Maffio

Maffio is an award-winning record producer, multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, and creator of the merengue electronico subgenre in Latin pop. He has won a total of seven Grammys and/or Latin Grammys and netted a dozen gold- and platinum-selling records. He has production credits for tracks by Olga Tañón, Elvis Crespo, and Pitbull. In 2010 he founded the Miami-based recording and producing ReHab Studio. Between 2012 and 2014 he issued his own charting singles including "No Te Dejaré de Amar," "No Tengo Dinero," and "Quiero Otro Amor." He collaborated on hit recordings such as Fonseca's "Eres Mi Sueño" and Fuego's "Mambo Para Bailar." In 2015, Mayor Tomás Pedro Regalado honored Maffio with the key to the city of Miami. In 2019 the producer signed a recording contract with Sony. He released the hit video singles for "Cristina" in collaboration with Justin Quiles, Nacho, and Shelow Shaq, that garnered more than 126 million views. Two months later, "Celebration" (with Farruko, Akon, and Ky-Mani Marley) also charted. Maffio's birth name is Carlos Ariel Peralta. He was born in 1986 in a poor neighborhood in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. His stage name is the result of a humorous nickname given to him by his father and based on the child's love of gangster films. His musical education began in early childhood: At age six he gave his first piano recital in a program of Beethoven and Bach. When his parents separated, he moved to East New York in Brooklyn and lived with his father. Though the U.S was his primary residence, he moved back and forth between parents and soaked up as much music from both countries as he could, playing not only piano but also bass, guitar, and drums. He studied rhythms from bossa nova to cumbia, from merengue to duranguense, and was influenced by electronic music including techno, house, and reggaeton. No stranger to manual labor, in high school he worked as an assistant mechanic, janitor, and warehouse stockperson, all the while saving his money. His first major investment was a computer. He began creating beats and melodies with his piano, bass, and various percussion instruments, multi-tracking them and posting them on MySpace, and later on Facebook. There, he gained enough recognition to get the attention of Manuel Alejandro "Boy Wonder" Ruiz. At 20 he got his first major break and produced "Mi Alma Se Muere" for Fuego, Pitbull, and Omega. The single reached the Top 20 on Billboard's Latin Tropical Airplay chart. He was off to the races. He collaborated with and produced recordings by Arianna Puello, Reychesta, Coro, L.D.A., Maroon 5, Kinito Méndez, Papi Sanchez, Juliana, Dombi, Joa, and many others. He was hired by major and independent labels alike. Maffio has also produced shows for various stations including El Vacilón de la Mañana (Mega 97.9, New York City), The Luis Jimenez Show and El Show de Enrique y Joe (La Kalle 105.9, Univision Radio Nationwide), and La Juyilanga (Power 103, Santo Domingo). In 2011, he signed to Warner Music Latina and in January of 2012 issued his debut single as a recording artist, "No Tengo Dinero," which spent eight weeks on the Hot Latin Songs chart. He followed it with "Mi Sonido" in May. That year he also won a Latin Grammy for his work with Fuego on La Music del Futuro. In 2013, Maffio composed, arranged, played on, and produced albums by Toby Love (Amor Total), Frankie J (Faith, Hope y Amor), Gabriel Coronel (Desnudo), and Henry Santos (My Way). He released the charting single "Quiero Otro Amor" late in 2014. Maffio spent the next several years producing charting albums and singles by others: 2015 alone netted "Tú Me Quemas" by Chino y Nacho, Fuego's "Mambo Para Bailar," Farruko's smash "Chillax," and "Bajito" by Jencarlos Canela; he produced two more charting singles for Canela the following year, "Pa Que Me Invitan" and "Baby." Maffio also made his mark as a songwriter in 2016, penning the chart hits "Vuelve" and "Si No Te Quisiera." In 2017 he wrote and produced Nicky Jam's "Without You." Two years later, Maffio was in constant demand as a producer. He helmed no less than ten singles, the majority for Akon, including "Bailame Lento," (feat. Becky G), "Te Quiero Amar" (feat. Pitbull), and "Boom Boom" (feat. Anitta). He also wrote, produced, and recorded his own smash "Cristina" in collaboration with Nacho and Justin Quiles, that featured a guest spot by Shelow Shaq; its video netted over 126 million views. At year's end, Maffio signed an artist deal with Sony Music Entertainment. He kicked off 2020 with "Mente a Na" (feat. Tito El Bambino, Kiko el Crazy, and Nacho & Quimico UltraMega), "Carne" (feat. Don Miguelo), and "Pam," with Quiles, Daddy Yankee, and El Alfa. On November 6, Maffio released his star-studded debut long-player Tumba Gobierno, which featured a wide range of collaborators including Rafa Pabon, Nestor Torres, Dalex, and Lo Blanquito. The single "Uchi Walla" (feat. Akon and Nicky Jam) entered the streaming charts inside the Top Five, while an album documentary video followed on November 13 and netted some three million views during its first three days. ~ Thom Jurek