Peso Pluma‘s “Éxodo” double album — the follow-up to the Mexican singer and rapper’s chart-topping debut, “Génesis” — has a long and thoughtfully curated guestlist. The 24-song effort packs a loaded story with characters ranging from bubblegum pop artist Kenia Os, who switches into reggaeton for a song called “Tommy & Pamela,” along with rap champion Cardi B, Brazilian phenom Anitta, Migos rapper Quavo singing in Spanish — and plenty more.

When “Génesis,” with a title inspired by the first chapter of the Bible, was released in April 2023, the project propelled Peso’s career instantaneously. His name and guitar and bass-brimming sound became synonymous with the growing impact of new-age Mexican music in various parts of the world. Over a year later, Peso has amassed extraordinary acclaim — his debut LP won best regional Mexican album at the 2024 Grammys and was the highest-charting regional Mexican record ever (No. 3) on the Billboard 200 chart — that he’s looking to double with his latest effort. He’s also set out to build a bridge between the worlds of traditional corrido music and hip-hop.

“‘Génesis’ was the beginning of a new era in Mexican music. It was just a monster, a big monster that came onto the global charts and took over,” Peso told Variety in a video interview. “‘Génesis’ marked a before and after… I think ‘Éxodo’ is opening doors.”

“Éxodo” is split into two discs, with one side being all música Mexicana songs, and the other being comprised of urbano and hip-hop or trap beats. The album was preceded by a number of singles that culminated to his and Rich the Kid’s “Gimme A Second,” lining up with the announcement that “Éxodo” would include rap songs. Peso’s quick-witted Spanish rhymes are tight and breezy on “Gimme A Second.” He sounds glaringly confident across the album’s edgier moments, holding his own against Cardi’s speedy flow on the fiery “Put ‘Em In The Fridge.”

“[‘Put ‘Em in the Fridge’ with Cardi B] was shown to me by one of her producers,” he explained. “It’s the perfect mix of both our worlds and Cardi is just a lovely person who gave me that opportunity.” Peso also shows love to Anitta for their song “Bellakeo” — “It’s one of my favorite songs from the whole album,” he said, adding he “would put it in [the] Top three.”

The hot single peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and had has been spreading across social media apps ever since the pair performed it together for TikTok’s first music festival, and more recently, on the mainstage of Coachella for Peso’s eye-popping set. During the show, he premiered “La People II” and “Teka” with DJ Snake, while also paying tribute to the genre’s most influential acts, and acknowledging to corrido music’s controversial history.

As for the corridos on “Éxodo,” Peso recruited several acts from his own label, Doble P Records, as well as popular acts from the genre like Junior H, Natanael Cano, Ivan Cornejo, Luis R Conriquez and more. Signature instruments from the tololoche to an electric bass guitar make up the prickly and cyclical sounds that Peso said makes up his “trademark sound.” Though he acknowledges there may be bad intentions from copycats on songs like “Ice,” (“No matter what they copy, they’re never going to be Peso Pluma,” he said of the song’s ethos) Peso’s sentiment towards the new wave of young artists is more encouraging.

“We should be proud that up-and-coming artists are doing [the same style of music],” he added. “We are opening doors for Mexican music and upcoming artists to be more global.”

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