Who is Peso Pluma, the Latin pop sensation who performed with Anitta on ‘Bellakeo’

At 24 years old, singer Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija, known as Peso Pluma, is at the top of the list of most listened to artists in Mexico on Spotify.

“Doble P.”, as he is nicknamed, released his third studio album in 2023, “Génesis”, which also reached the position of the most listened to album on the platform in his country last year. His most listened to song, the single “Ella Baila Sola”, in partnership with the band Eslabon Armado, has already surpassed one billion reproductions.

In other songs, such as “Bellakeo”, his feat with Anitta, he goes in the direction of current pop, mixing reggaeton beats, R&B and ostentatious and flirtatious lyrics. A performance by the duo in “Bellakeo”, in December 2023, got everyone talking on the internet. The Mexican would have had no reaction to the Brazilian’s rebellious sensuality.

What sets Peso Pluma apart from other names in Latin pop is the appreciation of the regional sound: the presence of brass, accordion and the guitar rhythms of the so-called corridos and mariachis, traditional Mexican genres, are present in almost the entire album “Génesis”.

In a recent interview with Variety magazine, Peso Pluma defines his musical genre as “corrido tumbado” (tunado): a mix of traditional Mexican rhythm with trap, reggaeton and hip hop. “I realized that I was born to sing corridos because that’s what I heard my whole life in my house, in my family. My voice shines differently in corridos than in other genres,” said the singer.

In addition to Anitta, there is a long list of Latin pop divas who have sung alongside Peso Pluma: Kali Uchis, Becky G. and Karol G. are among the singer’s musical partnerships, who was the most viewed artist on YouTube in 2023 in the United States, surpassing Bad Bunny, until then the most celebrated Latin artist worldwide, and even Taylor Swift.

DATING WITH ARGENTINA AND PROBLEMS WITH THE CARTEL

In November last year, Peso Pluma began his relationship with Argentine singer Nicki Nicole, 23. The two formed a musical partnership on the track “Por las Noches” and have already shared the stage a few times. On social media, the couple is ostentatious, showing off dinners, nights out, cars, gifts, jewelry and designer looks.

Peso Pluma was born in Zapopan, in the metropolitan region of Guadalajara. Before bursting onto the international scene, he inspired his lyrics in the day-to-day life of crime and drug trafficking, as do some Brazilian funk and rap artists around the world. This resulted in him being banned from performing in Tijuana by the local cartel, as the singer praises in his songs the rival organization, the Sinaloa cartel, his mother’s homeland.

Currently, Peso Pluma has 57.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify — for comparison purposes, Anitta has 38.7 million. Now that he has achieved international fame, the lyrics extolling crime have gradually been replaced by songs about love, nights out and hooking up.