Peso Pluma can’t decide which tattoo—his second of the day, after an image of the Virgin Mary—he wants emblazoned on his shin. Initially, the wiry 24-year-old Mexican singer, rapper, and record label CEO settles on the cosmic Vivienne Westwood “Love” insignia, with Saturn (the planet) in place of the o. He eagerly pulls up the logo on his phone and shows it to Ganga, one of several tattoo artists who’ve joined him at his recording studio in California’s Orange County. The location, wedged into a strip mall a stone’s throw from Disneyland, belies the unconventional things he’s been up to here for the past few years.
Furrowing his brow, Peso asks a member of his team for a second opinion. “Está perro,” his friend concludes. It’s cool.
But Peso isn’t convinced. Seconds later he’s moved on from the designer logo, deciding instead on a tattoo of the Super Star icon from the Mario franchise. Ganga suggests that the star would look better somewhere else. Peso wordlessly drops his Celine sweats so Ganga can trace an outline of the symbol on his right thigh. Before he’s done, Peso has moved on to yet another idea: the Parental Advisory label. Seconds later, he throws out a spider as a fourth option. He already has an arachnid inked on his right hip bone, a nod to his boyhood love of the Tobey Maguire–era Spider-Man flicks. “What if they’re running up and down my leg?” he asks the room.
This quality—an ambition verging on itchiness—has guided Peso, born Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija, through an extraordinary ascent that has kicked into overdrive this past year. He was YouTube’s most viewed artist of 2023 in the US, beating out pop behemoths like Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift. His song with Eslabon Armado, “Ella Baila Sola,” became the first regional Mexican tune ever to crack the Billboard Top 10; blending traditional forms and modern sounds, he has helped música mexicana go global. He’s been criticized in some quarters for valorizing narco culture—but he’s also received death threats from drug cartels. Somewhere in there, too, he won a Grammy.
Today, Peso is deep into refining his forthcoming album Éxodo, as well as a reworked live show to accompany its release. “It’s going to be very raw. Real,” Peso says of his upcoming tour. “Sin pelos en la lengua,” he adds, a saying that roughly translates to: He will not be mincing words.
Given his brief but startling track record, both are more likely than not to be global smashes—but they’re also table-setters for his next era. He’s interested in being more than just the guy who makes the music: Double P Records, the independent label he co-owns with industry veteran George Prajin, is humming with new signings and upcoming releases. Peso believes there’s a wealth of rising talent within música mexicana, and he wants to serve as an alternative to what he sees as a too often predatory system. (To that end, he serves as both CEO and head of A&R.) Double P will also function as an umbrella for other, less-music-focused pursuits—including potential Hollywood projects. The offices are under construction the day I visit, progress being made on a proper HQ: two new studios, a gym, conference rooms, the whole record-label deal.
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