Trueno

Argentinian rapper Mateo Palacios Corazzina, known to audiences worldwide as Trueno, was a key player in his country’s rise to rap prominence during the late 2010s and early 2020s. Along with being responsible for one of the scene’s all-time biggest hits in 2020′s “Mamichula,” the musician continued to land streaming numbers in the hundreds of millions, which included the multi-platinum albums Atrevido (2020) and BIEN O MAL (2022).
The son of Uruguayan rapper Peligro (Pedro Palacios), Buenos Aires-born Trueno spent his early years surrounded by hip-hop, accompanying his father to rap events and competitions across the country. Like many of his contemporaries, he soon began to enter competitions himself: he first appeared in the 2014 edition of ACDP Juniors and went on to win the competition outright just two years later. Strong showings across shows like El Quinto Escalón, FMS Argentina, and Red Bull Batalla — as well as a fierce victory against Dani and Replik in 2016 — built Trueno’s reputation as one of his country’s brightest rap talents, as he worked in competition with artists like Wolf, Ecko, Dtoke, and Duki. On the back of successful freestyle years in 2017 and 2018, he released an early run of singles (“K.I.N.G,” “En la Ola”), finding his first major success with the introspective “Rain.”
In 2019, Trueno transitioned from battle rapper to full-blown solo artist. His appearance on Bizarrap’s new freestyle show BZRP Freestyle Sessions became the catalyst for nationwide fame: the duo’s collaboration, a no-frills reminder of the rapper’s varied flow and confident bars, landed the pair a number one spot on Argentina’s Hot 100 chart. After announcing his retirement from the battle rap circuit, Trueno scored another hit with the Nicki Nicole collaboration “Mamichula,” with the track topping Argentina’s Hot 100 and Spain’s PROMUSICAE charts, and soon earning three-times and four-times platinum certifications in those territories, respectively.
A relentless run of singles paved the way for Trueno’s debut album, Atrevido; executive produced by Taiu & Tatool, the four-times-platinum-certified LP danced between modern trap styles, ventures into reggaeton, and guitar-led genre fusions. After issuing the live album Atrevido En Vivo, Trueno closed out 2021 with three back-to-back hits — the triumphant trap of “FEEL ME??,” the Tiago PZK-featuring reggaeton of “Salimo de Noche,” and the ’90s hip-hop of “Dance Crip” — which racked up more than 200 million streams apiece. For his second studio album, BIEN O MAL (2022), Trueno addressed wider social themes, moving toward live instrumentation for homages to his homeland, rallies against the challenges faced by Argentinian youth, and even a collaboration with his father on “Hoop Hoop.” ~ David Crone