Introducing reggaeton’s secret star…Deevani — otherwise known as record label CEO A. Ines Rooney

“Last summer, Daddy Yankee’s ”Mirame” tossed a new ingredient into reggaeton’s sonic melting pot: a delicate Hindi-language hook, sung by someone called Deevani. ”Mirame” reached No. 5 on Billboard’s Latin Tropical Airplay chart. But just whose pitch-perfect Bollywood falsetto was that? Googling ”Deevani” turned up dead ends. In fact, it was a pseudonym chosen by a shy member of reggaeton’s royalty: A. Ines Rooney, the multilingual CEO of influential label Mas Flow. Rooney, who was born in the Dominican Republic but currently splits her time between Puerto Rico and New Jersey, helped her little brother’s duo, Luny Tunes, become the superproducers behind ”Gasolina” and countless other smashes. But years earlier, she became fascinated by her first husband’s traditional Bengali heritage. Now, with her voice guesting on another radio hit, Deevani has publicly identified herself for the first time. She sat down with EW.com in New York to talk about her cross-cultural perspective, her upcoming solo debut, and whether she’ll ever be totally ready for her close-up.”

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