The Peso Pluma phenomenon

Peso Pluma, or ‘featherweight’, is the stage name of Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija, and he's shaking up the Mexican music scene. Inspired by the traditional corridos tumbados, Peso Pluma’s lyrics take up the stories of legendary criminals and locate them in contemporary Mexican day-to-day life.

In the midst of violence and territorial disputes, however, he also makes music about love. For example in the song ‘Igual que un ángel’ - ‘Like an angel’ - which he wrote with Kali Uchis, the US R&B and soul singer.

“His songs voice the fears and worries of a frustrated generation”

Peso Pluma's impact goes far beyond the music itself. His songs voice the fears and worries of a frustrated generation that lacks future prospects and faces social injustice and a precarious economic reality. The lyrics openly critique rampant corruption, violence and discrimination. They appeal to a young audience that wants to understand and change the world.

Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija’s unusual corridos tumbados are a sensation in the Mexico’s music scene and a big hit internationally. Last year alone, the 25-year-old Mexican garnered more clicks on YouTube than any other musician; with 8.5 billion, he has even surpassed Taylor Swift and rapper Drake.

In 2023, he was nominated for several major music awards, including the Billboard Latin Music Award. Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija's reputation is largely due to how he quotes and builds on traditional Mexican genres.

His career kicked off in 2020, influenced by various musical styles such as norteño, banda and ranchero. In a very short time, he was able to establish himself as a permanent fixture in the corridos tumbados scene, a young offshoot of traditional Mexican corridos, ballads and romances.

He infuses he songs with elements of trap and reggaeton. With lyrics which portray the hard life in Mexican cities, drug trafficking and consumption, he has also reinterpreted the so-called narcocorridos - the traditional drug ballads.

“Young fans love Peso Pluma’s authentic performances”

His unusual musical fusion, combined with an urban aesthetic that occasionally thematises the consumption of psychoactive substances, made Peso Pluma stand out among the up-and-coming artists of his generation. Collaborations with well-known pop stars and rappers such as Anitta, Natanael Cano and Eladio Carriòn have also boosted his fame.

Young fans love Peso Pluma’s authentic performances and admire his loyalty to the cultural roots of his music, which he never denies. His sound is also going viral on TikTok.

“Peso Pluma is often criticised for his ambivalent or even positive depiction of drug barons”

But there are also critical reactions, not least to songs such as ‘El Belicón’ and ‘Siempre Pendientes’ which repeatedly deal with violence and crime. Opponents point out how he has spoken ambivalently or even positively about the world of drug barons. He is accused of glorifying criminals, particularly in his portrayal of Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, the former head of the Sinaloa cartel.

It is no secret that musicians from this particular scene are often directly or indirectly linked to gangster bosses and the drug cartels. Just think of the famous corrido singer Chalino Sánchez, who received a death threat and was shot dead after a concert in May 1992. Peso Pluma and other stars of the ‘Regional Mexicano’ [ the collective term for Mexican sub-genres of country music, editor’s note] also received death threats.

For example the “featherweight” had planned a gig in Tijuana in October 2023. But then massive threatening messages appeared on signs: ‘This goes out to you, Peso Pluma: If you don't cancel the concert on 14 October, this will be your last performance, you disrespectful loudmouth. If you perform there, we will beat your f***ing arse. MfG CJNG’. The initials ‘CJNG’ stand for the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, an ultraviolent youth gang from Jalisco - and a main rival of the Sinaloa cartel that Peso Pluma sings about.

However, the star has also been repeatedly called on by critics to cancel appearances on account of his controversial lyrics. For example, earlier this year he cancelled his participation in this year’s Festival de Viña del Mar in Chile.

Instead, he was triumphantly successful at Coachella, where he performed in honour of the most important stars of the ‘Regional Mexicano’. He received euphoric reviews, not only for his musical performance, but also for the impressive show and stage design, another indication of his creativity – and a carefully thought-out marketing strategy.

“The corridos bélicos are about war, they are songs of praise for violence, luxury, drugs and weapons, but they also tell of hope, honour, loyalty and love, of the fight against adversity”

In Mexico, which has one of the highest crime and murder rates in the world, people celebrate in the midst of struggle and violence; they sing lyrics like: ‘Traigo el cuernito y eso a ti te vuelve loca’ - ‘If I come with a gun, you’ll go crazy’. 

Narcocumbias, which are based on traditional cumbia rhythms, use drums and accordion to call on people to dance to warmongering lyrics: ‘Si algún día a mi me tumban, nomas recuerdan que me llevé cientos’ - ‘If I fall one day, remember that I took hundreds to the grave with me’.

The corridos bélicos are about war, they are songs of praise for violence, luxury, drugs and weapons, but they also tell of hope, honour, loyalty and love, of the fight against misfortune. They reflect today’s highly complex Mexican reality. Above all, however, they are a battle cry for us: for the people who want to move forward, who strive with all their might to leave the everyday horrors behind and survive.

As demanded by the Spanish journalist and feminist activist Itziar Ziga: A desperate world needs verse. The young singer-songwriter Chino Pacas, who, like Peso Pluma, draws on Mexican musical traditions, sings about living amid war, a precarious reality and everyday violence: “They said you couldn’t do it, but now they’re quiet.”
 
This too is a cry of hope! In Mexico, we are born as warriors and we die as warriors. This exactly sums up what Peso Pluma stands for.

Translated by Birgit Kirberg and Jess Smee