Trueno Brings His Love and Respect for Hip-Hop to the Stage

By the time he was 17, Mateo Palacios Corazzina, better known as Trueno, was a legend in Argentina's battle-rap scene, having won Red Bull's Batalla de los Gallos Argentina freestyle competition.

He followed it up by collaborating with everyone's favorite super producer, Bizarrap, freestyling on one of his beats for the sixth session of his freestyle series. The track currently boasts 267 million views on YouTube and was a pivotal moment for both Biza and Trueno, as both their careers would blow up soon after.

In 2020, Trueno released his debut album, Atrevido, which featured the hit song "Mamichula" produced by Biza and featured then-girlfriend and fellow Argentine Nicki Nicole. The album was followed up with Bien o Mal, a 15-track album that featured J Balvin, JID, and Nathy Peluso. The track "Dance Crip" nabbed him his first Latin Grammy nomination for "Best Rap/Hip-Hop Song."

On the day New Times reaches out to Trueno, he's in Puerto Rico, looking for new sounds.

"In every country I go to, I try to internalize the genres," he tells New Times. "I like to study different genres, covering the OGs and the newer guys in the countries or cities that they were created in."

Is Trueno, el salsero, a possibility? He laughs and responds affirmatively.

Expansion into new musical territory is nothing new for Trueno. He has made dembow with El Alfa, reggaeton with Nicky Jam, and a dancehall track with Sean Paul for the latest Bad Boys soundtrack, but he's always been a hip-hop fan. Growing up, he blasted Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and many other hip-hop legends. Hip-hop, in general, greatly influenced his latest album, El Último Baile.

"This album is purely dedicated as an homage to the culture and sounds of hip-hop," he shares. "With that, I also continue learning, and I'm always trying to evolve from the last album to something new and something different."

Throughout his career, Trueno has pushed Argentine rap to new heights, making it apparent to the world that the South American nation is a major player in today's Latin music scene.

"Argentine music has always had a gigantic local level, but I think that in recent years, the industry and the urban scene have gotten bigger, which has been internationalized in a very genuine way as well," Trueno says. "Now, every Argentine artist has their own path, each one with their own style of music, and with the diversity that we have that represents us, I have no doubt that it will continue to happen. More artists will continue to come out. There's a door open for the guys to see that it's a possibility."
With a world tour that has sold out multiple dates across Europe and Latin America, Trueno is embarking on its U.S. leg, consisting of four shows in Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival, and Miami Beach.

"The best thing about this tour is the opportunity to play in cities like Miami, New York, and Los Angeles, places that were part of the culture and where a great part of the history of this movement was born," he adds.

While the Miami Beach show is the final date of the U.S. leg, Trueno isn't promising any special guests but adds that it will be a memorable experience.

"When I did my first tour in the United States, I realized the Latino community that is there. The truth is that it is huge —both the Argentines and the Caribbean, the Central Americans, wherever they are," he says.

Though Bizarrap didn't lend his production for El Último Baile — Tatool is the album's primary producer — Trueno continues to keep in touch.

"We always message each other on Instagram when one of us achieves something or when he plays one of my songs live. I always see it, too," Trueno says. "Whenever we can cross paths, we cross paths, and without a doubt, we will continue producing, no, there is no doubt about that."

He also has plenty of respect for rap and hip-hop as an art form and understands its importance now more than ever. He notes that even though artists like Kanye West and Eminem have released less-than-stellar albums recently, he doesn't see a reason why they should hang things up.

"I'm a student of the game, and I learned from them. Sometimes, industries evolve and change, and the key is to understand that legacy and prestige are not just numbers — numbers are not everything," Trueno shares. "There are moments of numerical success; there are perhaps moments of not so much success. But I really see success when an artist plays in a stadium and fills it up and has all the songs, all the people singing their songs."

Trueno. 8:30 p.m. Saturday, August 17, at the Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-7300; fillmoremb.com. Tickets cost $53 to $86.50 via livenation.com.