Meet Now the New Puerto Rican Rising Star RaiNao
RaiNao has started a revolution in the male-dominated genre of urbano music — not just with her mix of genres, but with her loudly queer lyrics and unapologetic presence.”
– Rolling Stone
“She has managed to strike a delicate balance between familiarity and innovation, keeping her audience engaged and eagerly anticipating her next move.”
– Remezcla
Puerto Rican artist, RaiNao, is a confident femme fatale at the forefront of Latin alternative urban music. The singer-songwriter jump started her career in 2020, while studying theater at the University of Puerto Rico. She released the trap song, “Track1,” and after a few more singles, she began to feel more comfortable experimenting with her sound and songwriting. The jazz, trap, and rock fusion, “Me Fui” was her turning point in 2021, and it set the stage for future projects.
In 2022, RaiNao released her debut EP, ahora A.K.A. Nao. The 8 track project marked a significant leap in production and sonic ingenuity for her, and each song included a video or visualizer. The visuals garnered local and international recognition, with “Un Amarre” featuring Villano Antillano, winning “Best Music Video” at the Puerto Rico Local Film Festival and “Plug,” making history as the first reggaeton performance to win at the Berlin Music Video Awards for “Best Song” as well as receiving a nomination for “Best Music Video” at the Paris Art & Movie Awards.
After ahora A.K.A. Nao, RaiNao’s success continued to climb. Last year, the artist composed “Nos Escapamos,” a song for the blockbuster movie “Blue Beetle” and began teasing her new album, CAPICÚ. The project came out in February of this year and included 16 tracks with the standout song, “roadhead” featuring Tainy, a sensuous reggaeton joint with a video to match. RaiNao’s experimentation in genres is in full force on this album, and as Rolling Stone wrote, “moving across hyperpop, reggaeton, R&B, drum-and-bass, dancehall, and salsa, Capicú sounds like nothing else out right now.” Recently, RaiNao was part of history, with a live debut of some Capicú tracks at the first concert ever held at the iconic Louvre Museum in Paris, along with Post Malone and Ayra Starr in partnership with Visa Live.
RaiNao’s unapologetic attitude and fearless style have led her to collaborations with artists like Alvaro Diaz, Mora, and Gyanma among others, and she was even invited to sing her song, “LUV,” at one of the Puerto Rico shows on Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti Tour. Coming up, RaiNao will be performing a sold-out show at the Cuartel de Ballajá in Puerto Rico on June 22nd. She is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with in the world of music and continues living in the moment because as she likes to put it, “there is no right time, there is RaiNao.”
