When Peso Pluma introduced his album Éxodo in his historic Rolling Stone cowl story earlier this 12 months, he promised to disclose a “darker facet” of himself and discover part of his artistry he hadn’t touched on his wonderful 2023 breakthrough, Génesis. “There’s going to be plenty of issues about why we do what we do,” he stated coyly about his new music. On Éxodo, Peso delivers a stable album and customarily stays true to his phrase, however he struggles to push himself out of his consolation zone on the album’s corridos. He divides the album into two components: the 16-track música mexicana Disc One, and an eight-track second disc, the place he branches out into a variety of genres, from rap to reggaeton.
On Disc One, Peso sticks with what he is aware of greatest: bar-filled corridos filled with requintos, tubas, and trombones, and the raspy vocals he made well-known on Génesis. He additionally packs the document with collabs with mexicana heavyweights: Luis R Conriquez, Junior H, and Óscar Maydon be part of him on tracks like “Santal 33” and “La Durango,” and he shines on songs like “Sr. Smith” and “La Patrulla,” delivering the narco tales he is aware of tips on how to inform properly.
It takes 9 tracks, till “Bruce Wayne,” to listen to Peso with out options. The observe shines as a standout on the album, transitioning into the second half of Éxodo’s first disc, the place he lastly opens up and dabbles, albeit briefly, with new sonics. The Batman-referencing music opens with a left-field piano, and sees Peso change up his vocal method, providing a Conriquez-style rapid-fire lyric drop and lengthy emotional notes. “Folks past love you, after which they hate and hope the worst for you, even dying,” he sings about grappling with fame: “Staying alive could be my punishment.”
Fame can also be a theme on “Hollywood,” this time contrasted with lyrics about being whipped as a baby. After which comes “Reloj,” with Iván Cornejo, which strays from the “culitos Kardashians” and Rolls Royces he sings about on different tracks, as he lastly dives deep on the “inexplicable ache” he felt after a breakup (presumably his headline-making cut up with Nicki Nicole), and convinces himself he’s going to be effective. Right here’s the place Peso’s artistry sparkles. The observe is laced with the identical unrestrained vulnerability that made Génesis’ “Lagunas” a fan favourite.
After “ICE,” which begins with a distracting Ric Aptitude speech and “Solicitado,” one other album standout, we get “Vino Tinto.” The observe is bookended by torpedoing sonics that recall to mind the Weeknd’s Daybreak FM, and it appears to recommend the potential for a foray into EDM-corridos. However it solely serves as a transition into one other music in Peso’s basic type, accompanied by Natanael Cano (“the king of corridos”) and Gabito Ballesteros. This type of mashup briefly guarantees a real celebration of the current and way forward for the style. It might’ve been good if he’d adopted by and fused the 2 impulses into one music. As an alternative, the tip consequence leaves a style of what may have been.
By the point Disc Two arrives, a style switch-up is greater than welcome. It looks like a deal with after getting by 16 tracks of more-or-less straight corridos and provides a touch at what Peso is able to attaining exterior of his foremost sound. He opens with an ode to straight hip-hop, making house for Wealthy the Child’s fiery rap type earlier than he is available in towards the tip of the observe together with his personal stream in Spanish. “Put Em within the Fridge” hears him rap in Spanish over a trumpet-backed beat earlier than Cardi B arrives with a shiny Spanglish verse harking back to the stream on her basic debut album. (Sadly, Peso’s stab at an English verse fails to persuade on this one.) “Mala” and “Tommy & Pamela” showcase the rising reggaeton Mexa scene and produce again the vocal type Peso launched together with his look on “La Bebé,” a 2023 observe with rising Mexican singer Yng Lvcas. “Mala” is a basic nightclub-ready perreo banger, whereas on “Tommy & Pamela,” Peso and Mexican pop star Kenia Os embrace the amor tóxico of Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson as they drop bars referencing the couple’s notorious intercourse tape. Reggaeton fits Peso properly.
Peso Pluma succeeded in serving to make música mexicana a world style. His influence on the tradition is simple. He’s sparked necessary conversations about narcoculture and has turn out to be a beacon for Mexican music at giant. On Éxodo, he reminds us of his expertise, and commendably shares the highlight with quite a few nice artists. However regardless of its epic size, the album largely presents a Peso Pluma we’ve already met, maybe with a bit extra expertise and angst, however nonetheless struggling to take the additional danger.
