Latinas and BZRP Breaking Records in the Rap Industry
A few months ago, the Colombian singer Shakira released one of her most iconic songs of her career. The song labeled “BZRP Music Session #53” Immediately, it broke records including becoming the fastest song in Spanish that reached 100 million views on YouTube in only two days.
This music song was produced by one of the most popular and trending urban music producers in the industry, the Argentine artist Bizarrap. Bizarrap, whose real name is Gonzalo Conde, started producing as a hobby, working with rappers from the local scene. Today, he works side by side with internationally renowned artists, such as Nicky Jam, Residente and Shakira.
But there’s no doubt that the most successful songs of Bizarrap’s career have been led by women. BoldLatina has curated a list of the five most important Latina rappers who have gone through his studio.
1 - Nathy Peluso
Nathy Peluso was born in Argentina, but she developed her musical career in Spain. Her style is very interesting ( read about Nathy Peluso in Bold Latina). Although many of her songs fall within rap and hip hop, she has also dabbled in genres such as soul, jazz, and salsa. Her songs Corashe, Buenos Aires or La sandungera catapulted her to fame.
Peluso’s song’s lyrics are also non-traditional and are from love and heartbreak. She dedicated an entire song to pizza called “Gimme Some Pizza” released in 2018. Originally, many of her songs are tributes to female empowerment, such as Mafiosa, which says: ¿Acaso le tienen miedo a las mujeres poderosas? (“In fact, are you afraid of powerful women?”).
In 2020, Nathy Peluso and Bizarrap released “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 36”, which entered Spotify’s top 100 most streamed songs globally. The song, which mixes R&B with Latin hip hop, became an overwhelming success in countries like Argentina, Spain, and Mexico. It currently has about 370 million views.
NATHY PELUSO || BZRP Music Sessions #36
2 - Villano Antillano
Villana Pacheco, better known by her stage name Villano Antillano, is a Puerto Rican rapper who became internationally known in 2022 with the “BZRP Music Session, Vol. 51”. Villano Antillano is the first non-binary and transgender artist to enter the Spotify Global Top 50 list.
In addition to being a rapper, Villano Antillano is a fervent activist for LGBT rights, and she has managed to become a dissident voice within the rap scene. In fact, this rapper has lyrics with strong messages against machismo and homophobia that reign in this musical genre. Villano Antillano’s session with Bizarrap currently has 180 million views.
VILLANO ANTILLANO || BZRP Music Sessions #51
3 - Nicki Nicole
At only 20 years old, Nicki Nicole is now one of the best-known faces of Argentine trap. She was born in Rosario, a city 300 kilometers from Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2019, she became known thanks to ‘BZRP Music Sessions #13’, which today has 200 million views.
NICKI NICOLE || BZRP Music Sessions #13
However, it wasn’t exactly her collaboration with Bizarrap that catapulted her to fame since back then Bizarrap was not well known as he is now. It was rather during the months of quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic that Nicki began to release songs, and they became more and more listened to. In fact, she recorded the video clip of her first great commercial success, Colocao, at her house during confinement. Nicki belongs to a generation of young artists who became famous during the pandemic restrictions, and who played their first live shows a couple of years after breaking out.
Nicole also had a great moment on U.S. Televison, since she sang one of her songs on Jimmy Fallon’s show.
Nicki Nicole ft. Lunay: Wapo Traketero/No Toque Mi Naik Medley | The Tonight Show
4 - Ptazeta
Not all the singers who have gone through the Bizarrap studio are Latin American. Latin America also has Petazeta which is originally from the Canary Islands in Spain. This Spanish archipelago has seen the birth of many artists considered within Latin music such as Quevedo who with his collaboration with Bizarrap was Spotify’s global number one hit for a month.
Ptazeta’s session with Bizarrap is “BZRP Music Sessions #45” and today it has 100 million views on YouTube. The song went very viral, especially thanks to platforms like TikTok.
PTAZETA || BZRP Music Sessions #45
5 - Snow Tha Product
The fifth artist on this list is Snow tha Product, an American rapper whose real name is Claudia Madrid Meza of Mexican heritage (her parents are originally from the Michoacán state in Mexico), Snow Tha Product has taken it upon herself to proudly raise her Latin flag at every stage and during every song she sings. Snow Tha Product is especially proud of being an unsigned artist and considers herself an independent artist free of any record label as she references it often in her songs..
In 2022, she recorded “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 39”, which went on to be nominated for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Song at the Latin Grammys. Snow Tha Product is especially known for having a very fast rapping style and for quickly switching from Spanish to English and English to Spanish and Spanglish in her raps. One of her other well known songs is “Bilingue” released in 2019 which demonstrates her Chicana heritage and Spanglish rapping lyrical skills.
Snow Tha Product || BZRP Music Sessions #39
From its origins, rap was seen as a macho and homophobic music genre. Many of the lyrics of this urban genre don’t escape the machismo and the objectification of women. Luckily, although little by little, that is beginning to change. Rap is being redefined, and today there are more and more empowered women, such as Nathy Peluso, Villano Antillano, Nicki Nicole, Ptazeta and Snow the Product, who transcend and manage to deliver powerful messages.