Peso Pluma BIOGRAPHY: the global king of corridos tumbados

Peso Pluma is the name leading the biggest musical phenomenon in Mexican music so far this century: the corrido tumbado. Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija, a young man born in Zapopan in 1999, became in barely three years the first Mexican to reach number one on Spotify's global chart, broke Billboard records and filled stadiums around the world. His story, that of a boy who learned guitar from YouTube tutorials, is one of the most astonishing in the recent music industry. This is his full biography.

Peso Pluma quick facts

Who is Peso Pluma?

Peso Pluma is a Mexican singer, songwriter and producer born on June 15, 1999 in Zapopan, Jalisco. He is the most visible face of corridos tumbados, a subgenre of Mexican regional music that mixes his country's traditional music with influences from trap and hip hop. His hit “Ella Baila Sola” (2023) launched him to world fame and made him the first Mexican artist to reach number one on Spotify's global chart.

Early years: from Zapopan to music

Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija was born in the municipality of Zapopan, Jalisco, into a family with very particular origins. His mother, Rubí Laija Díaz, is from Badiraguato, Sinaloa, and his father, Hassam Kadame Toledo, from Jalisco, with Lebanese ancestry on his paternal line. He grew up in Guadalajara, where music was always part of family life.

At 15 he learned to play guitar on his own, following tutorials on YouTube, and began writing songs in a personal diary; as he has said in interviews, his schoolmates ridiculed him when they found his lyrics. He spent part of his adolescence in San Antonio, Texas, where he attended secondary school at Samuel Clemens High School and connected with the Chicano community, a key environment for his musical development.

The origin of his stage name has a boxing story behind it: “peso pluma” (featherweight) is boxing's lightest category, and the nickname stuck because of his slim build. The nickname “La Doble P”, meanwhile, was born from an anecdote with Mexican boxer Marco Antonio Barrera.

Beginnings of his career: 2020-2022

Peso Pluma started recording music with his cousins, among them Roberto “Tito Double P” Laija, with whom he formed a group in which he wrote and composed. His recording debut came in 2020 with the album “Disco en vivo (En vivo)” and, a month later, with his first studio album, “Ah y Qué?”. In 2021 he released “Efectos Secundarios”.

The turning point came in 2022, when he joined the label Prajin Records and began collaborating with key figures of the movement: “Siempre Pendientes” with Luis R. Conriquez and “AMG” with Natanael Cano were the prelude to what was coming. By then, the corrido tumbado was already the most listened-to genre in Mexico, and Hassan Kabande was ready to take it to the world.

“Ella Baila Sola” and the global leap (2023)

The year 2023 was the definitive takeoff. The release of “Ella Baila Sola”, recorded with Eslabón Armado, went viral on TikTok and rewrote the records of Mexican music:

• It was the first Mexican regional song to enter the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100.
• It became the first Mexican song to reach number 1 on the Global 200 of Billboard.
• It made Peso Pluma the first Mexican to reach number 1 on Spotify's global chart (April 2023).
• In a single week he had eight simultaneous songs on the Billboard Hot 100.

That same year he released other hits such as “PRC” with Natanael Cano, “La Bebé (Remix)” and the Bzrp Music Sessions Vol. 55 with Bizarrap. At the Latin Billboard awards he took eight trophies, crowning himself the great winner of the season.

Génesis and the Grammy (2023-2024)

In June 2023 he released his album “Génesis”, a milestone for the genre: it debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200, the highest position reached by a Mexican regional album and by a Mexican artist in the history of that chart. It was also number 1 on Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums, with double platinum and gold certifications in Mexico and platinum in the United States.

Industry recognition came at the 66th Grammy Awards (February 2024), when “Génesis” won the award for Best Música Mexicana Album (including Tejano). With that, Peso Pluma established himself not only as a streaming phenomenon, but as an artist recognized by the academy.

Éxodo, collaborations and expansion (2024-2025)

In 2024 he released the album “Éxodo” and embarked on the Éxodo Tour, which toured the United States and Mexico with full stadiums. That year he also expanded his musical universe with unexpected collaborations: he shared stages and studios with Cardi B, Quavo and even with Kanye West on “Drunk”, included in the deluxe version of “Vultures 2”.

In 2025 he released “Dinastía”, a collaborative album with his cousin Tito Double P, and his label Double P Records (which he co-founded with his manager George Prajin) established itself as one of the most influential record companies in Mexican regional music, promoting new talent of the movement.

Awards and achievements

Personal life: from Nicki Nicole to Kenia Os

Peso Pluma's love life has been followed as closely as his career. Between 2023 and 2024 he had a relationship with Argentine singer Nicki Nicole, which ended controversially after the leak of a video in Las Vegas with influencer Sahar Sonia.

From the end of 2024 until June 2026 his partner was Mexican singer Kenia Os, with whom he starred in viral moments: a romantic “proposal” in the middle of a concert in 2025 and a passionate kiss when receiving the Billboard Vanguardia Award in October 2025, when she was the one who handed it to him. On June 6, 2026, the two confirmed their break-up with a joint statement signed “Kenia & Hassan”, in which they said the relationship was ending “with love, respect and on the best terms”.

Controversies

The threats in Tijuana (2023). In September 2023, Peso Pluma cancelled his concert in Tijuana, scheduled for October 14, and other dates in Mexico after receiving death threats through alleged narco-banners signed by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The artist broke his silence days later in an interview, while his label confirmed the cancellation for the safety of the team and the audience.

The debate about corridos tumbados. His music has been at the centre of the controversy about narco culture and violence. Corridos tumbados have been criticized for allegedly glorifying figures of organized crime; in 2024, for example, the city of Chihuahua banned playing music with misogynistic lyrics, and the genre was the subject of analysis and censorship in various settings. Peso Pluma, for his part, has defended the corrido as a cultural expression of his generation.

Peso Pluma trivia

• His stage name comes from boxing's featherweight division, because of his slim build; the nickname “La Doble P” was born from an anecdote with boxer Marco Antonio Barrera.
• He learned to play guitar at 15 watching tutorials on YouTube and wrote songs in a diary his schoolmates mocked him for.
• His cousin Tito Double P is also a corrido tumbado star and together they recorded the album “Dinastía”.
• He is of Lebanese ancestry on his father's side and has Sinaloa roots on his mother's side.
• He attended part of his secondary education in San Antonio, Texas, where he grew close to the Chicano community.
• He considers his manager and partner George Prajin a “third father”, and together they co-founded Double P Records.
• He is the most listened-to Mexican artist of all time on streaming platforms.

Peso Pluma today (2026)

In 2026, Peso Pluma is still the most listened-to artist in Mexico and one of the richest in the country. In January 2026 he announced the “Dinastía by Peso Pluma & Friends Tour” tour, a series of 30 dates in the United States between March and May, in support of the album he recorded with Tito Double P. In addition, his music played in the context of the 2026 World Cup: in June he gave a free performance in Los Angeles to celebrate the World Cup being played in North America.

At 27, Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija has gone from being a teenager recording in his bedroom to leading a global musical movement. At Famosix we consider that his story marks a before and after: he showed that Mexican regional music could stop being a niche genre and become the most listened-to music on the planet, and he opened the door for a whole generation of Mexican artists in the international market.

Conclusion

The biography of Peso Pluma is that of a young man from Jalisco who, with talent, persistence and a bold musical fusion, conquered the world from corridos tumbados. From YouTube tutorials to Spotify's global number one, from concerts in bars to stadiums, his career is one of the most impressive success stories in recent Latin music.

Did you like this biography? Discover also those of other phenomena of international music such as Bad Bunny and Shakira, or explore all our international biographies.

Sources consulted

• Wikipedia: Peso Pluma.
• Infobae: Kenia Os confirms break-up with Peso Pluma, “we are grateful that our decision is respected”.
• Grammy.com: Peso Pluma's Road To ‘ÉXODO’.