Álvaro Díaz on OMAKASE, Tainy & the Song He Finished for His Late Friend MC Milkman

Hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Puerto Rican rapper and composer Álvaro Díaz, fresh off the release of OMAKASE — his third album, a genre-defying concept record that debuted at number one globally on Spotify and is charting in 16 Latin American countries.   Álvaro traces it all back to being a 12-year-old kid who fell in love with Blink-182, lied to a school band about owning a bass, got fired once they found out, and eventually stumbled onto reggaetonforums.com — where the artist he'd been following turned out to be his own cousin and became his mentor to this day.   He breaks down the concept behind OMAKASE and how he built the album in four parts modeled after the stages of a kitchen: lo crudo, the seasoning, the fire, and the final plate. He also talks about his long creative partnership with Tainy, how he recorded with Latin Mafia in a restaurant in Mexico City instead of a studio, and why no one can agree on what genre he actually makes.   Then the conversation turns to loss. Álvaro opens up about "PNC," a song built around a beat his close friend and collaborator MC Milkman — who passed away in February — sent him from Japan with a simple message: do whatever you want with it. A few months after they finished the song together, Milkman was gone. OMAKASE debuted at number one on Spotify with a photo of the two of them.   Plus: his love for Studio Ghibli (introduced to him by Tainy), why he names songs after movie characters like Mia Wallace or Ramona Flowers and his upcoming tour.   Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro.   🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation. From the Los Angeles Times and Sonoro comes the De Los Podcast — a weekly conversation where music, pop culture and Latinidad collide. Hosted by De Los editors Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito, the show pulls back the curtain on the stories, people and cultural moments shaping the Latino experience in the U.S. and beyond. Every episode is a front-row seat to conversations with the artists, actors, filmmakers and thinkers who are moving the culture forward — not just talking about it. Guests include Leslie Grace, Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, Xolo Maridueña, Fabrizio Guido, producer and singer Empress Of, among others. Think of it as the cultural conversation that major American media rarely makes room for — a space where Latinos get to talk, unfiltered, about what they create and who they are. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. New episodes every week — available on YouTube and all major podcasts.