CONTEXT

It goes without saying that when you hear good music, you know it. Not everyone has the ear of a musician, but at the end of the day, it’s the masses of regular people who listen to music that decide what lives on through the ages. The thing about music, however, is that it is very rare that a wide range of original works that span various genres are attributed to a single person. That is to say, most artists stick to one, maximum two genres that they’ll create music for. That is unless you are TAINY, a music prodigy from the age of 15 that you could say was “destined” to create music. What most people may not realize is that Tainy isn’t actually an artist, but a musical architect. That is not an actual industry word, but it’s a fitting title for the scale and effectiveness of what Tainy has accomplished along his extensive career within the music industry. He is a producer, composer, writer, label executive, and music visionary that is single handedly defining the sound of music as we know it today.

Since the early 2000’s, Tainy has produced some of the biggest hits within reggaeton at a time when it was going through it’s early maturity as a major sound within latino music. This was before the pop-like mainstream crossover with reggaeton seen today. At that time, Tainy was barely 16 years old producing for some of the biggest reggaeton artists at the time such as Daddy Yankee and Don Omar… this is all before he was legally able to smoke a cigarette. He was a music prodigy that quickly became an industry staple, always delivering hits for the biggest artists of that time with songs that had his fingerprints all over them.

Early Albums Produced On By TAINY: (Partial List)

2005: Más Flow 2 (Daddy Yankee, Wisin & Yandel, Zion & Lennox, Tito "El Bambino", Ivy Queen, Hector "El Father")

2006: Los Rompe Discotekas (Hector el Father)

2007: Wisin vs. Yandel: Los Extraterrestres (Wisin Y Yandel)

2007: El Cartel: The Big Boss (Daddy Yankee)

2008: Talento de Barrio (Daddy Yankee)

2008: El Fenómeno (Arcangel)

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Fast forward to today and TAINY has gone from an early music industry prodigy to an industry titan manifesting a musical cloud of his creation that encompasses the entire planet. This musical influence he’s produced is now quickly becoming the modern sound of music. This may seem like over glorification, but one look at Tainy’s discography of songs he’s produced, written, and/or composed for and you will see exactly why the industry is currently centered around his body of work.

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Recent Major Albums Produced On By TAINY: (Partial List)

2018: X 100pre (Bad Bunny)

2019: Oasis (J Balvin & Bad Bunny)

2020: YHLQMDLG (Bad Bunny)

2020: Emmanuel (Annuel)

2021: De Una Vez (Selena Gomez)

2021: Los Dioses (Ozuna & Annuel)

2021: Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren (Annuel)

2022: Motomami (Rosalia)

2022: Un Verano Sin Ti (Bad Bunny)

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Major International Hit Songs Produced by Tainy: (Partial List)

"I Like It" (Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin)

"No Es Justo" (Balvin featuring Zion & Lennox)

“Callaita”  (Bad Bunny & J Balvin) (All songs on Oasis were produced by Tainy)

"China" (Anuel AA, Daddy Yankee, and Karol G featuring Ozuna and J Balvin)

"Un Día (One Day)" (J Balvin, Dua Lipa and Bad Bunny)

"Lo Siento BB” (Bad Bunny and Julieta Venegas)

"Feel It Too" (Jessie Reyez and Tory Lanez)

"Habitual" (Justin Bieber)

Overview

With the above context provided, let us properly review “DATA”, an album by TAINY.

“DATA” is a compilation album consisting of 19 songs featuring nearly every major reggaeton artist currently making music (as of 2023). Artists on the album include: Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro, Feid, Sech, Myke Towers, Arcangel, Daddy Yankee, Jhayco, Wisin & Yandel, Mora, Zion, Young Miko, Ozuna, Chencho Corleone, Skrillex, and more. TAINY is not actually an artist performing on the songs, rather, he’s the architect or producer/composer of the songs. This is something similar to what other producer/artists have done such as DJ Khaled with his compilation albums consisting of major hip hop artists that he features on the songs. The major difference here, is that TAINY doesn’t make any attempt at letting listeners know who he is or that he is behind the songs other than the song’s written credit itself. In fact, you could almost say that TAINY hides in plain sight within the production of his songs as it’s the artists he features that shout him out or drop a bar talking about the person he is behind the scenes.

Putting aside the logistics, creative differences, contractual obligations, and licensing hurdles that every artist goes through when trying to feature another artist on their songs, TAINY has somehow managed to record the entirety of the current relevant Reggaeton industry under a single project. Anyone from within the music industry will tell you, only TAINY would have been able to pull this off. So from a superficial perspective of seeing the features he has on this album alone, it carries undeniable weight in gold, platinum, and diamond selling artists.

ALBUM MUSIC STYLE

Think Space-Pop-Trap-Reggaeton. If there was ever an album that would tell you how the future of music will sound, it is DATA. As Raggaeton has evolved to become the most listened to genre in the world, a new era of music has begun to take shape. Electronic music along with pop, afro beats & reggaeton have fused together to form a new crossover genre that is perfectly embodied within DATA. 

From Bad Bunny singing electro pop to Rauw living his dream singing an anime series style song, this album is a turning point within both the sound of music and the biggest artists in the world today. What’s more incredible is that the album isn’t based on a single story or sound, it is a collection of songs that TAINY produced to highlight and uplift the artists he featured on the songs. This means each song is unique to the artist featured while incorporating TAINY’s magic sauce to match that artist’s energy.

SONG REVIEWS

Track 1: “obstaculo” (ft. Myke Towers)

The first song of the album “Obstaculo” featuring Myke Towers is one of the most powerful first songs to an album I’ve heard. The name meaning “Obstacle” is an ode to the journey that Myke Towers has taken to be where he is now. The song itself has no actual beat, just a light chorus in the background and Myke Towers flowing with ease showcasing his ability to maintain a perfect cadence without needing a beat to lean on. This is a total contrast to the rest of the songs of the album as if TAINY wanted to be sure that before the listener heard anything else on this album, they must know that to get to this point in his career there were obstacles, struggles, and sacrifices made. Again, this album is not a random release by an artist seeking to stay relevant. It is TAINY’s masterpiece encompassing everything he’s learned/gained from music and showcasing it to the world in a way only he would be able to do.

Track 2: PASIEMPRE (ft. Arcangel, Jhayco, Omar Courtz, Bad Bunny)

This song goes hard. Period. It is a declaration of excellence and accomplishment between Myke Towers, Jhayco, Arcangel, and Omar Courtz with an uncredited surprise appearance at the end by Bad Bunny. All I’m going to say is that this song is TAINY throwing up the middle finger to the world through the voices of the hardest artist’s in the game to let everyone know that they have been and will always continue to be front runners. Bad Bunny’s verse is something that needs to be discussed over everything else. As mentioned earlier, TAINY does not feature his voice in any of his songs, so what better way to have his story told on his album within a song about his undeniable reign within reggaeton than to have one of the biggest artists in the world do it for him. Bad Bunny lays it out for the world to hear from his own mouth that he is a major star that came up in the game through trap music but that TAINY is a legend that has been dominating since the early 2000’s setting the foundation for artists to walk upon. Not to mention TAINY is a major influence and producer of Bad Bunny’s biggest hits making him one of the most important people to Bad Bunny’s success. The level of respect, admiration, and power that resonates from this song is overwhelming to those who understand what is really being said. 

Track 3: Todavia (ft. Wisin & Yandel)

TAINY is no stranger to Wisin & Yandel having worked with them since the start of his career in the early 2000’s. Todavia is a classic reggaeton song with TAINY going back to his roots within the industry while incorporating some of the modern “spacey” tones that is found throughout the album. This is a clean cut song that you can tell was a way of making sure an element of TAINY’s beginnings within reggaeton were included on the album. 

Track 4: FANTASMA | AVC (ft. Jhayco)

This song is a total Jhayco vibe with a switch up ¾ of the way through that takes it from earth to outer space. Jhayco holds his weight in this song in a perfectly balanced flow between his signature sound and future space like reggaeton beat that switches between a dance beat to perreo. 

Track 5: MOJABI GHOST (ft. Bad Bunny)

Where do I begin with this song? Bad Bunny is known for pushing the limits of what his “sound” is from starting as a trap artist to experimenting with singing hooks. This song is by far the most pop I’ve heard Bad Bunny go. Aside from a few moments of his signature low octave singing, Bad Bunny goes well beyond his normal range in this song that mixes elements of reggaeton and electro-pop, something I haven’t heard outside of Rauw Alejandro’s “Saturno” album. The verdict is that it’s f%#%$# great and he seems to truly be able to hold his own no matter what challenge he’s given. You can clearly see how comfortable Bad Bunny is working with TAINY on a song like this considering that he is experimenting with a style on a song/album that is not his own. This speaks to the genius and synergy you get with a producer like TAINY who has had the ability to work with nearly every artist in reggaeton for the last 15 years.

Track 6: 11 Y ONCE (ft. Sech, E.VAX)

This is a song that hits a different tone than the others by really showcasing Sech’s voice. It’s a heartfelt slow perreo that you can rock to. It incorporates a mix of electric guitar, symbols, percussion, and sound effects that transport the song to a different spectrum of reggaeton. The rock and roll tones make it more emotionally impactful while falling back on the reggaeton baseline to maintain the rhythm throughout the song. This is a difficult thing to accomplish while still sounding good to someone who isn’t used to hearing those elements in a reggaeton song.

Track 7: desde las 10 (KANY’S INTERLUDE)

This is the definition of a warped crossover interlude in the middle of the album. Only 1 minute long but enough for you to get a breather for a moment by KANY’S smooth voice and spacey effects that calm you down to prepare you for the next song.

Track 8: manana (ft. Young Miko, The Marias)

A perfect song to transition into from the previous interlude; manana starts you off real smooth with The Marias soothing you with their angelic sounding voices. The song is an undercover banger appearing to be light hearted but is balanced out by Young Miko with her spanglish trap style flow accented by a switch up of the beat that matches her trap energy. Another testament to TAINY’s ability to mold a song perfectly around the artists he is recording while creating an undeniably good song through the production as a whole.

Track 9: BUENOS AIRES (ft. Mora, Zion)

Of all the songs on the album, this is one of those “radio hit” sounding songs that checks off all the marks of a solid upbeat reggaeton summer song. By this point of the album you are able to tell that the songs are made as if they were originally intended for the artists being featured as “BUENOS AIRES” is an absolute Mora/Zion styled song that fits them like a glove. 

Track 10: LA BABY (ft. Sech, Daddy Yankee, Feid)

Club Banger, Hit song, and Chart Topping are what I’d use to describe LA BABY. Feid kicks the song off in his signature style while Sech & Daddy Yankee join in back to back giving such a great blend of styles from 3 very different artists. The difference here is these artists compliment each other perfectly with Feid owning the main hook, Sech giving the smooth melodies, and Daddy Yankee coming in with his unique flow and sound letting you know he’s on the song. 

Track 11: me jodi… (ft. Arcangel)

I’ve never heard a song like this by Arcangel before. The beat is a mix of old school style hip hop, smooth synths, and spacey oriental inspired strings. There isn’t even a hint of reggaeton aside from Arcangel speaking spanish throughout the song. Knowing that TAINY was apart of Arcangel’s early rise in his career, it’s easy to see how he trusted TAINY with the composition of this song. It isn’t a “hard” song, it’s eclectic and way out of range from what you would expect while still being able to enjoy it for what it is.

Track 12: VOLVER (ft. Rauw Alejandro)

Anyone who’s followed Rauw Alejandro’s career knows his love for asian inspired themes and anime. VOLVER is what you get when you cross reggaeton with an anime series theme song. It’s a song that hits all the right buttons and something we need to hear more of. The incorporation of oriental instruments, smooth singing, and reggaeton percussion is a frequency I now realize that I love. TAINY is subtly evolving our music tastes by mixing in new sounds and making them work in harmony with what made reggaeton what it is. Rauw is, of course, the perfect medium to bring this new style to a whole other level.

Track 13: EN VISTO (Ozuna)

With a spacey reverb intro by Ozuna, you already start to feel the vibes of the song. EN VISTO brings back the OG reggaeton beat with a hard hitting kick and Ozuna’s smooth voice accenting it. This is one of the more reggaeton sounding songs of the album while still incorporating the spacey elements that are found throughout the album. 

Track 14: Lo Siento BB:/ (ft. Bad Bunny, Julieta Venega)

There’s no need to describe this song as it’s a worldwide banger that has topped the charts already. What will be surprising to listeners is the fact that this song that people probably thought was a Bad Bunny original/exclusive is actually another TAINY production. Also note the recurring Bad Bunny presence, this is not by accident. Bad Bunny may be a superstar, but TAINY is the industry titan that was Bad Bunny’s catalyst to the top… something Bad Bunny clearly shows an overwhelming amount of respect and appreciation for.

Track 15: si preguntas por mi (Kris Floyd, Judeline)

The first half of this song is a more classic sounding reggaeton song with artists that seem to have been able to capture the essence TAINY was looking for. The second half of the song switches up to a “chopped and screwed” style that falls into a total R&B flow. The verse with Judeline brought in a total ethereal sound which softened out the song perfectly. Overall a great hybrid song that creatively fused these two distinct styles into one. 

Track 16: Sci-Fi (ft. Rauw Alejandro)

Now we’re getting into the next level of sounds that you can tell TAINY is channeling in this new album. As the name implies, this song is an awesome fusion of pop, space electronic, and spanish R&B sung in Rauw’s signature style. The song was absolutely made for Rauw and his whole space age style he’s been on, especially after the release of his latest album “Saturno”. Listening to this song will feel like you’re listening to a song from the future while keeping the hard hitting elements of a solid pop song that gets you moving.

Track 17: CORLEONE INTERLUDE (Chencho Corleone)

As the name states this is an interlude by Chencho Corleone, but it sounds more like a complete hit song than an interlude. The interlude itself is a slow grind, hard hitting reggaeton song that matches Chencho’s voice and drawn out words that help stretch the song out making it feel longer than it is. 

Track 18: PARANORMAL (ft. Alvaro Diaz)

We are officially in outer space with this song. A mix of electro-pop and spacey effects brings us to an alternate universe that sounds unlike anything else playing right now. The song goes through a few transformations throughout the track until ending in an ensemble of space-like sound effects accenting the beat as if the artist is going through a metamorphosis from start to finish.

Track 19: SACRIFICIO (ft. Xantos)

Heartfelt, respect, and truth is what can be said about this song. The instrumental consists of only a violin and classical piano playing a beautiful melody. Xantos goes off rapping about the sacrifices made to be where he is as if TAINY’S way of signing off the album with a reminder that all of this was only possible through the sacrifices made to be there. The ultimate conclusion to a masterpiece such as this album.

CONCLUSION

It feels as though TAINY channeled a pure openness within the project allowing the artists to speak on subjects and record songs that would not have been done on their own personal projects. The album’s heartfelt verses and elaborate production style is unlike any album released to date for any genre. It is as if TAINY is expressing his own truth through the voices of the biggest artists in the industry expressing their truth. DATA is a beautiful harmony of production, writing, and honest expressions by various artists while being created by a single producer that has the world singing, dancing, and creating to the tune of his beats.

TOP 6 SONGS (STAFF PICKS)

• Obstaculo
• PASIEMPRE
• MOJABI Ghost
• LA BABY
• VOLVER
• PARANORMAL