What will Caribbean waters and Puerto Rican percussion sound like in the years to come? Hija de la isla RaiNao‘s Tiny Desk is here to show us. “Soy hija — especialmente, hija del Mar Caribe y de la hermosa tierra que me había nacer, Puerto Rico,” the artist explained, introducing herself: “I am a daughter — above all, a daughter of the Caribbean Sea and of the beautiful land where I was born, Puerto Rico.”
In her recordings, RaiNao leans into reggaeton and electronic beats, sounds viewed widely as the backbone of the current generation of music in Latin America — sometimes begrudgingly, though increasingly with reverence in the age of Bad Bunny. RaiNao’s Tiny Desk performance presents a different, equally significant version of Puerto Rico’s song spine. Built on guiros, timbales and maracas, it’s a rich homage to an island that beats to bomba, plena and salsa alongside reggaeton.
What RaiNao does in plain sight at the Desk is seamlessly fuse different worlds atop traditional percussion. A traditional drum kit is absent from the set, yet nods to jazz and R&B are strong. She shines through as the tantalizing, easy-listening thread — particularly in the saxophone accents peppered throughout — and her uniqueness puts a name, face and sound to new waves of Puerto Rican creation. Her music offers an important truth: Being a daughter of the island, in its most authentic sense, requires being fiercely, unapologetically you.
SET LIST
“Celular””Limbo””track4″”dandovueltasdandovueltasdandovueltasdandovueltasdandovueltasdandovueltasdandovueltas”
MUSICIANS
RaiNao: vocals, tenor sax, maracasFrido Vargas: guitar, music director, timbal, background vocalsEmilio Mendez Ramirez: keysGiovanni Ortiz: bassLuisFra Colon: tenor sax, güiro, fluteJahaziel Garcia: trumpetJoey Oyola: tromboneNubia Marina Garcia: percussionNaisa Suané: percussionDeborah Amanda: background vocalsVeronica Rolon: güiro, background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Anamaria SayreDirector/Editor: Kara FrameAudio Engineer/Mix: Josephine Nyounai Host/Series Producer: Bobby CarterVideographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Alanté SereneAudio Engineer: Tiffany Vera CastroProduction Assistants: Dhanika Pineda, Alina EdwardsPhotographer: Bronson ArcuriTiny Desk Team: Ashley Pointer, Josh NewellSeries Editor: Lars GotrichCopy Editor: Daoud Tyler-AmeenExecutive Producer: Suraya MohamedExecutive Director: Sonali MehtaSeries Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton