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Latin Power Players

The annual Latin Music Power Players intimate event was held Monday night (Oct. 14), gathering some of the 2024 Latin Power Players honorees at the Casadona in Miami Beach, Florida. Top executives including Noah Assad, Rebecca León, Alex Gallardo and Jorge Mejía received special awards at the cocktail reception, where George Prajin — founder of […]

If Latin music exploded in 2023, it consolidated in 2024. According to Luminate’s 2024 Midyear Music Report, it is now the fastest-growing core genre in the United States, and Spanish is the second-most-consumed language in music both stateside and globally, behind only English.
This year, Billboard Latin Music Week celebrates it 35th anniversary Oct. 14-18 at the Fillmore Miami Beach, with a wide range of acts from around the world that reflects the genre’s versatility both musically and as a business. The festivities will include the Billboard Latin Music Awards (airing on Telemundo on Oct. 20) — plus these highlights. (For a full schedule of events, go to billboardlatinmusicweek.com.)

“From Viral Hits to Billboard Charts: The Power of Content Creators”

Content creators have become increasingly prominent in raising awareness of Latin music and artists — and now, many of them are signing recording deals of their own. In the past six months, Mexican influencers Yeri Mua and Domelipa signed with Sony Music, and Mario Bautista, another Mexican influencer, signed to Warner. At Latin Music Week, Mexican TikTok powerhouse Kunno — who has close ties to many Latin music stars and has also dabbled in music — will moderate a conversation between Mua, Domelipa and Bautista, along with internet personality Sophia Talamas and Venezuelan comedian Marko.

Trending on Billboard

“Making the Hit Live with Grupo Frontera”

Grupo Frontera

Eric Rojas

For a fourth consecutive Latin Music Week, this groundbreaking session will host artists as they develop a hit in real time. This year’s panel features the norteño band that has earned more than 20 No. 1s on the Billboard charts since 2022, as its six members showcase their knack for adapting songs from other genres into their personal style. Two previous tracks created at Latin Music Week have been commercially released: Blessd and Ovy on the Drums’ “Billboard” and Pedro Capó and Carín León’s “Existo.”

“From Clubs to Stadiums”

Feid

Christopher Polk for Billboard

An unprecedented number of Latin acts, including Bad Bunny, Karol G, Grupo Firme and Feid, have toured stadiums in the past year. But their road to massive ticket sales began with their ground-up development: For instance, Colombian star Feid’s remarkable run culminated in July with his first-ever stadium concert at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. Feid joins his manager, Luis Villamizar, and Hans Schafer, Live Nation senior vp of global touring, in a frank conversation about how to build a touring career that sells out major venues globally.

“The Winning Combo of Sports and Music”

Anitta

Pedro Vilela/Getty Images

Latin artists are developing closer ties than ever to the sports world, with ventures ranging from team ownership (Anuel AA, Ozuna, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony) to sports-related gigs like Anitta’s recent halftime performance at the first NFL game in Brazil. This summer, Copa América, the soccer tournament that was played in the United States and featured steady cross-promotion between athletes and musicians, demonstrated the sport’s close ties with Latin acts — which will be the focus of a conversation between music stars and soccer stars Igor Lichnovsky and Leonardo Campana, moderated by Latin sports manager-agent Daniella Durán.

“The New Latin Music Business”

Latin artists, distributors and labels are becoming increasingly innovative in their deal-making, crafting everything from catalog deals to one-offs. Rancho Humilde, the label founded by entrepreneur Jimmy Humilde, has been a trailblazer in this regard, joining forces with different majors and distributors, and also making new label deals with its own artists. Humilde leads a conversation with Txema Rosique, vp of A&R for Sony Music U.S. Latin; Cris Falcão, managing director of artist and label strategy/GM of Latin for Virgin Music Group; and producer Atella, who is head of music for Zumba and leads the newly launched ZML Records.

“The Legacies Panel”

Chiquis Rivera

Alexander Tamargo/TELEMUNDO/Getty Images

Tradition runs deep in regional Mexican music, with many of its current top stars carrying on the musical legacies of famous parents and even grandparents. This once-in-a-lifetime panel will for the first time unite Chiquis Rivera, daughter of late banda legend Jenni Rivera; Camila Fernández, who is following in the mariachi tradition of her father, Alejandro, and grandfather Vicente Fernández; Lupita Infante, upholding the legacy of the iconic ranchera singer and actor Pedro Infante; and Majo Aguilar, representing the golden age of Mexican cinema through her musical heritage from grandparents Antonio Aguilar and Flor Silvestre. Sponsored by Smirnoff Ice, the discussion will delve into their individual and familial contributions to their rich cultural traditions.

“The Sony Music Publishing Icon Q&A With JOP (Jesús Ortiz Paz)”

The mainstay Latin Music Week Q&A this year spotlights the leader of Fuerza Regida and founder of Street Mob Records. Introduced by Jorge Mejia, president/CEO of Sony Music Publishing Latin, and moderated by Leila Cobo, Billboard’s chief content officer of Latin/Español, this session will provide deep insights into the band’s industry achievements and the expansion of its record label. Fuerza Regida became the first Latin band ever to top Billboard’s 2023 year-end Top Artists — Duo/Group list, and the act continues to innovate, introducing a blend of Jersey club and corridos (dubbed “Jersey corridos”) on the group’s 2024 eighth studio album, Pero No Te Enamores.

“The Icon Q&A With Gloria Estefan”

Gloria Estefan

Jesus Cordero

Fresh from receiving the Legend award at the 2024 Billboard Latin Women in Music celebration, the Cuban American superstar will sit for an intimate conversation about her four-decade career. Estefan — who rose to fame in the 1980s as lead vocalist for Miami Sound Machine, alongside her husband, Emilio, and changed pop music forever by infusing English-language pop with Latin flavor, while singing en español as well — became the first female Latin artist to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2023. The Broadway musical telling her life story, On Your Feet!, is being adapted into a feature film.

This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.

Young Miko is sitting, legs criss-crossed, atop her purple bed, surrounded by bookshelves, a boombox and a big Tamagotchi. A microphone clutched to her chest, she’s visibly emotional, almost teary-eyed.
But she’s not alone in what appears to be her bedroom. On this September evening, she’s onstage at Miami’s Hard Rock Live, and a crowd of 7,000 is chanting the 26-year-old urbano star’s name — even though she hasn’t yet said a word. The bed, the centerpiece of her set, is a reference to the cover art for her latest album, this year’s att. And the satisfaction on her face is a reaction to an anything but private moment. She’s gazing in awe at the crowd of mainly Gen Z girls whose effortlessly chic looks mirror her own Y2K aesthetic — oversize T-shirts, baggy pants, ultra-pink girly ensembles with shimmery makeup and pigtails. Young Miko — clad in a sparkly baby blue checkered two-piece and pristine white sneakers, her hair in her signature slicked-back half ponytail — soaks it all in.

Ruven Afanador

Onstage, Young Miko is graceful and charming, or “very demure, very mindful, very cutesy,” as she jokes in English with her zealous fans, who roar as she flashes them shy, flirtatious smiles. Tonight, she runs through her early hits, like the trap anthem “Lisa,” as well as newer ones, like att.’s “Rookie of the Year,” a song that perfectly captures Young Miko’s rapid rise to fame. She even brings out Colombian star Feid, one of her earliest supporters, to join her for two songs, including their first collaboration, “Classy 101,” with which she made her Billboard Hot 100 debut last year. “Thank you for the love you guys have given me,” she tells the audience at one point, speaking in a mix of English and Spanish. “Today, I’m very emotional and I don’t have the words to describe just how much your support means to me.”

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It’s the final show of Miko’s 24-date XOXO U.S. tour, her biggest trek yet, swiftly following her 2023 Trap Kitty world tour. Last year, “we played 40 minutes,” Miko explains backstage hours before her performance. “Now I’m onstage for two hours. Our crew was like 10 people; now it’s more than 50 of us,” she adds, her eyes growing wider. “Everything has multiplied.” Her mixture of excitement and incredulity is understandable. The gifted singer-rapper born María Victoria Ramírez de Arellano in the northwestern Puerto Rican town of Añasco has had a meteoric rise, becoming one of the most promising global artists of her generation on the strength of her attitude-heavy trap songs and refreshing songwriting, which draws inspiration from her queer identity.

In the past year, Miko, who uploaded her first songs to SoundCloud in 2019 and signed with Puerto Rican indie label The Wave Music Group two years later, opened for Karol G’s stadium tour; collaborated with Bad Bunny on his track “Fina”; made her Coachella debut; and delivered her genre-bending debut album, att., which became her first Billboard 200 entry (short for atentamente, the title translates to “sincerely”). To date, she has had six entries on the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, and 319.9 million on-demand official streams in the United States, according to Luminate.

“I take everything one day at a time,” says Miko, who was a tattoo artist before she committed to music full time. “Opening for Karol in stadiums, that helped me loosen up. Seeing her up close and personal and how she connected with her fans, that was huge. It helped me grow onstage, as a person and as an artist. It’s been a process, and I’ve learned to embrace every stage of my career.”

Ruven Afanador

Supporting Karol G’s tour was a “turning point” for Miko, says Hans Schafer, senior vp of global touring at Live Nation, which produced both Karol’s and Miko’s recent tours. “It solidified her presence in the Latin market and expanded her reach globally. Miko can potentially be one of her generation’s defining artists. She’s already proven she can headline [a] tour, and her ability to evolve musically while staying true to her roots is a critical factor in long-term success in the touring space.”

Miko’s achievements on the touring front and beyond reflect the slow but steady diversification of Latin music — and more specifically urbano music, which has been ruled by male artists for the past 20 years — and have made her rise feel even more momentous. The significance isn’t lost on her.

“Our generation is much more receptive and inclusive — what a time to be alive,” Miko says. “People just don’t give a f–k anymore; they care that you’re a good person. I remember how refreshing it was to hear Ivy Queen doing reggaetón and now you can name so many women in the genre; the change is here and you can’t deny it. It doesn’t mean we can now just lay back either. I’m excited to be part of a movement and a moment in history when people look back and say, ‘I remember Karol and Young Miko, and this one, and the other one.’ ”

Ruven Afanador

That turning tide inspired Young Miko and her team, which includes her manager (and best friend), Mariana López Crespo, and her longtime producer, Mauro (who is also López Crespo’s brother), to launch 1K, a company they describe as a creative collective comprising 20 individuals who are all also part of Miko’s team. “I don’t want to eat alone at the table,” Miko explains. “We’re very passionate about growing 1K into an empire — think Death Row Records — by signing and investing in new artists and content creators. We’re all in it to learn, grow and help others.”

She and López Crespo, who is also a queer woman, first met when they were teen soccer players. Together, they learned a valuable lesson. “The goalkeeper can’t save the game, the midfielder supports the defender, the defender is nothing without the forward, the midfield is nothing without the bench, and the bench is nothing without the coach,” Miko says. “We apply that mentality to everything we do today.”

López Crespo and Young Miko first met in 2012, when they were both trying out for the Puerto Rican women’s national soccer team. They both made the team — and instantly became best friends. Besides sharing a love for fútbol, the teenagers discovered they had the same taste in music, from Puerto Rican reggae band Cultura Profética to Lauryn Hill to Gwen Stefani. “She was the one on the team who was always blasting music on the speakers — she knew all the verses, she was charismatic, you could tell she really enjoyed performing,” López Crespo recalls of Miko.

After four years of playing together on the national football team (Miko as midfielder and López Crespo as forward), the two went their separate ways. Both were attending the University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras campus, but then Miko transferred to Inter American University and López Crespo moved to Costa Rica to play soccer, though she eventually returned to Puerto Rico after an injury. Around 2018, she reconnected with Young Miko — or Vicky, as López Crespo still calls her — who showed her some of the music she had recorded using her iPhone and the built-in microphone on her Apple headphones. “I told her that she had to take this seriously because there was something there — her songs had personality,” López Crespo recalls. “I said, ‘Maybe you don’t have the resources now, but you have the discipline. Don’t stop.’ ” Miko’s response? “I’ll pursue this only if you are my manager.” “Fine,” López Crespo remembers thinking. “I’ve never done this, but I like a challenge, so vamos pa’ encima [let’s do it].”

Entire Studios top, Tiffany & Co. necklace and bracelet.

Ruven Afanador

Trained to be on an attack’s front line as a forward, López Crespo hit the ground running and started assembling a team that would help develop the plan for Young Miko’s career. One of the first people she approached was her brother Mauro, a trained musician who was also just starting his career as a producer.

“My sister told me that Vicky was making music and showed me two songs she had on SoundCloud,” Mauro remembers. “I immediately told Mariana, ‘There’s something here — she has the look, the swag, the voice, the bars. It’s raw, but it’s all there.’ ” A saxophonist who graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras with a bachelor’s degree in music, Mauro had taught himself to produce after being mesmerized when he saw one of his peers create a beat on a laptop. With the help of YouTube videos and patient producer friends, by 2020, he had posted some of his beats to Instagram.

“Things are always meant to be, they’re already written in our destiny,” Miko says. “When I was starting in music, Mauro was also starting to produce, so we grew together. I would give him that space to explore with me and he would give me space to explore as a songwriter, a singer. He forces me to open up, and I do the same with him. It’s been that way from the beginning.” She adds, categorically: “There would be no Young Miko without Mauro.”

Just as Miko and her team were getting going, the pandemic hit — but they used the COVID-19 shutdown to their advantage. López Crespo and Miko rented a mountaintop Airbnb in Rincón to host their inaugural songwriting camp. It was the first time that Miko’s “core” team, including producers and creatives, “locked ourselves in,” López Crespo says. “Not for the purpose of needing to get something out there, but rather to explore, get to know each other and build trust. I remember saying we’d give this process two years, and if we didn’t see anything happening, we’d reconsider. But it was clear that there was a special feeling in that camp. There was uncertainty, yes, but a lot of desire to grow.”

Ruven Afanador

Although the songs created during the camp were never officially released, Miko’s older material on SoundCloud still managed to catch Angelo Torres’ attention. The executive came across Miko’s SoundCloud link while scrolling through X. “I was instantly captivated when I heard her tracks,” he told Billboard when Miko was named Latin Rookie of the Year in 2023. “There was something undeniably intriguing about her sound. [I thought], ‘I really need to meet this person.’ ” He not only met her but signed her to The Wave Music Group in 2021, which he had recently launched alongside producer Caleb Calloway, who has since co-­produced some of Miko’s biggest hits. Last year, Capitol Music Group locked in a long-term distribution deal with the label.

Torres was also one of the first people with whom López Crespo talked business. “He’s someone I’m grateful for because it’s people like him that really encourage you and want you to grow,” she says. “They may be veterans and you are the new one, but they see that hunger in you.”

Young Miko’s eyes light up when she talks about having her closest friends as part of her team, knowing she’s surrounded by people who believed in her from day one — especially the person she has won championships with on — and now off, in a sense — the field. “Mariana has been my sister for as long as I can remember and I’m so proud of her. We’ve always been a dynamic duo. It gives me great pride to know that when we are no longer here, they will mention a name as great as Mariana López Crespo and I will be next to that name. Damn, I got so gay today, bro,” she says as she walks over to hug López Crespo, who is crouched in a corner of the Hard Rock Live green room, hands covering her face. “Don’t cry, it’s what I feel. And I don’t tell you often, but sometimes we need to stop and smell the roses.”

As Young Miko sees it, the foundation of her life hasn’t really changed even as she has catapulted to stardom. “It doesn’t have to,” she says before inadvertently evoking an anthem by one of her favorite ’90s acts: “I’m just a girl,” she adds with a sweet smile.

She still lives in Puerto Rico and hangs out with the same group of friends she did before she became a global star. “I feel like we hustle just how we used to hustle back then,” she adds. “We enjoy the feeling of being an underdog. Having bets against you and responding with ‘No, we’ve got this’? Best feeling.”

It’s her parents’ lives that she says she has changed. “I take my parents everywhere with me. They are my biggest fans. They are just super grateful and excited. The other day they told me, ‘We feel like we just started living and we’re 60-something,’ ” she says, pausing and taking a deep breath. “I get emotional.”

Young Miko photographed August 29, 2024 at Seret Studios in Brooklyn.

Ruven Afanador

And while she’s no longer on the soccer pitch, she has a new squad cheering her on. “I think [Bad Bunny] and Karol saw something of themselves in me. It came from their hearts to want to support or contribute to my career. It also gives me a lot of motivation because they are artists that I admire and are examples I want to follow. When I have people like them telling me, ‘You can 100% do this,’ then I have to,” she says. “Karol would take me to her sound check, show me things she did to warm up; she didn’t have to do any of that stuff.”

Earlier this year, Karol released the music video for “Contigo,” in which Young Miko plays her romantic interest. Especially for an urban artist, it felt like a big statement in support of the LGBTQ+ community — though Miko says the genre is more accepting of queer artists today than it has ever been. “I used to do things that were so innocent to a certain extent that I didn’t even realize I was causing a shift in the pendulum,” she explains. “Now looking back, I understand how shocking these things can be. I’m already thinking of new ways to grow a bigger space for everyone and keep changing things.”

To that end, Miko is also working to get people registered to vote ahead of the U.S. November election. A few weeks ago, she encouraged her Instagram followers — all 7 million of them — to make sure they’re registered, adding that she’ll be voting early because she won’t physically be in Puerto Rico on Nov. 5. “It’s something I’m very passionate about — my whole team is,” she says of joining the significant number of Latin and non-­Latin acts alike who’ve used their platforms to engage their fans in civic action. (She hasn’t yet supported a specific candidate.) “It is very important for the future of my island, the future of my people. I was very excited when I saw [Bad Bunny] posting; I saw myself in him as a person who lives in Puerto Rico. I think it is important to bring at least a little bit of awareness — like, ‘Hey, educate yourself on what you believe is right for you and your country.’ ”

It all feels intrinsically connected to another topic that makes Miko perk up: her vision for her future, which feels limitless. “It can look scary, but I know I’m capable of doing everything I set my mind to. I tell Mariana that I want to be in movies, that I want us to grow together as businesswomen — whether opportunities come to us or we go out and get them ourselves,” she says with determination. “I want to look back and be able to say that I did everything I wanted and squeezed everything I could out of this life.”

This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.

Music industry veteran Rebeca León, who has helped guide Latin music and culture into the mainstream and up the charts, is the recipient of the Latin Power Players’ Choice Award, which is an accolade chosen by Billboard Pro subscribers.
As founder and CEO of artist management company Lionfish Entertainment and film/TV studio Lionfish Studios, León helms a roster that includes Brazilian superstar Anitta, Venezuelan singer-songwriter Danny Ocean, rising Spanish act st. Pedro and Venezuelan reggaetón LGBTQ+ artist La Cruz. The Miami-based León also oversaw the rise of global stars like Colombia’s J Balvin and Juanes, as well as Spain’s Rosalía, whom León developed from an unknown flamenco artist.

León says working with artists she believes in is an honor and a privilege that “gives me hope for the future of music.” To that end, León and Pharrell Williams have partnered on the creation of a bicultural U.S. Latin boy band that’s set to debut this fall. Meanwhile, Lionfish Studios focuses on work that draws on León’s Cuban heritage with projects including the 2022 Father of the Bride remake starring Gloria Estefan and Andy Garcia, which was produced alongside Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B. Projects in development include one with Keshet Studios and Apple.

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Lionfish’s success follows León’s 25-plus-year career, which has included over a decade in the touring business as senior vp for Goldenvoice and positions at labels including Sony Music and EMI.

While León, who lives in Miami Beach with her three dogs, calls herself “naturally shy and reserved,” in the case of this year’s Latin Power Players’ Choice Award, she feels a responsibility to step into the spotlight. “This moment is bigger than me,” she says. “We’re in a time where women’s rights are being challenged, and there are those who want to take us backward. That is simply not acceptable.” She expresses gratitude for the recognition and for a platform “to say, without a doubt, we are never going back. This is for my nieces and all the young girls out there: Never let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do — whether with your body or your mind.”

Being voted into this position by the music industry community, she adds, “means the world to me, to have the respect of my peers, which include so many people that I admire so much.”

This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.

The first time George Prajin took Peso Pluma shopping for a music video, they didn’t see eye to eye. “I wanted him to go John Varvatos rock’n’roll, and he wanted to go to Burberry,” Prajin recalls. Considering that the video would also feature regional Mexican artist Luis R Conriquez for their 2022 collaboration, “Siempre Pendientes,” “I was like, ‘I don’t know about that,’ ” he adds. But, as Prajin proudly admits of the all-plaid ensemble (complete with bucket hat) that Peso insisted upon (and which perfectly contrasted with the gritty desert setting), “He was right — and after that I learned not to go against him.”
That implicit trust now goes both ways — and Prajin, 52, has earned it. As the son of Antonino Z. Prajin — who owned Prajin One Stop, a music retailer and distributor that sold to over 3,000 stores across the United States and Mexico and had more than 20 warehouses throughout Southern California in its 1980s and ’90s heyday — the music business has always been in his blood. “Some people do what they love. Some people are born into a trade. I got the best of both worlds,” he says, speaking in a green room at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., hours before a recent Peso Pluma show there.

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After graduating from University of California, Los Angeles in the mid-’90s, Prajin founded the independent label Z Records, which scored early success with Jessie Morales (known as El Original de la Sierra), an Angeleno who loved West Coast rap and Mexican music and who ruled Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart with his Homenaje a Chalino Sánchez in 2001. But when physical record sales plummeted, Prajin One Stop shuttered in the late 2000s — and so did Z Records. “It was hard to make money with music during that period of time,” he recalls. “And so, I got disillusioned. I got a little depressed — but I tried to stay very close to music.”

Prajin went on to earn a degree from Southwestern University School of Law, becoming a sports and entertainment attorney and establishing his own practice while producing music on the side — and retaining ownership of the Z Records catalog. But in 2008, thanks to his love of MMA (and friendship with fighter Tito Ortiz), he entered an entirely new world: the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Prajin spent the next decade-plus focused on representing UFC’s top talent as an agent and a manager, earning a reputation as a master negotiator. “It’s educating yourself on the deal and being two steps ahead — and knowing what you’re asking for is valid,” he says.

By 2019, Prajin — who had continued to do music business work even as he dove into the UFC world — and his practice were negotiating “massive deals” for record labels. At the same time, he noticed a catalog-driven uptick in Z Records’ revenue and, on the advice of his law partner, Anthony Lopez, reentered the industry, launching Prajin Parlay in 2021. “I was looking for something that had nothing to do with any of the clients I was representing, and I started going back into the ’90s,” he says. And so, with the new Prajin Parlay, he soon helped launch Época Pesada (a group of corrido giants who were then in their 40s) and revive the career of Lupillo Rivera.

Soon, Prajin was again focusing on music full time, and his first major signing (in partnership with Grand Records) was Mexican singer-songwriter (and future star) Junior H. But it was an early management signee who would define his storied career — and help him emerge as one of Latin music’s most powerful and admired executives.

When Prajin first met Peso Pluma (born Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija) in 2019, thanks to an introduction from his former client Morales, the then-unknown artist was walking around Prajin Parlay Studioz in Anaheim playing guitar. “I was really intrigued by him,” Prajin recalls with a far-off look in his eyes. Morales was trying to help the young artist find management to no avail; given that Prajin himself had just reentered the industry, he, too, initially passed.

Morales’ father, Herminio Morales, signed the future superstar, but soon became too ill to work. And so, by 2022, the offer was back on the table — and this time, Prajin said yes. (Herminio, who is healthy today, remains involved in Peso’s career.) “I [waited until I] felt like I could really put up my sleeves and do what I do best,” Prajin explains.

George Prajin photographed backstage at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., on Aug. 20, 2024.

Chris Polk

Apparently, that was developing a global groundbreaker who has repeatedly made Billboard chart history while helping to elevate música mexicana from “the genre that has always taken a back seat,” as Prajin puts it, to the forefront of the mainstream.

“I’m not going to take all the credit because [label] Rancho Humilde, Natanael Cano, Junior H and all these other artists brought something that first, second and third generations of Mexicans born in the United States were lacking,” Prajin says. “But Hassan took that road and connected it to the international highway.”

Prajin now admits that when he first met Peso he was a bit confused. “I couldn’t tell what type of artist he was,” he says. “I thought he was a rapper, or was he a rocker? [The last] thing I thought of was a corridos singer. When we first started talking, he told me he wanted to do reggaetón. He wanted to do everything.” (Prajin even had him record a Pink Floyd song “to see if he trusted me.”)

“I said, ‘I love that, that’s what I want, but I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and it’s tough,’ ” Prajin continues, noting how in the past he’d only had fleeting success with rappers recording over banda beats. But, critically, Peso didn’t want to blend anything; he wanted to own every clearly marked lane he explored.

Together, they made a plan “to focus on his core audience, regional Mexican, and really build that. And at the same time, reach out and get a feel of these other genres and take it from there.” And they’ve done just that. In 2022, Peso made his Hot Latin Songs debut with “El Belicón,” with Raúl Vega. The following year, he scored the most entries on the chart of any regional Mexican act — and his team-up with Eslabon Armado, “Ella Baila Sola,” became the first regional Mexican song to enter the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 (where Peso has now charted 31 songs).

Peso’s third album, 2023’s Génesis, scored the highest placement on the Billboard 200 for a música mexicana album ever, debuting at No. 3. This year’s Éxodo double album also debuted in the top five, and for its second half, Peso enlisted several nonregional heavy hitters including Cardi B, Quavo, Anitta and DJ Snake. In August, Peso scored one of his biggest features yet, replacing Bad Bunny on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Drunk,” off the new deluxe version of Vultures 2. (“He couldn’t believe it,” Prajin says, “because they’re so mysterious. They don’t even tell us until the song is released.”) Lately, Peso has been walking onstage to Black Sabbath; Prajin thinks he could do a rock album one day.

Their relationship has now expanded beyond just music to include Double P, Peso’s imprint through Prajin Parlay Records that launched in April 2023. (Prajin is the imprint’s co-founder and COO.) By December, Double P had signed a distribution deal with The Orchard, and in August, the label’s publishing division signed a global administration deal with Downtown.

Today, Double P’s roster boasts a tight-knit crew that shares talent — and Peso’s friendship. As CEO and head of A&R, Peso has strategically signed Mexican music acts Vega, Jasiel Nuñez, Tito Double P (Peso’s cousin and one of his co-writers) and Los Dareyes de la Sierra, among others.

“We’re building a team and going together, and that’s what I love about Hassan,” Prajin says. “Jasiel Nuñez was a friend. They made a deal — whoever makes it first is going to pull the other guy with him, and [Hassan] did that. He pulled him with him on tour. We’ve signed him. That’s their philosophy. We’re a real community.”

Plus, as Prajin says, having Peso as a partner helps him stay on top of his management game, too. “Because you really want to give the attention to Hassan, but then you don’t want to sign other artists and not give them the attention that they deserve… He’s always like, ‘Hey, make sure that everybody’s getting the attention that they need, too.’ ”

And as Prajin Parlay has proved over time, one rising tide can indeed lift all boats. In 2023, it finished atop the year-end Hot Latin Songs Publishers chart — Prajin proudly displays the trophy at his house next to his Grammy (honoring Génesis as best música mexicana album [including Tejano] at the 2024 awards). “One of the reasons why we won that publisher of the year award is [because of] Tito Double P,” Prajin says, crediting his songwriting savvy. “[He] then developed as an artist, and today, we released his first album.

“We’re providing those label services, and we’re doing it inclusive of the same management fee that any other manager would charge,” he continues. “A lot of people tell me that’s a crazy notion, but we’re not going to get rich or poor overnight.”

That same thought process led Prajin to restructure Peso’s five-year record and management deal just nine months in. Prajin had seen his early client Jessie Morales make a healthy living off music, only to end up “on hard luck,” and he never forgot it. “I always told myself, especially when I was practicing law, that if I had the chance to do this again, I would teach [artists] to not only be wary of how they spend their money, but to also build their own team. Have their own lawyer, have their own CPA. I want them to make sure that going forward, whatever they do in their lives, they’re going to make the right financial decisions. I fought hard for [Peso] to have his own [attorney in] Mexico. He has his own CPA. And then he has a person that audits the CPA.

“When I saw him making the kind of money that he was making… The artists should be the ones seeing the benefits, and that’s why we changed our deal,” Prajin continues. “I restructured it and made him a partner in Double P. It’s the right thing to do — and just one of the few times in life that something good turns into something great, because we’re killing it.”

Prajin, who is warm and attentive, says his father’s own “big heart” inspires him as an executive. “His kindness, his generosity, those are the things that have [helped me excel],” he says. “You could be a shark. But I don’t think those guys last too long. It’s all about networks. Right? I think a lot of the things that we accomplished were because I was able to pick up the phone and reach out to anyone. Everything comes full circle.”

And Prajin Parlay’s betting-inspired name tells its own full-circle story: Prajin has often said when something works, he doubles down. In the years to come, he says he’s “doubling down on everything” — beginning with Double P Records, saying the label is in the middle of completing a business transaction that will allow it to “really double down.”

“Double P Records and Prajin Parlay in five years are going to be a global brand,” he says, noting that in the next year or so he hopes to open offices and a recording studio in Madrid. He also has plans to grow the management roster and maybe even acquire other catalogs or companies. He’s also considering a sports division: “We’ve talked about it, yes,” Prajin says, adding that he and Peso are both fans of combat sports, and even share a boxing coach.

He admits that as a manager, what takes up most of his time each day is “trying to make everyone happy… I’m constantly trying to make sure everybody takes vacations, has their personal lives. You know, I’ve lived my life, I haven’t had any kids. I’ve devoted myself to my artists and to my athletes. And am I going to regret it down the road? I might. So I always tell people, ‘Think about yourself, too. This job isn’t your only focus.’ ”

Fortunately, Peso has been planning ahead for quite some time. The artist has long admired Jay-Z, and Prajin believes Peso is already following in the rapper’s footsteps to becoming a mogul himself. As for Prajin, he says his five-year plan looks a lot like an exit route, before laughing through a nervous smile: “No, I’m just kidding.”

He mentions how the other day, he and Peso were reminiscing when the artist told him, “You changed my life.”

“He changed my life as well,” Prajin says. “He’s allowed me to love music again, and also reach a lot of the goals I made for myself that I thought had passed.”

This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.

J Balvin and I have a date at Tiffany’s.
Admittedly, even I don’t realize this until I reach the storied display windows on Fifth Avenue, where I’m led to a private elevator manned by a uniformed attendant who silently takes me up, up, up. The doors open to a stunning private room with unfettered views of the Manhattan skyline and Central Park — where I also find José Álvaro Osorio Balvin himself. He looks every bit the lord of the manor, in a casually elegant short-sleeved white T-shirt tucked into sleek black Prada cargo pants. His beard is trimmed and his hair is pulled back in neat cornrows, exposing the matching diamond studs in his earlobes. On his wrist is a Patek Philippe watch.

It’s a rare oasis of calm for an artist who lately seems to have been moving nonstop in multiple directions at once. Since the beginning of the year, Balvin has appeared in the cinematic teaser for Usher’s Super Bowl halftime show; released a new shoe in collaboration with Air Jordan; been the face of Cheetos’ new “Deja tu Huella” campaign; performed a major Coachella set (the second-highest billed artist of the day, behind Doja Cat), featuring a surprise appearance by Will Smith; toured Europe and then Australia and New Zealand; and in August, released Rayo, his first album since 2021. He’s currently preparing a collaboration with G-SHOCK watches. Before the year is over, Peacock will broadcast a new interview series he’ll host. And he’s already gearing up for his first feature film lead role, in the drug drama Little Lorraine, helmed by Grammy Award-winning director Andy Hines and planned for a 2025 release.

It’s a remarkably fruitful time — both creatively and commercially — for the Colombian star who three years ago, during the pandemic and at the height of his popularity, saw public opinion in some quarters turn sharply against him after a rapid-fire series of unfortunate, almost surreal incidents.

In 2021, following the birth of his son Rio (with his longtime girlfriend, model Valentina Ferrer), Balvin found himself in the crosshairs of rapper Residente, who took umbrage with Balvin’s call to boycott the Latin Grammys due to the absence of reggaetón in the main categories and who posted several scathing videos chastising him on social media.

Not long after, Balvin was criticized for his portrayal of women in the video for his 2021 song “Perra,” an edgy collaboration with Tokischa. Directed by Raymi Paulus, Tokischa’s collaborator, it showed Tokischa, who identifies as a queer woman, eating from a dog bowl and Balvin walking two Black women dressed as dogs on leashes, prompting Colombia’s then-vice president, Marta Lucía Ramírez, to call out the song’s “misogynist lyrics that violate women’s rights, comparing them to animals.” Days later, Balvin apologized publicly and removed the video from YouTube.

Mere weeks after that, confused fans questioned why the 2021 African Entertainment Awards named Balvin Afro-­Latino artist of the year. “I am not Afro-­Latino,” Balvin posted to his Instagram story in Spanish. “But thank you for giving me a place in the contribution to Afrobeat music and its movement.”

Then, in March 2022, Residente, whom Balvin had considered a friend, resurfaced with “Residente: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 49,” a no-holds-barred, nine-minute opus made with Argentine DJ Bizarrap that torpedoed reggaetón in general but zeroed in on Balvin, criticizing him for, among other things, “using mental health to sell a documentary” and for the “Perra” video.

And through it all, Balvin’s mother was in and out of intensive care in the singer’s native Medellín. (She is now better but still has health struggles.)

While Balvin kept up with social media posts and appearances, privately he was taken aback. “In my entire career, I had never been a person who had scandals,” notes the 39-year-old, who says he hasn’t spoken to Residente since. “I used to say, ‘Why do all these artists have things happen to them, and nothing happens to me!’ You’re looking at it from up there, and then, suddenly you’re in the middle of it.”

Musically, Balvin went quiet — mostly — for nearly three years. An extraordinarily prolific artist, between 2014 and 2021 he had released six albums, all top 10s on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart, including four No. 1s, and charted 96 singles on Hot Latin Songs (including nine No. 1s) and 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, including the chart-topper “I Like It,” with Cardi B and Bad Bunny. (Balvin also holds the record for most No. 1s on Latin Airplay, 36.) After March 2022, he put out only a handful of singles and no albums.

But Balvin, a relentless hustler at heart, regrouped with his family; parted ways with Scooter Braun, who had managed him during this turbulent period; and took stock of his friendships. During this dark hour, he sought advice from Maluma, a colleague who had never been a close friend, but who had experienced similar public excoriation in 2016 when he released his controversial song “Cuatro Babys.”

“I was always very willing to help José when all this happened because I went through that,” Maluma says. “At end of the day, even if you pretend it doesn’t matter, it hurts when people have the wrong idea about you, and defending yourself against the entire world is very difficult. Plus, we’re both Colombian, we’ve both had beautiful careers, and we’ve elevated our country and our genre. José is one of the most important pillars of Latin and urban music. He takes his career very seriously. It was the least I could do.”

Entire Studios top.

David Needleman

Balvin began to formulate a plan for returning to the spotlight. He approached Roc Nation co-founder and longtime CEO Jay Brown, and two years ago, signed with Roc Nation to manage all aspects of his career. “He was being very thoughtful about what he wanted. He was looking for insights on how to grow his brands, how to expand on what he wanted to do with his career, outside his music,” Brown says, noting that he and Balvin communicate almost daily. “It’s about managing his enthusiasm, his inspiration. He loves what he does, he loves touching people, he loves being out there. I think that’s refreshing. And he’s a good guy. It’s hard to say no to something like that.”

In 2022, Balvin launched his education-focused foundation, Vibra en Alta, in Colombia. Earlier this year, he also switched labels, moving within the Universal family from Universal Music Latino to Capitol under Capitol Music Group chairman/CEO Tom March and Interscope Capitol Labels Group executive vp Nir Seroussi, a good friend. At the same time, he returned to the studio, working with longtime producers like Jeremy Ayala (Daddy Yankee’s son) and Luis Ángel O’Neill, while also trying out new material with young, rising artists like Saiko, Dei V and Feid.

In short order, he cut more than 40 tracks, which he then narrowed down to 15 spunky reggaetón bangers for an album he named Rayo, which translates to “lightning.” The name and the sleek, silver car on the cover pay homage to Balvin’s first car, a beat-up red Volkswagen Golf that he drove to gigs — a hopeful symbol of all the possibilities before him.

“I wanted to focus on the clear comeback of a Balvin focused on music, his career and his legacy,” Seroussi says. “When I sat down with him to see where he was spiritually, I saw a José that is going to win. He wakes up in the morning as if he were a new artist.”

Four months ago, Balvin wrote me on WhatsApp. He was ready to talk, he said, about everything. And so, here I am high above Tiffany & Co. for a private afternoon of coffee and macarons — just the two of us. As we chat, his openness surprises me. But then again, as Seroussi says, “He’s an artist who has nothing else to prove, but wants to keep doing music. Every [Latin] artist today who has something to do with urban music at a global scale can in some way trace back to what José opened for them.”

Balvin will sit down for a live one on one interview during Billboard Latin Music Week. You can purchase your tickets here.

Luar jacket and pants, Vetements shoes.

David Needleman

Your son Rio was born at a hectic point in your life. What did his arrival mean to you at the time?

His arrival was perfection because having Rio at that moment allowed me to really focus my energy on a person who came to bring me light. It was as if God was saying, “OK, I sent you a trial, but here’s a gift.” And I say that because since Rio’s birth, my — how do I say this — my emotional intelligence has grown very much. I don’t remember losing control since my son’s birth. I’ve had complicated moments, but I’ve never lost control. He brought me strength, a lot of patience, but yes, a lot of light. In fact, I made the Jordan Rios — which are black but have a sunset in the sole — based on the fact that in a moment of darkness, my son came and brought me light.

Let’s talk about this moment of darkness. It became really complicated for you on many fronts, particularly your dispute with Residente.

Have you ever had a friend turn on you? I considered him a friend, and I spoke with him as if he were a friend. Very openly. Con mucha confianza. That’s what surprised me and hurt and opened my eyes. I still believe I can make new friends, but it’s a little more complicated finding them these days. Because some of the people I thought were my friends ended up not being that. Obviously, this happened, it’s done, I’ve matured and I’m not holding a grudge or anything like that. I had to forgive myself for being so naive and opening my heart so easily to some people. The toughest part was to encounter a dark side of humanity in a moment of darkness. And I’m not saying I’m the most illuminated person either; I’ve made mistakes, and maybe I’ve made friends feel bad. But I’ve never betrayed a friend.

Personally, I never found you offensive. How do you think you made people feel bad?

I’ve been very honest. But as a paisa, we’re jokesters and we can get out of hand, and not everyone understands. We’re very open, and other cultures sometimes don’t understand that and take it the wrong way.

Feuds are common in rap and reggaetón. But this felt more like an attack than a feud. You never replied to Residente’s dis track, did you?

Never. First of all, you need to know what court to play in, right? When all this happened, it was the most complicated moment for my mom’s health. She was in intensive care. She told me, “Promise me you won’t reply and you won’t say anything. Do it for me. I know you, I know your essence, and this isn’t for you.” And the weight of a mother’s word is everything.

Is she aware of these things that happened to you?

Of course. And my mom suffered a lot. Now that I’m a father, I understand. It’s crossing a powerful line. A line that’s family, it’s sacred. The pain caused to a mother, a family, a sister, to the people who love you, was complicated. And it was complex for me because, following my mother’s advice, I never spoke out about this and I never defended myself. But I’m very clear on who I am. I’m not going to go out there and explain who I am to the world because clearly, people who know me know my essence and those are the people I want to be in good standing with.

I think not replying was wise…

As one of the leaders of Colombia’s movement I can’t set a bad example, no matter what people would like to see. I’ve always strived to be a better person and a gentleman in life. Being a decent person is a much harder task than being an “artist,” [which is] easier in the sense that if you have a talent and patience, you’ll get there. But being a better person is a daily task.

J Balvin photographed August 20, 2024 in New York. Entire Studios shirt.

David Needleman

You also had an issue surrounding the video for “Perra,” your single with Tokischa.

I’ve always been known for supporting new talent, and in Tokischa, I saw a woman who was very empowered and daring and who spoke positively about her sexuality in a way I had never seen before [in the Latin world], like Nicki Minaj or Cardi B do here in the U.S. If men in reggaetón can speak about their sexuality this way, I was struck to see a woman doing it. My mission was simply to do what I could to elevate and promote Tokischa and her art to a wider audience. I respect the way each person wants to conceptualize their vision, and this was her vision and her creation. I went there to support her vision, and I paid dearly for it.

In this case, after many people criticized the video, you not only took it down from your YouTube channel, but you spoke out and gave a public apology. Why?

I spoke out because this was a much deeper issue in that it went into topics like race, masculinity and machismo. However, if people had listened to the song, they would have realized it’s a story that has nothing to do with going against a race or gender. It was totally the opposite. Tokischa is an Afro Latina woman, and she was representing her race, her culture and the idiosyncrasies of her world. And obviously, my lyrics, I always approach them in a very commercial way and I’m very careful about what I say. But when things happen, they happen all at once.

I know you went to Maluma for advice. What did he say?

Maluma and I weren’t really friends. We were colleagues, but we also competed with each other. But I wrote him, and then I sat down with him. We’ve become very close. I’ve come to appreciate him and respect him more than ever, and now I can say he’s like a younger brother to me. I imagine it must have been tough when things happened to him, but then you grow an armor. That’s what happened to me. I became very cold; I didn’t want to open my heart to anyone. When I went back on social media, I didn’t want to go back to the old José who’s always making jokes and teasing, because I had a mental block. Until Rayo came around and I started to make music again for the love of music 100% and stopped thinking about the business.

How was your approach different?

I began to make music with a sense of security that came down to: I don’t have to prove myself in this business. It would have been complicated if I hadn’t achieved anything [before] and I had to prove myself. But we’ve achieved so many changes and evolutions. I remember you interviewed me years ago with Nicky Jam and you asked: Do you think a song in Spanish will make it to No. 1 on the Hot 100? And I said yes.

I remember that conversation well. And it happened.

We unlocked that. We unlocked performing at the Super Bowl. We unlocked having the most streamed artist in the world, we unlocked the first stadium played by a solo reggaetón artist, we unlocked sneaker culture, fashion, Guinness Records, so many things that hadn’t happened before. So I kind of look back and say, “Prove what? I need to regain my confidence after all these blows and enjoy the process.”

Luar jacket and pants.

David Needleman

You didn’t release an album for three years. For you, that’s an eternity…

And during those three years, I never left the top 50 of the most streamed artists in the world [on Spotify, where Balvin ranked No. 31 at press time]. It’s a beautiful thing to see that in a business where so few artists have the luxury of even saying, “I’m taking a year off.” Obviously, I questioned myself a lot when I came back. “Why the f–k did I leave?” Although I never stopped working. I kept playing festivals in Europe and all that. But I think my official return was when I played Coachella.

I have to imagine that setting foot on that Coachella stage was a little nerve-racking.

Of course! Plus, that show was planned for a year because Coachella had never allowed something to be hung from the roof, because of the wind in the desert. So we took the risk of hanging the [giant inflatable] UFO, and the investment was very high. But it was finally spectacular, and having Will Smith [make a guest appearance to perform “Men in Black”] was very cool. I saw myself in him, in the sense that both of us went through a dark period — and I know that mistakes don’t define a person and can’t detract from the greatness of what he’s achieved. I was so happy to share his return because after the Oscars incident, this was his first public appearance, and a week later, Bad Boys [for Life] came out. And it wasn’t planned!

Were you two friends?

No, we had never met. I [felt] I needed something else to really make a statement in the show. And Will Smith came to mind, because what’s better than Men in Black? [Balvin reached out to Smith’s team and ultimately FaceTimed him.] I told him my mission, with my passion. He said, “Give me a week.” [While I waited] like a good, hardworking paisa, I sent him a photo of the Virgin [Mary] praying. Then I sent him a votive candle, as if I were praying; then a voodoo doll. And exactly a week later, he called and said, “Let’s do it.”

Following Coachella, you took your tour to Europe, Australia and New Zealand to play for big and very receptive crowds despite these regions not being your core markets. Was that gratifying for you after a traumatic period?

When I did that tour, [and when] I went to Medellín to release the album and I saw the euphoria among the fans, I thought, “It was all in my head.”

Entire Studios top and pants, Air Jordan 3 x J Balvin shoes.

David Needleman

You’ve achieved global domination in many spheres. Most recently, you became the artist with the most titles, 15, in YouTube’s Billion Views Club. What drives you today?

What’s most important is a super reconnection and a super service to my Latinos, 100%. They’re the foundation of everything. The reason I’m a global artist is because Latins gave me that power. And I want a super reconnection with new generations and Gen Z. It’s never been a problem for me to connect with new generations because I like new artists and I enjoy collaborating with them. From there, I’d like to do a grand tour of the U.S. and Latin America. And I want to unlock India. Unlock it completely.

You were perhaps the first major Latin artist to talk frankly about mental health and your struggles with it. I know this has been a journey for you and you’ve taken medication for anxiety at times.

I still do. Always. Some people can do without meds. In my case, they’ve been lowering the dosage and I haven’t had any issues since my son was born. None. That’s why I said before, in the darkest moments, I didn’t lose control. But I take my pills daily. It’s perfectly normal, as if someone had an issue with high [blood] pressure. But there’s also meditation — I’ve been meditating since I was 19 years old — daily exercise, eating habits and the people you surround yourself with. The fact that I don’t do drugs or anything like that has also been part of having that mental, spiritual balance.

What role has Colombia’s music scene played in exposing the country to the world?

Music has been a path of light for Colombia at a global scale. I think it saved an entire generation. Now, all these Gen Zers want to be artists instead of drug dealers or killers for hire. When I started in music, there wasn’t a map for urban music in Colombia. There was Shakira and Carlos Vives and Juanes, but they were completely different genres. [Daddy] Yankee inspired me, but he’s Puerto Rican. No one had globalized urban music from Colombia. We literally took a pick and an axe and paved the way. I don’t know how we did it, but we did. And now I see this whole new generation of artists, like Ryan Castro, Blessd.

Karol G has also been steadfastly by your side. In fact, she invited you to perform at one of her shows at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last year…

Karol is a friend who’s also become a teacher. That was a beautiful moment here at [MetLife] to come together again in a stadium full of people who came to see her. I told her, “You used to look up at me, and now, I’m your biggest fan.” It’s a beautiful cycle and I’m so proud of Colombia. We’re a small country but so strong in our music.

Luar jacket and pants, Vetements shoes.

David Needleman

How do you see yourself today?

I value what I’ve achieved, without a doubt. The insecurity I felt has gone, and I feel like a brand-new artist. If you listen to Rayo, you hear a refreshed J Balvin who had a good time. I didn’t make this album thinking I was going to make an album. I went to make music and remembered how I felt when I was 19 years old and I just wanted to show every song I made to my mom, my sister, my girlfriend, my friends. That’s why, when I finished the album, I wanted to name it for that moment in time, when my only ambitions were artistic, when I really knew nothing about the business.

You really feel like a new artist?

One hundred percent. And I’m working like a new artist. I mean, most artists of my level don’t go to Mexico and sit down for 200 interviews. I do, and also, it’s been three years! I’m ready to be overexposed. Whatever I need to do, it’s Balvin time. And I say that with certainty and because I know what I have and what I can give. Something positive always happens when I give it my all. I went through the dark times, and now, the sun is out and it’s shining on my face.

At 39 years old, how do you feel about longevity?

I’ll perform and record as long as I’m happy and people connect with me. We have yet to see the first elder reggaetón artist. We have the OGs — Yandel, Wisin — who look great. Yankee looks younger than when he started. But honestly, we haven’t had the example of seeing how long a reggaetón artist can go for. I see myself super gangster in the future. Not evil gangster, but as someone who’s done well, who’s been strategic in his movements and has done something well for society and culture. Like a Latin Jay-Z.

This story appears in the Oct. 5, 2024, issue of Billboard.

Billboard’s peer-voted Latin Power Players’ Choice Award is back for 2024 and asking music industry members from all sectors to honor the executive they believe had the most impact across the Latin genre in the past year.  Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Voting is open to all […]

Billboard’s peer-voted Latin Power Players’ Choice Award is back for 2024 and asking music industry members from all sectors to honor the executive they believe had the most impact across the Latin music genre in the past year.  Voting is open to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote per member […]

Over the past 12 months, Latin music’s growth has only accelerated. U.S. revenue surpassed the $1 billion mark for the first time ever — driven in large part by regional Mexican music, now the dominant Latin presence on the charts — indicating that the appetite for music in Spanish worldwide is vast and diverse.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

The 33rd edition of Billboard Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2-6 in Miami and including the Billboard Latin Music Awards, delves into the diversity of sounds and revenue sources fueling the genre, with events including these highlights.

“The Art of the Festival”

Over the past five years, the presence of Latin artists at major, multigenre U.S. festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza has grown — but there has also been a boom in Latin music-focused festivals domestically and abroad. What exactly goes into crafting and sustaining a successful one? Presented by Viña del Mar, this panel will have representatives from Baja Beach Fest, Bésame Mucho and Primavera Sound offering a look behind the scenes of these events.

“The Power Players: The Indie Edition”

As the heads of three of the most successful Latin indies, Rancho Humilde’s Jimmy Humilde (Fuerza Regida, Natanael Cano), Dale Play Records’ Federico Lauría (Duki, Bizarrap) and Prajin Music Group’s George Prajin (Peso Pluma) are a triple threat in the sector. In Billboard’s signature Latin Music Week panel discussion, they’ll offer insights into how their individual strategies have launched some of this generation’s most important Latin stars.

“The New Mexican Revolution”

The globalization of Mexican music has taken over the Billboard charts as a young and fearless new generation of artists scores major hits and goes viral. Moderated by BMI vp of creative and Latin Jesús González, this panel will take a closer look at this recent explosion, as norteño cumbia troupe Grupo Frontera, corridos tumbados pioneer Natanael Cano, genre-spanning star Peso Pluma, Mexican rapper Santa Fe Klan and Mexican reggaetón artist Yng Lvcas convene for a conversation about the genre’s diverse sounds and configurations.

“El Marketing Del Ferxxo”

Feid

@molomuseum

Feid’s seemingly overnight success belies how the Colombian superstar hustled his way to the top. After becoming an in-demand collaborator and writing for artists such as J Balvin, Thalia and Reykon, the singer-songwriter embraced his roots: “I opened the coolest door that I’ve ever opened, which was finding my identity and introducing El Ferxxo,” the hit-maker told Billboard in March. Along with members of his inner circle — including his manager and creative director — Feid will explain the nuts and bolts behind his success.

Los Ángeles Azules

Los Ángeles Azules

Courtesy Photo

Since emerging in the mid-1970s, this beloved Mexico City band has been rewriting the Mexican cumbia playbook. Continuously modernizing the storied regional Mexican subgenre for the next generation, the group of siblings has extended its reach drastically by revamping its hits and writing new ones alongside an exhilarating all-star cast of Latin artists from all corners of the map. In recognition of its enduring influence in Latin music, Los Ángeles Azules will receive the lifetime achievement award, as well as perform at Billboard’s Latin Music Awards.

“The Multimarket Pop King”

Sebastián Yatra

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Sebastián Yatra has both endured and flourished as a core pop artist who invites urban acts into his orbit and also lends his voice to a plethora of projects, from film (Encanto) to TV (Érase Una Vez … Pero Ya No) to music competitions (The Voice). Strategically collaborating outside genres isn’t new, but Yatra’s mastery of the practice (his recent “Vagabundo” with Beéle and Manuel Turizo went to No. 1 on the Latin Airplay chart) and his ability to navigate two languages and cultures set him apart. Yatra will discuss his multitiered approach and what’s next for him.

“The Latin Swing: The Intersection of Music and Sports”

Francisco Alvarez #50 of the New York Mets

Elsa/Getty Images

Since launching in January, Rimas Sports, a division of Noah Assad’s Rimas Entertainment, has signed 50 baseball players. The move expands Rimas’ interest in athletics; Assad and Rimas Sports president Jonathan Miranda already own Puerto Rican basketball team Los Cangrejeros de Santurce with Bad Bunny. Rimas Sports clients Francisco Alvarez (of the New York Mets) and Everson Pereira (of the New York Yankees) will participate in this conversation moderated by executive and radio personality Angel “El Guru” Vera. They will be joined by Eladio Carrión and Arcángel, two Rimas artists who actively participate in philanthropy through sports.

Cheetos Block Party Featuring Myke Towers

Myke Towers

John Parra/Getty Images

“The biggest risk I’ve taken in my career musically is on this album,” Myke Towers told Billboard in April about his 2023 album, La Vida Es Una. The Puerto Rican singer-rapper will rock the Wynwood Marketplace stage at the Cheetos Block Party, where he’ll showcase songs from the album. The “LALA” chart-topper will also participate in the “Deja Tu Huella” panel presented by Cheetos, where he’ll share the stage with fellow creatives who have achieved success in conjunction with social responsibility.

For event dates, tickets and more on the conference, go to billboardlatinmusicweek.com.

This story originally appeared in the Sept. 23, 2023, issue of Billboard.

As a fresh generation of artists elevates música urbana to new heights, two influential genre legends — Latin hip-hop’s “Rap Godfather” Vico C, and reggaetón hitmaker Chencho Corleone — are reasserting their dominance.
After more than a decade away, the Latin hip-hop legend returned with new music — but the same strong ethos.

To a casual fan, it may have looked like Latin hip-hop legend Vico C completely fell off the map for the past 14 years. But he never stopped writing songs during that time, even if he couldn’t release new music due to business-related legal issues.

“Having faith that those issues would soon resolve, I just kept writing so that I would be prepared for when I could finally release something again,” says the 52-year-old artist, known as the Rap Philosopher. “I couldn’t visualize what that ‘comeback’ would be like, but I just knew that I couldn’t die without releasing new music ever again.”

The socially conscious lyricist, born Luis Armando Lozada Cruz in Brooklyn, gained fame in the 1990s thanks to his vivid, thought-provoking storytelling that addressed topics such as faith and societal values. His sound, a melodic take on rap that fused reggaetón and hip-hop, was similarly bold.

Vico C returned in May with Pánico, a 13-track set released by his new label, Nain Music (a subdivision of Rimas Entertainment), and his first album since 2009’s Babilla. But he’s still reluctant to describe this stage in his career as a comeback. “It’s hard for people to follow a weird career like mine that isn’t super consistent. There have been controversies,” he explains, nodding to a turbulent past — which includes a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 1990 that led to drug addiction and six months in jail for drug possession — that precipitated a spiritual journey to recovery. “But I never stopped creating music or performing. It was just not being able to release a new album, and for many, no new albums means no career, period.”

His resurgence comes as música urbana has taken over the global charts thanks to a new generation of acts — many of whom have credited the wordsmith as a foundational influence. In the crowded field of urbano artists, Vico C has stuck to his values, sharply criticizing oversexualized, violent and materialistic lyrics.

That industry outlier status drew Nain Music to sign him earlier this year. “He’s fresh air to the genre,” says Nain CEO Fidel Hernández, calling Vico C the label’s “flagship” artist. “From an audience perspective, he represents that option to hear deep lyrics that transcend simple entertainment, with impeccable interpretation paired with contagious and creatively unlimited urban rhythms.”

And as Vico C sees it, his unique perspective explains his staying power. “My lyrics aren’t the type that typically sell in my genre. And I don’t want people to think that because I don’t have that sexual element in my music means that it will be out of place. That’s why I’m working hard to polish my lyrics, make them shine thanks to all I’ve learned as a producer. I feel calm and prepared. I’m not reinventing myself here. It’s a matter of just commercializing what I want to give to people.”

On the heels of mega collabs, the Puerto Rican hit-maker arrives as ‘a new artist.’

After nearly 20 years as half of the reggaetón duo Plan B, Chencho Corleone will release his first solo album through his new label, Sony Music Latin, by the end of 2023. The highly anticipated set — Chencho’s first since going solo in 2018 — follows several big collaborations for the Puerto Rican hit-maker, including the blockbuster “Me Porto Bonito” with Bad Bunny, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Once I started collaborating with all these artists, I saw that people wanted more from me,” says Chencho, 44. “There came a moment, after teaming up with Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro and they were all becoming hits, when I said, ‘OK, it’s time to give fans a more complete project.’ God’s timing is always perfect, and I’m ready to give it my all.”

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Chencho laid the foundation for his solo career with Plan B. Alongside partner Maldy, the iconic two-piece rose to fame in the 2000s with reggaetón anthems such as “Mi Vecinita,” “Frikitona” and “Fanática Sensual,” ultimately placing 11 songs on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart and 10 on Hot Latin Songs. Plan B’s highest-peaking album was also its last: 2014’s Love and Sex, which landed at No. 3 on Top Latin Albums.

But Chencho prefers to enter this new era with a clean slate. “When I started this journey alone, I didn’t want to live in the past. I never want to enter a space and say, ‘I’m Chencho, and this is everything I was able to do with Plan B,’ ” he explains. “I have no ego when I go into a studio with someone else. I consider myself a new artist, and I’m here to prove that just how I was there before, I am here today.”

Since going solo, he has scored two No. 1s on Latin Airplay: “Desesperados,” with Rauw, and “Me Porto Bonito,” which ruled Hot Latin Songs for 20 weeks. But Chencho’s collaborations hint at what fans can expect from his new album, which he promises will stay true to his reggaetón roots. “It’s what my fans know me for,” he says. “My style is singing songs that people can identify with but still dance along to and be transported to a specific time in their lives. The album is everything Chencho Corleone is known for, but amplified.”

Vico C and Chencho Corleone will speak at Billboard Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2 – Oct. 6. To register, click here.

This story will appear in the Sept. 23, 2023, issue of Billboard.