Peso Pluma

Regional Mexican music—a genre that encompasses several subgenres native to rural Mexico—is going global, and singer-songwriter Peso Pluma is at the forefront of the sonic shift. In April, “Ella Baila Sola,” a collaboration between Peso Pluma and the group Eslabon Armado, made history when it became the first regional Mexican song to reach the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. Now Peso Pluma, already the most-streamed artist in Mexico and the CEO of his own recently launched record label, is performing his June album Génesis to sold-out shows in his first-ever U.S. tour. He feels gratified to have introduced his urban trap spin on corridos, or traditional Mexican ballads, to hundreds of millions of listeners in the U.S. and across the world. “Putting the flag, the sound and culture of Mexico up with me brings me great pride,” Peso Pluma, speaking Spanish, says. “No one can take that from me.”

Write to Mariah Espada at mariah.espada@time.com.