natanael cano and corridos tumbados

natanael cano is a 19-year-old kid who totally revitalized regional mexican music as a commercial force by merging traditional sounds with hip-hop elements, a style he calls corridos tumbados (trap corridos). reminds me a bit of rosalia's flamenco pop in concept (obv not in the way it sounds). it's a pretty thrilling combo, tho since these songs are story-driven corridos, i'm sure i'm missing a lot about what makes it special as a non-spanish speaker. it helps that nata has a spectacular voice and great taste in guitar licks.

inspired to post the thread by this article about the corrido revival in the l.a. times: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-05-20/rancho-humilde-natanael-cano-trap-corridos-regional-mexican?fbclid=IwAR0JF_0umqOJCu6i6uZo0cgOFWMqKy4-6PcGuBhaF4pIvHB_7K-JNYgcgs8

this was the breakout hit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh9ymx2bPjA

the bad bunny remix that helped him reach a bigger audience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-njVpIGri3M

his songs on his 2020 EP 'trap tumbado' bring in elements of trap music. this is the one that is the least subtle combo of sounds. it's silly, but it kinda works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP5chza_C60

this one is a more seamless blend, and it's prob my fav song of his
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt2ciMcWsMs

Nice. Cano sometimes sounds like he’s got that same relaxed flow as Bad Bunny. No wonder Bunny is on a remix.

cano dropped his second album of 2021 on 5/28 (dude dropped 4 albums in 2020, he's on a tear) and the opening track "diamantes" is just a wild combination of sounds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d0XDzI07UI

really digging the new song. a new album that looks like it will lean more tumbado than corrido is coming next week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcoBAg_J3Y0

whoa i love that

yeah, this is one of my fav things he's done

speaking of corridos, not necessarily tumbados, but this ballad from regional mexican group yahritza y su esencia debuted at #20 on the hot 100 last week after a tiktok-fueled rise. beautiful song, imo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdFBxerg7jc

checked out the nata album (natakong), and unsurprisingly like the corridos a bit more than the trap songs. the "de a de veras" is still the storngest combo of the two, but i really like some of the ones on the back end, like the below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYJrwPtUUbQ

stumbled upon grupo diez 4tro recently, love the guy's voice, and the guitarist can fuckin shred!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AjAj6uVoNE

remezcla list of corridos is fascinating: https://remezcla.com/lists/music/10-best-corridos-regional-songs-of-2022/

they're getting much more heart-throbby and teen-friendly (helps that most of the people making this music are young as hell!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMFtZRI7DBk

that could also be what remezcal elects to cover no?

for sure. this list in particular seems like it's skimming from some of the most popular regional mexican songs of the year, and it would make sense that the kinds of corridos to find wider audiences are ones that borrow elements from other genres.

though the (excellent) yahritza song is fully acoustic

that junior h album is really nice

(Mainly acoustic, no trap)

mexican rapper/singer peso pluma has 5 songs in the billboard hot 100 right now, including "prc" with nata and "ella baila solo," which is all the way up to #17, passing "soy el unico" as the top charting regional mexican song of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Ku8pTWh5k

kind of wild how fast the style is rising. as of jan 4 (according to this billboard article) there had been 7 regional mexican songs to chart in the hot 100 ever. there are 9 regional songs on the hot 100 just this week

Regional Mexican has been around for awhile, interesting it's now getting its crossover to a larger market

There's a Rolling Banda ,regional Mexican thread also

OK, I'LL start it: Rolling Banda/Duranguense/Narcocorrido/Flashy Matching Suits Regional Mexican Thread

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-05-22/peso-pluma-regional-mexican-ella-baila-sola

Peso Pluma has a big US tour coming, has been on Fallon, and doesn't want to talk about narco-corridos

some amazing acoustic shredding on the peso pluma album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYH8xb4RS18

i like his single with bizarrap but haven’t checked out the album yet

pareles also published a piece this weekend on this subject

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/arts/music/peso-pluma-regional-mexican-music.html

my fav one by him is technically a junior h song, i think. but anyway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KMx5LJniPM

those three reunite on "lady gaga" from peso's album. don't think it hits quite as hard, but still good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS1QNWcs63E

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/how-regional-mexican-music-became-the-years-most-refreshing-pop-breakthrough/

These demographic changes are one ingredient in a much more complex recipe that has led to regional Mexican’s recent command of the pop charts. It helps that many corrido tumbado (also known as corrido bélico or trap corrido) artists have traded cowboy boots for Patek Philippe watches and limited-edition Nikes, updating the genre’s aesthetics for the present moment. And the usual suspects, like the decline of terrestrial radio and the transformative role that streaming platforms have played in the production and consumption of music over the last decade, have also been catalysts for its ascent. But like generations past, there’s still plenty of self-mythologizing—as well as the periodic lionization of a cartel leader

been enjoying the withdrawn, moody sadboi vibes of ivan cornejo's "aquí te espero" recently

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq1SEhtigKY

enjoyed reading that piece also

Yes to Cornejo's sadboi indie meets regional Mexican.

This Billboard piece about him spells out his sound --Born and raised in Riverside, Calif., Cornejo didn’t grow up listening to regional Mexican music. “To be honest, I didn’t listen to regional Mexican until like three years ago when my friends introduced me to T3R Elemento and Grupo Los De La O. That’s when I fell in love with the genre. But I grew up listening to whatever my family listened to. Kudos to them for molding my style,” he says. “My brother would listen to alt-rock like Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, and my parents listened to Café Tacvba. Very on the alternative side.”

Which is why, if you listen closely to his songs — all penned by him — there’s a hint of rock in his guitar solos. “I for sure want to keep that same style, very indie,

https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/ivan-cornejo-interview-latin-artist-on-the-rise-9658720/

Peso Pluma is at a huge outdoor venue in Virginia but don't think I can make it out there

xp he seems like he approaches his music pretty thoughtfully, will be interested to see how his album turns out

enjoying the junior h album that came out a month ago or so. plenty of corridos tumbados, but also stuff like this, which is basically a 90s adult contempo radio jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGSVtxsnzhg

yep

Over in rolling Afro Latin and more thread there are links to articles condemning Grammys for snubbing regional Mexican artists

do not care about the grammys, but peso pluma not getting a best new artist nom is insane

Yep. Peso Pluma & Eslabon performance on Latin Grammys last night was good

https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-peso-pluma-and-eslabon-armado-perform-ella-baila-sola-at-2023-latin-grammys/

Peso Pluma summer US tour arena dates on sale I see. But not sure I want to pay $60 for nosebleed seats

Caramanica in NY Times is excited about Eden Munoz and Fuerza Regida effort "Money Edition"