Bad Bunny fans were in for a real treat when earlier this month he announced a collaboration with his “compas” (friends) in Grupo Frontera. To everyone’s surprise, Bunny — who has been on a musical break — unleashed a romantic cumbia-norteño track called “un x100to,” co-produced by Edgar Barrera and MAG. The song, about having one percent charge on the phone and using it for an important call, debuts this week at No. 3 on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
But this isn’t the first time the Puerto Rican trap star dips his toes in the música Mexicana realm. In 2019, he teamed up with corrido tumbado pioneer Natanael Cano on “Soy El Diablo (Remix),” which incorporated hip-hop sensibility with rapping and chanting and narrating the story of a man who runs the streets.
In recent years, other urban and regional Mexican stars have tested out the game-changing trend. Rising act Peso Pluma, for example, has already released collaborations with Colombian rapper Blessd (“Las Morras”), reggaetón hitmaker Ovy on the Drums (“El Hechizo”), and even Argentine star Nicki Nicole (the remix of his “Por Las Noches”).
Farruko does not stay too far behind either. In 2020, he teamed up with T3R Elemento for the corrido sierreño track “Del Barrio a la Ciudad,” which was made possible thanks to DEL Records founder Angel del Villar, T3R Elemento’s label, and producer Alex Gárgola, who sent the song to Farruko.
Below, check out 16 urban and Regional Mexican collaborations, in alphabetical order of artist name.
In “Alguien Me Gusta,” Colombian reggaetón artist Andy Rivera teamed up with música popular singers Jessi Uribe and Jhonny Rivera to drop a norteño jam about a man who’d rather swallow his feelings than tell a girl he likes that he likes her. “I like someone, but I can’t tell her, because she already has her life and I can’t destroy it,” goes part of the lyrics.
Banda MS and Snoop Dogg dropped “Qué Maldición” in May of 2020, proving that regional Mexican and hip-hop make for a perfect union between two cultures. Proposed by Sergio Lizárraga, founder of Banda MS, the bilingual collaboration meshes banda and rap with chill rhythms. In “Que Maldición,” Snoop expresses his feelings in a web of Spanglish verses. The acts later recruited Becky G for the song’s remix.
Produced by Regida’s frontman Jesus Ortiz Paz, as well as by Jimmy Humilde and Edgar Barrera, “Te Quiero Besar” (I want to kiss you) is a melodious corrido backed by requintos, a tololoche and an accordion. The song details a conversation between two people who like each other, but have their differences. In the chorus, the two meet eye-to-eye and admit they want to kiss each other. Becky also teamed up with Chiquis for a new rendition of country classic “Jolene,” with Marca MP on “Ya Acabo (Remix)” and with Peso Pluma on “Chanel.”
A mariachi tune comes on and Gerardo Ortiz kicks off the song singing lyrics of heartbreak — then, plot twist, Gente de Zona’s Alexander takes over the track (which has now become a reggaetón-pop track), and it continues to go from mariachi to rhythmic for the duration of the song. It’s a real treat, and refreshing at the same time to see the artists step out of their comfort zone. “Otra Botella” marks the first collaboration between the Cuban duo and the regional Mexican singer.
In December 2021, Grupo Firme dropped their first collaborative effort with an urban artist, Maluma. “Cada Quien” is an unapologetic track where each artist chants about living life on their own terms and sends a message to all of those people who like to criticize and judge others: “To each his or her own!” The banda-norteño track earned Maluma a career first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Regional Mexican Airplay chart in Feb. 2022.
A very surprising collaboration, Bad Bunny teamed up with McAllen, Texas-based newcomers Grupo Frontera on “un x100to,” a romantic cumbia-norteño song laced with Bunny’s signature deep vocals. Produced and composed by Latin hitmakers Edgar Barrer and MAG, the track narrates the story of a person who misses their ex and makes an important phone call with one percent of battery left on their phone. “Un x100to,” released on April 17, 2023, debuted at No. 3 on Hot Latin Songs with just four days of tracking.
Cornejo and Jhayco teamed up for the “Esta Dañada” remix, which stays intact with its melancholic requintos and sad vocals. Fueled by its success on TikTok, the original track peaked at No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it only the second regional Mexican song to enter the all-genre chart in October 2021. “I had heard the song already, a lot of people were talking to me about it,” Cortez told Billboard. “When my manager told me about the possibility of doing the remix, I really liked the idea. I love the vibe of the song — it’s the type of music that I like, and being part of it was great. This is a really special song.”
In “La Esquina del Mall,” a modern pop track with ’50s doo-wop undertones, both Quiles and León are so in sync that it makes it seem like they were meant to write and perform songs together. In the track, released alongside a fun music video that features Laura en América, the pair sing about trying to rekindle a relationship.
“200 Copas,” co-written by Ovy on the Drums, Karol G and Danny Felix, was included on her chart-topping album KG0516. Felix, known as one of the pioneers of the corrido tumbado movement, does the weeping requintos on the track. The heartbreak corrido gives off cantina vibes and kicks off with Karol G saying, “I decided to come to sing at this place where usually people come to eat and not listen to someone, but there’s a special friend who’s listening to this song. Amiga, get over it!”
In “Como El Viento,” a melodic corrido with hints of trap penned by Ángel Sandoval, Abbel and O’RLY, Jam and Conriquez sing about being disappointed in a relationship and trying to overcome it. “I’ve always respected regional Mexican music,” Jam previously told Billboard Español. “It’s not from my culture — in Puerto Rico, you hear more salsa, merengue, and Caribbean music, but I lived 10 years in Colombia, and over there you listen to it a lot. So they showed me this song and I thought it was the perfect one for me.”
In a since-deleted Instagram video, Bad Bunny was seen singing along to Natanael Cano’s “Soy El Diablo,” ahead of his appearance at the 2019 Pornhub Awards and kicking off his X100Pre Tour in Mexico. Less than two weeks later, the Puerto Rican rapper jumped on the remix, keeping Cano’s corridos tumbados melodies and adding his rap verses about a guy who runs the streets.
For his first venture into the regional Mexican world, Blessd teamed up with rising corridos star Peso Pluma. “Las Morras” (slang for “the girls”) is a raw and blunt acoustic-led corrido, essentially about being on top of the world. Adapting his vocals to a deeper-than-usual tone, Blessd matches Peso Pluma’s swaggy attitude not only in the lyrics but in the over-the-top music video — where, clearly, both live a lavish lifestyle. In addition to Blessd, Peso has already collaborated with reggaetón hitmaker Ovy on the Drums, Argentine rapper Nicki Nicole and urban-pop star Becky G.
Jumping on the trend before everyone else was Pipe Bueno and Maluma, two of today’s beloved artists hailing from Colombia. In 2016, the two dropped “La Invitación,” a romantic bop that fuses Pipe’s heartfelt ranchera and Maluma’s catchy urban-pop melodies. Although he’s Colombian, Pipe Bueno’s music is influenced by regional Mexican, having a few mariachis and norteño songs up his sleeves. The two friends also collaborated on “Tequila.”
Leave it to Piso 21 to prove that a fusion between pop-urban and regional Mexican music is not only possible but quite the mix. The four-minute “Pa’ Olvidarme De Ella” has the best of both worlds, perfectly melding Latin trap and ranchera. Yes, they did that! In the song, Piso and Nodal sing about a girl who did them wrong and is trying everything possible, like drinking away their sorrows, to forget about her.
Not only did Natanael Cano drop an all-trap album dubbed Trap Tumbado in 2020, but he also teamed up with many urban artists — including Eladio Carrion, for his “Ele Uve (Remix)” featuring Ovi and Noriel, and on “Billetes,” with Nicky Jam, at the direction of Play-N-Skillz. The trap-heavy track, which kicks off with Cano’s infectious requintos, is about a person who’s making big money. Previously, Play-N-Skillz also collaborated with Mexican star Luis Coronel on the 2019 song “Que Bomba.”
Marking the first-ever time that Puerto Rican artist Farruko tested Regional Mexican waters came “Del Barrio a la Ciudad” (From the hood to the city), a collaboration with T3R Elemento, released three years ago. “He liked the song and so he wanted to jump on it,” Del Records’ Angel del Villar previously told Billboard. “Farruko had been wanting to do something like this and this song caught his attention.”