Data (album)

Tainy came to prominence at age 15 when he collaborated in Luny Tunes's album Mas Flow: Los Benjamins (2006), where he worked with various reggaeton artists such as Wisin & Yandel, Don Omar and Arcángel, among others.[3] During the 2000s, he produced albums like Wisin vs. Yandel: Los Extraterrestres (2007), Daddy Yankee's El Cartel: The Big Boss (2007) and Arcángel's El Fenómeno (2008), furthering his career as a producer within the reggaeton industry.[4]

In 2021, Tainy released his debut studio album Dynasty, a collaborative album with Puerto Rican singer Yandel.[5] The same year, he released "Lo Siento BB:/", a collaboration with Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny and Mexican musician Julieta Venegas, the song would eventually become the first single for Data.[6] According to Tainy, the album took around three years to make, with the first ideas for the album coming after a trip to Tulum, Mexico.[7] Most of the recording for the album took place in Miami with additional recording in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Spain, New York, Los Angeles and Kioto.[8] The album consists of several collaborations with reggaeton artists that Tainy had previously worked with such as Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny and Wisin & Yandel, among others, as well as non-reggaeton artists like Julieta Venegas and the Marías, and emerging Latin acts like Young Miko, Álvaro Díaz and Kris Floyd. Tainy said that "Data is a representation of who I am as a person and as a music fan, being able to have my own album is very special, I'm putting my all into this, everything I've learned since I started working with the people I admire".[9]

In 2023, after the released of the album's third single "Obstáculo", Tainy announced the release date for the album.[10] On 16 June 2023, he shared the tracklist via his Instagram. The post showed a tracklist composed of twenty songs including "Colmillo", featuring Colombian singer J Balvin, Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko and Puerto Rican duo Jowell & Randy, as the tenth track.[11] "Colmillo" was ultimately discarded from the album, lowering the final number of tracks to nineteen.[12]

Singers Myke Towers (left), Rauw Alejandro (center) and Arcángel (right) appear in multiple songs in the album.

The album is composed of nineteen tracks, each featuring at least one artist. Some singers make multiple appearances in the album such as Myke Towers ("Obstáculo" and "Pasiempre"), Rauw Alejandro ("Volver" and "Sci-Fi"), Sech ("11 y Once" and "La Baby"), Jhayco ("Pasiempre" and "Fantasma | AVC"), Arcángel ("Pasiempre" and "Me Jodí...") and Bad Bunny ("Mojabi Ghost", "Lo Siento BB:/" and "Pasiempre", the latter uncredited). About the collaborations, Tainy said "I wanted to pay homage to some of the first artists who gave me a chance", referring to the artists with whom he worked at the beginning of his career.[8]

Data deals with themes of success, struggle and technology. "Pasiempre" features lines about success within the music industry as well as having a lasting career as an artist. In the song, Arcángel raps the line: "Because I'm not an artist of the moment, I'm an artist forever".[13] In the same song, Bad Bunny, who makes an uncredited appearance, references Tainy's career mentioning his influence in reggaeton music while also giving a shout-out to Nely el Arma Secreta and Luny Tunes, producers that helped bring Tainy into the industry.[4][14] Similarly, in the opening track "Obstáculo", Myke Towers raps about the struggles in life and the obstacles he had to overcome throughout his career.[10][4] In the closing track "Sacrificio", which has been called the "most personal song in the album", rapper Xantos talks about the sacrifices one has to do to succeed.[13][4] Technology makes appearances throughout the album specifically in relation to human connections. In "Fantasma | AVC", Jhayco raps about "getting ghosted in a relationship in which you'd like to go further", while in "En Visto", which can be translated to "On Read", Ozuna sings about the feeling of missing someone and wanting to reconnect with them.[15]

Mainly a reggaeton album, Data explores various genres and musical influences. "Pasiempre", blends hip hop with experimental and electronic sounds towards the end,[16] "Todavía", a minimalistic "classic reggaeton song"[7][4] and "En Visto", described as "one of the more reggaeton sounding songs of the album".[4] Poppier sounds appear in "Mojabi Ghost", which mixes reggaeton and electro-pop with 80s new wave influences[15][4] and "Paranormal", a mix of electro-pop and "spacey effects".[4] More electronic songs are "Fantasma | AVC", which contains drum and bass elements[16] and "Volver", which features an EDM beat.[8] Finally, urban influences appear in the R&B-infused "Si Preguntas por Mí"[16] and "Sci-Fi", a fusion of pop, space electronic, and Spanish R&B.[4]

The album also features more slower and atmospheric songs such as "11 y Once", a "heartfelt slow perreo"[4] that features electric guitars and puts enphasis on Sech's voice while also using robotic effects to represent the fusion between technology and human emotions,[16][15] "mañana", a pop ballad with trap influences,[16] "Me Jodí...", an old school hip-hop song that features "smooth synths and spacey oriental inspired strings"[4] and the stripped "Sacrificio", whose instrumental feature violins and a classical piano.[4]

The album explores the themes of human connections and technology, its name comes from the idea of music and songs as informacion that we receive, "data" that shapes the way we are. In response to that, Tainy envisioned the album as a film about a cyborg named Sena who comes to life through songs.[8][17] Continuing the idea, Tainy has said that the album "serves as a series of uploads that ultimately bring a cyborg named Sena to life".[18] The cover art features Sena, a pink haired android that seems to have come to life, it was designed Stillz, Elliot Muscat and Hiromasa Ogura, the latter was the art director of Mamoru Oshii's 1995 animated film Ghost in the Shell. Sena also appears in the music video of "Lo Siento BB:/" as well as in the cover art for the single.[17][7]

Upon release, the album received positive reviews from critics. Writing for Rolling Stone, Julyssa Lopez gave the album four out of five stars commenting that the album "feels like downloading the deepest contents of the super-producer's brain and seeing his creative process directly in front of you", she complimented the concept and collaborations writing that the tracks are "crystalline creations — some club-ready, others full of intrigue and nostalgia — that push a roster of star artists far outside their comfort zone".[33] The Fame Magazine called the album "a tour-de-force that reflects Tainy's deep influence in the music industry"[34] while Billboard described it as a "layered, sophisticated set that yields surprising sounds".[13] Mirangie Alayon from Mor.bo rated the album an 8.3 out of 10, writing that "Although Data would have benefited from a more severe cut to their set list, there's no denying that this album brilliantly reflects Tainy's talents as a producer".[16]

At the 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, the lead single "Lo Siento BB:/" was nominated for Best Urban Song and won Best Reggaeton Performance.[35] It was Tainy's fifth Latin Grammy win as well as his first as a performing artist after winning as a producer and songwriter for albums by Bad Bunny and J Balvin.[36]

In the United States, the album debuted at numbers 35 and 19 at the Top Latin Albums and Latin Rhythm Albums charts, respectively. The following week, the album peaked at number 2 at the Top Latin Albums chart and topped the Latin Rhythm Albums chart being his second number-one album in the latter chart after Mas Flow: Los Benjamins in 2006.[37] The same week, the album debuted at number 11 at the all-genre Billboard 200 chart with 31,000 units sold, being his highest appearance in the chart.[38][37]