Yng Lvcas, Peso Pluma and More Talk Evolution of ‘La Bebe’: ‘Couldn’t Have Come at a Better Time’
In 2019, Mexican singer-rapper Yng Lvcas found the beat that would drive his chart-busting “La Bebe” on BeatStars, the online musical marketplace where Lil Nas X found the track for “Old Town Road.” An amalgamation of classic reggaeton drums, it was the work of Hasa King Beatz, an Ecuadorian producer who put the track up for sale earlier that year.
At 24, Lvcas was already a local celebrity when breakthrough artist Peso Pluma came knocking on his door. Lvcas’ style borders on a mix of rap and reggaeton, and his talents speak to his dexterity in blending hip-hop with the Mexican folk ballads known as corridos.
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In 2021, he dropped “La Bebe” as part of his “LPM” EP, and the song took off on streaming services, leading the artist to sign with Warner Music México under the purview of label execs David Bravo and Alejandro Mejía Abad. Part of Lvcas’ record deal involved remixing the single “to boost its local and regional presence,” Abad says. “We had several meetings and discussed various names of strong Colombian, Venezuelan or Puerto Rican reggaeton artists for the remix. No Mexican artists were considered.”
However, on the same day of Lvcas’ official signing party, a mutual contact at Royal Religion Records, an indie label in Mexico City, passed along word of Pluma’s interest in remixing the single. At the time, “La Bebe” was leading the new wave of reggaeton in Pluma’s home state of Jalisco in Mexico. And he loved the song. “I wrote to him,” Pluma recalls. “The next day, we were in the studio together, and a few hours after that, we were already recording the video.”
Rodrigo and Emiliano Vazquez, the sibling production duo known as the Bounce Bosses, had been working with Lvcas for more than a year. The pair met with producer Brujo, who mixed and mastered the remix, to put the finishing touches on the song.
“This remix couldn’t have come at a better time in the history of música Mexicana,” says Emiliano Vazquez. “Before this, we didn’t see many examples of reggaeton crafted by an entirely Mexican team that featured the country’s jargon and with this level of flow. We knew we were working on an instant hit.”
Prior to Lvcas’ signing, Abad remembers being fixated on the original song’s beat, which he says “stands out from most songs in the genre because its tempo is slower than the others. The chorus melody
is very clear, easy to remember, and, above all, easy to sing along to. This is crucial for the Mexican audience, both at home and abroad.”
“La Bebe (Remix)” was released just four weeks later. Warner worked to enhance the visibility of the original “La Bebe,” which had limited promotion up to that point.
“Many people already knew ‘La Bebe’ and Peso Pluma, and they couldn’t wait for it to come out,” Abad says. That momentum was building just as Pluma was rolling out several other successful collaborations with other artists in and outside his genre. In fact, “La Bebe” hit DSPs the same week as “Ella Baila Sola,” Pluma’s massive collaboration with Eslabon Armado.
The remix notched 800 million Spotify streams and reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Even though our sounds are different, the power of our collaborating is that Peso and I are both Mexican,” says Lvcas. “If we want to talk about truly revolutionizing or innovating … we have to be willing to support each together. We mutually respect each other’s work, and it’s great that we also see a lot of value in pushing the culture forward.”
SONGWRITERS:
Yng Lvcas
Peso Pluma
Héctor Adrian Salazar Aguayo (Hasa King Beatz)
PUBLISHERS: Veritas Editions Limited/ Downtown DMP Songs, Sony Music Publishing and BeatStars
LABEL: Warner Music México
HITMAKERS:
Rodrigo and Emiliano Vazquez (Bounce Bosses), producer/artist duo
Brujo, producer
Héctor Adrian Salazar Aguayo (Hasa King Beatz), producer
Alejandro Mejia Abad, general manager, Artist Strategy, Warner Music Mexico
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