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The Latin Grammy-nominated Puerto Rican MC \u00c1lvaro D\u00edaz wasn\u2019t always a rapper; he was a rocker too. Or, an aspiring one.<\/p>\n
\u201c[My interest in music] really started when I was 12 and in school, the first band I fell in love with was Blink-182,\u201d D\u00edaz told \u201cThe De Los Podcast\u201d hosts Fidel Martinez and Suzy Exposito. \u201cThe first posters and CDs I had in my house\u2026 all Blink-182.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the latest episode of \u201cThe De Los Podcast,\u201d D\u00edaz dove into his early career and inside the making of his latest album, the culinary-inspired \u201cOmakase,\u201d which went No. 1 in 16 Latin countries.<\/p>\n
A weekly conversation where music, pop culture and Latinidad collide, hosted by De Los editors Fidel Mart\u00ednez and Suzy Exposito.<\/p>\n
The San Juan native happened upon his first musical opportunity as a teen, when he overheard that a student band in his high school was looking for a bass player.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018I think I have a bass at home,\u2019 but I was lying\u2026 I didn\u2019t know nothing,\u201d D\u00edaz said. \u201cI showed up after Christmas with the bass and said, \u2018Look what I found!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Although his rock career was cut short \u2014 he didn\u2019t have the chops to play metal songs on bass \u2014 it flipped a switch for a young D\u00edaz.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the first time I thought, I want to learn how to make music,\u201d D\u00edaz said. \u201cA couple of years later, I realized writing was the thing I was good at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since then, D\u00edaz\u2019s musical career has been full of happy accidents, which have yielded an urbano-alternative fusion all his own. Iconic reggaeton producer Tainy, who worked on D\u00edaz\u2019s first-ever song, \u201cChicas de la Isla,\u201d returned to assist with \u201cOmakase.\u201d<\/p>\n
D\u00edaz came up with the title after visiting his cousin Chef Tino\u2019s restaurant in Isabela, Puerto Rico, where he observed his cousin create a similarly bespoke experience in his kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what\u2019s more personal than the plate and the result? The process, for me,\u201d D\u00edaz said. \u201cI thought, it would be amazing if I could divide this project by the process of the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s Latin music landscape, looking backward has become a way to move forward. \u00c1lvaro D\u00edaz is flipping the script.<\/p>\n
After losing both his grandmother and his close friend Oscar Botello, the late producer better known as Milkman, D\u00edaz infuses the album with sentimental tributes. Before his passing, Botello sent D\u00edaz the beat that would eventually become the album\u2019s first single, \u201cPienso En Ti.\u201d<\/p>\n