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Peso Pluma woke up one morning in April, still a little sleepy, and learned that “Ella Baila Sola” — the lovey-dovey sierreño collaboration he’d dropped with the Northern California band Eslabon Armado — was the biggest song in the world. The track shot up to the top of Spotify’s Global 100, making him the first música Mexicana artist to chart that high. And then, just a few weeks later, he did it again, teaming up with the viral Argentine hitmaker Bizarrap for a freestyle that garnered 52 million views on YouTube in five days, and topped the same Spotify chart — proving that “Ella Baila Sola” was no fluke. “These accomplishments mean so much to me,” he says. “It shows I’m an artist to pay attention to, and I’m so proud that I can wave the Mexican flag up high.”
Pluma, whose real name is Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija, is only 23. He was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and moved to San Antonio; eventually he started writing songs. “My background hasinfluenced my music so much — it’s where I get my mix of sounds,” he says. His voice, known for its distinct rasp, led to a few early projects that turned heads with controversial lyrics in the narco-corrido tradition. “My passion has always been music. I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know what. I just knew I wanted to dedicate myself to working in the industry.”
His name references his small, feather-light stature, and his mullet has become his signature; it’s all part of a unique style that keeps attracting fans and other artists. “The kid is doing his thing, and I think he comes across genuine in everything he does,” says Bad Bunny, who has been a fan of Peso Pluma for a while and finally met him at Coachella in April. “He’s genuine in the way he talks, the way he does his music, the way he does his shows.”
This year, nine of Peso Pluma’s songs, including major collaborations with Becky G, Natanael Cano, and Fuerza Regida, leaped onto the Hot 100, confirming that “it” factor Bad Bunny saw all along. “Boom! In a moment, he blew up,” the superstar says. “When that happens, you’re like, ‘I told you he was coming hard!’”
After a packed year that included launching his own music label, Double P Records, a venture with his current label head George Prajin, he spent a lot of 2023 working on a new album called Génesis. The 14-track LP is a star-studded affair, packed with collaborations with Natanael Cano, Luis R Conriquez, and even Eladio Carrion. To Peso Pluma, what’s important is staying true to himself, something he thinks has made música Mexicana such a powerful movement: “I think it’s the music’s authenticity, the originality of it, that has taken us as far it has.”
