Fresh off playing a friendly game of soccer with his labelmates like Rauw Alejandro the night before the Latin Grammys, Trueno casually strolls into a hotel room with yerba mate, a popular herbal drink from his native Argentina, in hand. Unphased by the push and pull of the industry around him, the rapper sees the latest achievements in his career, like his first Grammy nomination, as a game of fútbol.
“I’m making music and thinking of my career 24-7, that moments like this Grammy nomination are a helpful surprise for me to put everything that I’m doing into perspective,” he says, while sipping on his drink. “The nomination is like being up for the Ballon d’Or when the best soccer players are awarded for the work that they’ve done all year long. It’s beautiful just to be nominated and have the validation that the album I made was worth it.”
In the past five years, Trueno has solidified himself as the leader of the Latin hip-hop movement with his unflinching rap flow. His past three albums have surpassed more than one billion streams each. With his dad being MC Peligro, a pioneer in Argentina’s rap scene, Trueno was literally born to do this. As a child of the 2000s, Mateo Palacios Corazzina grew up listening to American rappers such as Eminem, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, and Kase.O, Nach, Canserbero, Vico C, and Tego Calderón from Latin America. His biggest inspiration, however, remains his freestyler father. Trueno’s stage name comes from his dad’s song “Trueno En La Madrugada.”
“I continue to share this experience with Peligro because it’s a bit of his fault that I’m doing what I’m doing,” Trueno says with a laugh. “He was rapping before I was even born. I was born in the middle of his plan to push this rap movement from Argentina further. All my family members are musicians, but thanks to him, I found my passion and my path in life. He’s instilled the values in me that hip-hop also means family.”
Despite his famous lineage, Trueno still had to start from the bottom to get his rap career going. Through freestyle battling in the streets of his barrio (neighborhood) La Boca in Buenos Aires, he quickly caught the attention of local competitions. In 2019, Trueno rose in rank among the country’s rappers and became the champion of both Red Bull’s Batalla de los Gallos and FMS Argentina. Off the momentum of his wins, Trueno formally launched his music career with his debut album El Atrevido a year later.
“Freestyle battling was the strongest type of training that I could have as a rapper in general,” he recalls. “To be rapping against a person that’s trying to humiliate you and thinking of the right rhymes for the moment, that helps you develop a quick wit and method of improvisation. Improvisation like that is key to this career, so when I sat down to write for my first album, it was so easy for me to write about what I felt in that moment.”
Thanks to the success of El Atrevido, Trueno became a household name across Argentina. With hip-hop already inherently political, his follow-up LP, 2022’s Bien o Mal, started making an impact across Latin America. Trueno showed that he was unafraid to call out the corruption, social injustice, and economic inequality in that region of the world. One his protest anthems “Fuck El Police” caught the attention of Cypress Hill, who jumped on a remix of the song. At the same time, Trueno celebrated the musical panorama of Argentina with the album, which featured his father, Víctor Heredia, Nathy Peluso, and Bizarrap.
“I don’t hold anything back,” he says. “Music is my main medium of expression. It’s where I unleash my thoughts without fear. I’m always going to say what’s on my mind. Injustice, and the other topics I discussed on Bien o Mal, are realities that have historically been experienced by Latinos. I wanted to speak up about it because Latin America is where I was born. Traveling to other countries with that album made me understand where I come from and what I want to express with my music.”
With his latest album El Último Baile, Trueno wanted to celebrate the history of the genre that he grew up on, rap. To coincide with the 50th anniversary of hip-hop in 2023, he started the rollout for his album, which included the ’90s-inspired “Tranky Funky” that garnered Trueno his first Latin Grammy award. While exploring retro sounds, he also looked to the future with the Afrobeats-infused “Real Gangsta Love.” That song went viral on TikTok and more than 487 million streams on Spotify later, Trueno was suddenly global.
“At a moment where I was working very hard and going through a tough time, the success of ‘Real Gangsta Love’ was a complete shock to me,” he recalls. “That meant a lot to me. That showed me what’s most important is to keep putting out music. The reaction to the song helped me realize that whatever problem I might be going through, my fans will always be there for me.”
With this year’s EUB DELUXE, Trueno continued to honor hip-hop while taking more control in his music as a producer. He blended drill music with a sample of the classic “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five in the genre-bending “Grandmaster.” Trueno also got co-signs from hip-hop pioneer DJ Premier in the triumphant “344” and Latin heavy-hitters Feid and Young Miko. The swaggering “Fresh” earned Trueno a second Latin Grammy award for Best Rap/Hip Hop Song. Now, EUB DELUXE is competing for Best Música Urbana Album at next year’s Grammy Awards.
“Obviously, for Latin music, it’s more difficult to break through at the American Grammys,” Trueno says. “With EUB DELUXE, which is a shorter project, to be nominated with artists like Bad Bunny, Feid, and J Balvin, it’s so crazy! To be able to represent Argentina’s rap scene at the American Grammys is already like winning for me. If I do win, I’ll be filled with pride for my country and happiness, but I feel great to represent Argentine rap at the Latin Grammys, American Grammys, and everywhere else.”
Trueno has continued to grow on an international level. Following in the footsteps of hip-hop giants like Rick Ross and Metro Boomin, he became the first Latin artist to headline his own Red Bull Symphonic concert this year. The orchestra-backed performance was released to all music streaming platforms on November 18. Trueno was also tapped by Gorillaz to feature on the kaleidoscopic “The Manifesto” with late D12 rapper Proof. While recording the song, Damon Albarn invited him to open for the band’s arena and stadium tour in the U.K. next spring. Now, Trueno is putting the finishing touches on highly anticipated fourth album.
“It’s been a little over two years that I’ve spent working on my fourth album,” he reveals. “It’s the most important for me because the number four means a lot to me. I’m working with the producer El Guincho, who is showing me so much during this process and helping me broaden my horizons. This album will be more about me and reflect my tastes and what I personally want to say with my music.”
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