What is it about Peso Pluma?
What is it about Mexican singer Peso Pluma? His most recent album, Dinastía, a collaboration with his cousin and long-term writing partner, Tito Double P, debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 in early January, and his earlier album “Éxodo,” reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Top Latin Albums in mid‑2024. Dinastía, also debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums charts. He was also YouTube’s most viewed artist in the country in 2023. A lot of people like him.
Peso Pluma (Emilio Kabande Laija, 15 June 1999) has a core audience in the US skews young, Latino, and heavily digital, with Gen Z listeners at the center of his streaming reach – no surprise there. At the same time, his blend of corridos with trap and urbano has attracted a crossover audience of non‑Latino and non‑Spanish‑speaking Gen Z listeners who engage via TikTok, YouTube, and streaming playlists rather than traditional Latin radio.
But why? Why do all kinds of people love him so much?
Peso Pluma’s popularity in the US starts with timing: he emerged just as Latin music became the fastest‑growing genre on American streaming platforms and regional Mexican (música mexicana) was turned into the leading Latin subgenre by on‑demand streams (you could also say he helped drive this movement). So he became the face of a broader Mexican music boom, with platforms positioning him on flagship playlists and charts. And he’s benefited from an audience that’s increasingly open to Spanish‑language music and Mexican cultural expressions in mainstream spaces. Remember the Super Bowl halftime?
But he also hit timing gold by modernizing corridos and other regional styles. He weaves trap, hip‑hop, and urbano together in Dinastía, which makes his sound feel both rooted and contemporary to US listeners. His Gen Z songs combine sierreño guitars, accordions, and traditional storytelling with hooky melodies and rhythmic patterns familiar to fans of global pop and rap, lowering the barrier for non‑Mexican audiences. This blend of corridos with trap and urbano has attracted a crossover audience of non‑Latino and non‑Spanish‑speaking Gen Z listeners who engage via TikTok, YouTube, and streaming playlists rather than traditional Latin radio.
In other words, Peso Puma us everywhere.
And then there is his voice. He sounds like Elmer Fudd with a sore throat. He is naturally raspy and hoarse, with a nasal edge that cuts through the mix and makes him instantly recognizable. It’s not a big, virtuosic singer’s instrument; instead, it’s a rough‑grained, slightly strained tone that sits on top of sierreño guitars and trap‑leaning beats like a storyteller talking more than belting. It is a character in itself. You know it’s him when you hear a few words of any Peso Pluma song.
I think the most important reason for his astonishing popularity is that for Latin fans in the US, his success symbolizes a moment where Mexican identity and música mexicana are not just present but leading on global stages, which deepens loyalty and word‑of‑mouth beyond traditional Latin radio or niche regional markets.
As you listen to the album, you realize that it is built for “playlist‑style” listening: 15 concise tracks with multiple potential singles, which helped 14 songs enter the Hot Latin Songs chart in the same frame, while the intro cut also climbed, effectively turning the album drop into a flood of chart activity. He is not only good, he’s smart – a necessity in today’s fragmented digital musical market. And you can dance to it. What’s not to like?
In the end, the answer to what it is about Peso Pluma”?” is that he sounds like Mexico today – a mixture of tradition and cutting edge has plugged him directly into the global algorithm. He’s a savvy digital strategist and a chart‑topping workhorse, but he’s also a raspy voice carrying corridos, trap, and música mexicana into spaces where they were never supposed to belong—and making those spaces move. And the Americas love him for it.
Banner: Peso Pluma onstage. Credit: instagrm-pesoplumaposting/glassprojections
Patrick O’Heffernan
