual awards.

Accolades aren’t anything new to Marcos Efraín Masís Fernández, artistically known as Tainy, though. He has been in the music business for almost 20 years, producing and executing on some of today's hits like the entirety of Bad Bunny’s X 100PRE and Luny Tunes’ Mas Flow: Los Benjamins, to name a very few. Starting at age 16, the architect of nostalgic hits has got enough producing credits for a book. And today he’s continuing to innovate.

“I am embarking on different areas [of creating] that I was not used to. I've always been [just] a producer, but going into a project, you need to be aware of a lot more details than just the music, so it was super interesting for me because I was really able to dive into those other areas. To be able to explore that is something that I really love,” he tells Somos.

DATA is a testament to that, an homage of his two-decade long-career pioneering and leading the urbano genre into what it is today by never straying away from the unforeseeable under his producer belt to now artist. According to him, the project was never about making it commercial “enough,” it was about simply putting out a project that he believed in and what he felt good with. “I’d rather do that than just have a bunch of number one [hits]. It's good to have success, but for me, it's being able to make music that makes a difference.”

The project was released under his own label and creative house NEON16 co-founded with his business partner Borrero. Almost five years since launch, they’ve brought on an incredible roster of artists, producers, songwriters, and other creatives to be a part of the incubator. “We're a couple of years in and have more knowledge and understanding of what we want to keep building with NEON16. I want each artist to keep growing, whether it's Kris Floyd, me, Jota Rosa, Alvaro Diaz, or our producers… In the beginning, we were still really just feeling it out and seeing where we were going and understanding how the business works. Now, a couple of years in, and we have more of an understanding. So hopefully we get those goals done and go to that next stage.”

While developing his artists under NEON16 is part of what’s next for the team, he’s also excited about the future of urbano and how many rising acts are genre-bending and infusing their own sounds. “For me to see all these new [Latine] stars blowing up is special. There are so many artists out and so much music coming out. It's easy to get distracted or feel like you have to follow certain trends, which might even damage a little bit of what the quality of the music is, so def keep the focus that's the main thing,” he advises newcomers.

Naturally, when it comes to his island, Tainy stays in the know of the rising acts in Puerto Rico. Two of those that are promising to him? Kris Floyd and RaiNao. “I know [Floyd] is going to have his moment and people are seeing more of his music coming out this year. RaiNao is someone I’m looking forward to blowing up, more than the movement she's already having. She has the talent and a sound that feels distinct.”

While the 34-year-old was hopeful about finding some time to relax in 2024, that quickly ended five days into the year when he became the first producer turned artist to sell out Puerto Rico’s el choliseo for "Data Loading," a 360° immersive experience celebrating DATA. During the historic show, he brought out 15 of his colleagues as guests like Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro and Wisin y Yandel to name a few. “I feel I just can't be relaxed for too long. I can have like a week or two, pay attention more to family, and recharge, but I always come up with an idea that I want to at least be in the studio for or be around my guys and see what else we can start creating.”

So, what’s next for the music titan? Working on his next project while still focusing on producing. “That past couple of years I've been more selective on what I work on because I want to dedicate my time that it needs and not doing anything halfway…. In the past, I just wanted to do everything and be everywhere but it's not possible and not possible to do it fully and feel like you're giving it your 100%. So it will be a little bit more of that to find the balance within that.

"[I'm] Tainy, the producer-artist we're going to tap into what we can keep embarking within that. [I’ll continue to] be working with artists on their projects, but I do want to dive into a different type of album this year. Something that puts me in a different arena, a different space, that’s a focus for me working towards that goal in 2024."

It’s safe to say Tainy will be doing lo que le da la gana this year.