Anthony Calo Cotto, artistically known as Nales, was born and raised in Virginia, U.S., before moving to Puerto Rico when he was 15 years old. He is part of the reggaeton producing duo Doble A & Nales, both from the Mas Flow production team, form the producing duo Los Presidentes.

The nickname Nales is derived from the word knowledge. People in Puerto Rico have problems pronouncing the word ‘knowledge,’ so he found a way to spell it so that they can easily enunciate it when it’s read. Tito “El Bambino” pronounced it a certain way on “Caile” and that is the way it has stayed.

He was about 12 years old and Nales used to rap and write lyrics. He didn’t really like the quality of beats he used to buy at a barbershop, and that is when he started getting interested in producing himself. He bought a keyboard and he just started to learn how to play it. He was in a band class and he played the trumpet so he was very familiar with music and how it’s read and composed, and went from there. Nales was raised listening to Hip-Hop, Salsa and Merengue, so he gets his inspiration from different kinds of music.

When he was 15 years old, his father brought him to Puerto Rico and like any parent, he wanted Nales to continue with school. However, he found another path. At first he missed Virginia so much, that one time he ran away from home and headed back to Virginia. He wanted to see if he could collaborate with someone over there. Now at the age of 19 he is content with his life in Puerto Rico and gets his education at the Mas Flow Studios.

Nales’s connection with Luny Tunes is a whole different story. He used to work with another producer, and he told him he knew Luny and Tunes from way back. He wanted to present him as a singer, not as a producer. So the first time Nales met Luny he sang three songs as part of the auditioning process. Luny told him to come back the next day to sign a contract. The next day Nales came back with a CD with some of his beats on it. Luny was surprised to find a guy who could both sing and produce too. That day Nales presented Luny with beats from both himself and beats produced by him and his partner at the time. Nales was convinced that the beats he made with his partner were much better than the ones he did alone. But looking back, Nales now realizes he produced better quality material on his own; all he needed was someone to confirm his talent, and Luny gave him that validation. When Nales first had the chance to sign with Mas Flow, he was 18, and the age to sign that particular contract was 21. Nales‘ father refused to sign the contract with him because he felt Nales was too young. But eventually Luny provided Nales with a new contract, and the rest is history. Nales has stated that he would love to work with artists like Usher and Timbaland. He’s more interested in working on the producing side of things. Nales has already worked with Wisin & Yandel and produced Mayor Que Yo Part 2 alongside Luny Tunes. He has also worked with Don Omar, Bimbo and Eliel. More recently, he was a major part of the producing effort for Luny Tunes & Tainy’s album Mas Flow: Los Benjamins, being a co-producer of the first single “Noche de Entierro (Nuestro Amor)” His accomplishments in such a short time in the reggaeton scene just fuel his aspirations for the future.