GRAMMYs

Tainy

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Behind The Board: Tainy Traces His Path From Selling His First Beat To Working With J Balvin

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The GRAMMY-nominated producer talks about growing up surrounded by music, his journey into a studio career and collaborating with some of music's biggest names
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Apr 13, 2020 - 3:26 pm

GRAMMY-nominated Puerto Rican producer Marco “Tainy” Masís has played a key role in the continued explosion of reggaeton and Latin pop around the globe through his work with J Balvin, Bad Bunny, Wisin & Yandel, Anuel AA, Arcangel and more. In the latest episode of Behind The Board, Tainy takes us through his career's journey, how he got his start and some of the keys to his massive success.

Behind The Board: Tainy

 

"Music is a part of every house," Tainy said of his musical beginnings. "I  was growing up, reggaeton was starting to boom."

Tainy, called "one of the architects of modern reggaeton" by Rolling Stone, quickly became part of the movement. His childhood friend Josias de la Cruz, known as the producer Nely, introduced him to FL Studio and eventually to Francisco Saldaña and Víctor Cabrera of the production duo Luny Tunes.

"Even when I started to do music, I never knew this was going to by my career," he recalled. "I used to draw a lot, so that's what I thought I would eventually be doing. I'd be an architect or an artist. I was in love with music but I never knew how to create it."

Tainy began to pickup the tricks of the trade from his heroes while developing a sound all his own. Once he sold his first beat, he began to realize this was something he could excell at, and his career has come a long way from pitching packs of his beats to collaborating from the beginning of a project with some of music's biggest names. 

"[With] Balvin, it was a totally different experience for him to sit down beforehand and say, 'Okay, this is my vision. This is what I want to do. I want to try these sounds,'" he said of the formative expereince. "Giving us all those ideas and see how can we make this into music. Having him trust us with that input helped me grow as a producer."

Tainy was nominated for his first career GRAMMY nomination, a nod in the Record Of The Year category, for his production work on "I Like It," the star-studded smash hit by Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin. Reflecting on his success, Tainy talked also about how he incorporates what inspires him with his own ideas and what makes a great record.

"I think I understood, 'Okay, I have something that's me. Nobody else can be this or do this,'" he said. "All of these influences that you have will create something different eventually.. You're learning from them, taking different pieces to create something totally different."

Hear more from Tainy in the video above and stay tuned for more episodes of Behind The Board. 

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Behind The Board: Joel Little On Working With Lorde, How Vans Warped Tour Inspired Him & More

GRAMMYs

Angela Aguilar

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Angela Aguilar Releases "Que No Se Apague la Música" At-Home Concert To Benefit MusiCares

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From her home in Zacatecas, Mexico, the teen superstar offers up a dynamic performance dedicated to the music community, the doctors and nurses fighting the pandemic and her loyal fans
Nate Hertweck
MusiCares
Jun 3, 2020 - 11:16 am

GRAMMY-nominated ranchera singer Angela Aguilar has taken the perform-at-home format to a new level, releasing her elaborate new concert-at-home video, "Que No Se Apague la Música," to benefit the MusiCares COVID-19 Releif Fund.

The seven-song set from outside her home in Zacatecas, Mexico, proves even without an audience, Aguilar dazzles and endears, complete with costume changes, guest appearances, heartfelt messages to viewers and an eclectic mix of songs to keep the music from stopping amidst the coronavirus pandemic. 

Along the way, Aguilar welcomed cameo song introductions from a few friends. GRAMMY winner Jesse Huerta of Jesse & Joy introduced Aguilar's version of his duo's song "Corre,' folk singer Angeles Ochoa teed up the Tomás Méndez-written ranchera classic "Paloma Negra" and singer/actress Ana Bárbara offered her well-wishes before Angela kicked into "Fruta Prohibida" with her brother, Leonardo Aguilar, on guitar and vocals, keeping Aguilar musical dynasty going strong.

The concert set out to raise money for the MusiCares COVID-19 Releif Fund to help music creators and professionals affected by the Coronavirus crisis. Thanks to support from various artists, organizations and charites, the fund has raised millions so far, but much more is needed.

Last year, Aguilar was nominated for her first career GRAMMY when her sophomore album Primero Soy Mexicana earned the nod in the for Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano) category. Earlier this year, Aguilar released Baila Esta Cumbia, a seven-song tribute to Selena.

You can watch Aguilar's concert special "Que No Se Apague la Música" and make a donation on her YouTube page.

Learn more about how you can donate to or apply for assistance via the Recording Academy's and MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Learn more about the financial, medical and personal emergencies services and resources offered by the Recording Academy and MusiCares. 

GRAMMYs

AG

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Behind The Board: AG On Connecting With The Vocal, Breaking Into Sync & More

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The songwriter/producer/mix engineer also talks about how music saved her life, why music for picture is more artist-driven than the industry realizes, and some of her favorite projects
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Mar 23, 2020 - 3:55 pm

"Any song that I hear...  it's the vocal," said songwriter/producer/engineer AG from her studio in Los Angeles. "That's the point of entrance for most people. If an artist can get though that and if I can help them arrive at an incredibly honest vocal that will connect with people, that, to me, is the whole ball game."

AG has applied her vocal-first approach to an impressive catalog of work, including collaborations with Larkin Poe, Snow Patrol, Natalie Imbruglia, Deap Vally, Aloe Blacc, KYGO, Robert Delong, Warpaint, MORGXN and more, plus a long list of syncs and in-episode song placements.  In the latest edition of Behind The Board, AG talks about how music intervened in her life just in time.

Behind The Board: AG

"Early on I realized that music was going to save me, and it has saved me so many times in my life," she said. "I always knew I was kinda different for many reasons, and I think that music was where I always felt like I belonged, so i was like, 'if I don't do this, I'm going to die [laughs]... I have to figure it out because this is what I know I'm meant to do, and I just have to figure out how I'm going to make money.'" 

AG was able to foray her skills into music for tv/film, a move many music makers attempt though few succeed. As a woman in the industry, AG recognizes the margin for error was even smaller. 

"I sort of fell into the sync world, and I just had a knack for it," AG said, adding, "Granted, I had to get good at it very quickly, because women don't have permission to suck."

Drawing upon her expereince and success in music, both as making her own and working with a wide array of different artists, AG carved her own lane i the sync world, recognizing that, even in the world of sync, there are certain artists who have a sound that naturally lends itself to syncing to picture. Her work can be heard in trailers for films and shows such as "The Handmaid’s Tale," A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, Highwaymen, ad campaigns for brands such as Cadillac, Guess, Ford, and the Olympics, in television shows including "Grey’s Anatomy," "Riverdale" and Blacklist" and in films such as Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw and The Last Witch Hunter.

Watch the video above to hear AG discuss some of her favorite projects, including collaborations with Christina Perri, MILCK and more.

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Behind The Board: Jozzy On "Old Town Road," Learning From Her Mentors Timbaland And Missy Elliott & More

Trini Lopez in London in 1965

Trini Lopez in London in 1965

Photo: Stanley Bielecki/ASP/Getty Images

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Trini Lopez, Who Revitalized American & Mexican Folk Classics, Has Died From COVID-19 At 83

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The GRAMMY-nominated singer/guitarist's biggest global hits were lively covers of folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary's "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree"
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Aug 12, 2020 - 3:18 pm

GRAMMY-nominated singer, guitarist and actor Trini Lopez, whose lively blend of American and Mexican folk songs with rockabilly flair earned him worldwide fame in the '60s, has died at 83. The Mexican-American artist died from COVID-19 at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif. yesterday, Aug. 11.

Beginning with his 1963 debut studio album, Trini Lopez At PJ's, Lopez found success bringing new life—and a raucous, danceable beat and vocal delivery—to other artists' songs, including folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary's hits "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree." Both songs would be his biggest, with his versions out-charting theirs both on the Billboard Hot 100 and international charts.

Back at the 6th GRAMMY Awards in 1964, following his epic breakout year, Lopez was nominated for Best New Artist.

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His rocked-up rendition of "I Had a Hammer," released in 1963 on his live debut album, hit No. 3 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 in 36 countries. The song was originally written by political activist/folk icon Pete Seeger and Lee Hays and recorded as a protest song by their band The Weavers in 1950, reemerging as a GRAMMY-winning No. 10 hit from Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962, the year prior to Lopez's breakout success with the classic song.

Popular '60s West Hollywood star-studded venue P.J.'s, where the Dallas-born singer recorded his first two albums (which also put the club on the map outside of Los Angeles), was where he got his big break, from none other than Frank Sinatra. After catching a few of his shows, the Rat Pack leader signed him to his Reprise label.

"I remember reading in the trades that Frank Sinatra frequented P.J.’s a lot so I moved over there so I could meet him," Lopez said. "I was hired for three weeks and I stayed a year and a half. I played four or five shows every single night and I never repeated a song. I just kept waiting to meet Frank Sinatra, and within a month he came with an entourage and to my surprise he offered me an eight-year record contract on his label. I put P.J.'s on the map with my live albums since they were recorded for Sinatra's record company."

Read: Sin-atra City: The story of Frank Sinatra and Las Vegas

A self-proclaimed "proud" Mexican-American born to immigrant parents in Dallas in 1937, Lopez also performed and recorded many songs in Spanish at a time when artists, including himself, were asked by labels to hide or Whitewash their Latin identity. Trini Lopez At PJ's included a rendition of traditional Mexican folk song "Cielito Lindo" and in 1964, he released The Latin Album, filled with of Spanish language classics. His father, Trinidad Lopez II, was a ranchera singer who made his living as manual laborer.

As The Guardian notes, "in the mid-'60s he was releasing as many as five albums a year, though that slowed in the late '70s. While he continued performing, he released very little music until 2000, when he began recording again and released a further six albums." His final album, released in 2011 and titled Into the Future, was a nod to Sinatra, featuring songs from his catalog.

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At the peak of his musical fame in the '60s and '70s, he also found moderate success in film and TV, with roles in films The Dirty Dozen (1967) and Antonio (1973) and a variety show special on NBC in 1969, "The Trini Lopez Show."

A talented guitar player—he started playing at age 11—Gibson Guitars had him design two instruments in 1964, which remain highly sought after to this day. Dave Grohl and Noel Gallagher are both fans of the vintage models. Grohl paid tribute to Lopez on Twitter today, underscoring that he's used his on every Foo Fighters album ever recorded.

His electric live performances and hit records made him an in-demand artist in the Las Vegas circuit, as well as around the globe, including one jaunt he found most memorable—stealing the show as the Beatles' opener in Paris in 1964.

"I used to steal the show from them every night!" he said in a 2014 interview. "The French newspapers would say, 'Bravo, Trini Lopez! Who are the Beatles?'"

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GRAMMYs

District Advocate Day 2020

 

Courtesy Photo: GRAMMY Advocacy

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District Advocate Day Unites Music Makers & Lawmakers Toward Pandemic Relief

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Nearly 2,000 Recording Academy members – including GRAMMY winners and nominees – took part in over 250 meetings today in the year's largest grassroots music advocacy movement
Advocacy
Aug 12, 2020 - 9:39 am

Worlds collided today, as across the country the Recording Academy's seventh annual District Advocate day brought together the professionals who make the music we love and the members of Congress who make the laws affecting their livelihoods. Academy members engaged in a series of virtual meetings with their elected officials to discuss pressing issues impacting the music community, such as providing pandemic-related relief and assistance to the creative community, pushing for equitable treatment and social justice reforms, and ensuring that the rights of all creators are always protected.

District Advocate Day participants included GRAMMY winners Yolanda Adams, Brandy Clark, José Feliciano, John Legend and Ziggy Marley and GRAMMY nominees Victoria Monét and Offset, plus nearly 2,000 other music professionals.

The event marked the crescendo of the Academy's "Summer of Advocacy," an ongoing effort to help provide pandemic relief for music creators, to support survival of music businesses and to promote positive social change through legislation.

And it’s working. Earlier this year, Academy members helped secure important provisions in the CARES Act that provided critical support for the music community dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Today's conversations between Academy members and their Senators and Congressional Representatives took the next big step to ensure the music community is heard at a critical time for legislative support.

"District Advocate Day has always been an important initiative for music advocacy and it's especially true now," said Harvey Mason jr., Chair and Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy. "Creators are among the hardest hit and first out of work, yet music is what brings the world together in hard times — and for many, it brings hope. Today, we raise our voices to remind legislators of the vital role music plays during this pandemic and, equally as imperative, the creators behind it who are struggling and desperately needing a helping hand from this country's leaders."

With District Advocate day, the Academy continues to amplify the voices of creators and small businesses, while also endorsing and developing additional legislation to deliver aid to creators. For instance, developed and endorsed by the Recording Academy alongside Rep. Linda T. Sánchez (D-Calif.) and Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas), the Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act would allow individuals to fully expense the cost of new studio recordings on their taxes, up to $150,000, within the same year of production. Academy members encouraged their representatives to co-sponsor the HITS Act during today's meetings.

Members also advocated for passage of the Reviving the Economy Sustainably Towards a Recovery in Twenty-twenty (RESTART) Act, a loan program that would provide funding to cover six months of payroll, benefits, and fixed operating expenses for businesses that have taken a substantial revenue hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. For independent workers with mixed-income types, a category which includes many music creators across the country, the Mixed Earner Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Act proposed a solution to ensure unemployment relief and assist freelance workers unable to receive just unemployment aid. 

Members discussed these key issues and more today in year's largest grassroots music advocacy movement. District Advocate, along with the Recording Academy's annual GRAMMYs on the Hill in April, which is on hiatus this year due to COVID-19, are the Recording Academy's premiere advocacy events, and are credited by bipartisan legislators with helping to pass the Music Modernization Act into law — the largest update to music legislation in the past 40 years. 

For more information about District Advocate Day and Recording Academy advocacy initiatives, visit www.grammy.com/districtadvocate.

Take Action Today: Learn About The Key Issues Facing Creators And How You Can Help