The Cuban composer Lenier Mesa amazed his followers with a revelation that combines pride, nostalgia, and a nickname that anyone would want to have: Daddy Yankee called him "the pencil of Cuba" during a recording session that, although it was never released, remains etched in his memory.
Lenier shared a black and white video on Instagram alongside the "Big Boss" of reggaeton, the Colombian Beéle, Randy from Jowell & Randy, and the Puerto Rican Justin Quiles, all posing on an elevated platform with an urban aesthetic during the filming of a music video that never saw the light of day.
"When Daddy Yankee tells you that you are the pencil of Cuba, anyone would believe it," Lenier wrote with his usual sense of humor, accompanying the phrase with the Cuban flag. "This track never got released, but for me, it was an honor to work with this legend and my buddies," he added.
The session would have taken place around June 2023, when Lenier announced that he was working on a collaboration with the Puerto Rican reggaeton artist along with that same group of artists.
The project was put on hold, and months later Daddy Yankee officially retired from music in December 2023 with his final concert in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after more than thirty years in his career.
The nickname suits Lenier perfectly, who has established himself as one of the most sought-after Cuban composers in Latin music, with credits for Marc Anthony, Olga Tañón, Grupo Firme, Pitbull, and Tekashi 6ix9ine, among others.
Originally from Güines, Mayabeque, Lenier arrived in Miami with nothing: he worked as a barber and even ended up sleeping in his car before making his way in the industry.
His talent as a composer earned him two Latin Grammys in 2022, for "Mala" and the album "Pa'llá Voy" by Marc Anthony, and this year he celebrated that "Que me quiera ma'", a song he wrote for Marc Anthony and Wisin, won the Premio Lo Nuestro award for Best Mix of the Year.
The release arrived almost three years after that session, giving it a bittersweet feeling: a collaboration with the Puerto Rican reggaeton artist alongside that same group of urban genre figures that the public never got to hear.
The comments from his followers quickly arrived, with many asking for the song to be released at once, although Daddy Yankee, who unexpectedly returned in July 2025 with the Christian song "Sonríele" under the stage name DY, seems to have left that stage of his career behind.
Filed under: