As a Valentine’s Day gift to fans, Mexican singer-songwriter Natanael Cano released his new EP Corazón Tumbado on February 14th. The leading voice in the corridos tumbados movement continues to wear his young heart on his sleeve across the 5 tracks. With the genre gaining more of a pulse in the Latin music this past year, Cano is keeping its heartbeat alive with a steady stream of music, including his recent hit “Amor Tumbado.”
Cano hails from the city of Hermosillo in Senora, Mexico. While learning to play guitar from YouTube videos at age 10, he was also growing up on the music of the ill-fated Ariel Camacho, who was another fresh face that was redefining regional Mexican music. After writing some music of his own, Cano’s self-released “El De Los Lentes Gucci” in 2018 put eyes and ears onto his unique brand of corridos tumbados.
Corridos tumbados, which have also been referred to as corridos urbanos and trap corridos, take the classic corridos from the ranchosof Mexico to the streets of the U.S. Last year Cano signed with Rancho Humilde, the L.A.-based label at the forefront of this new wave of corridos. Cano’s labelmates include Mexican-American acts Adriel Favela and Fuerza Regida, who he has frequently collaborated with.
While música urbana has a stronghold on Billboard’s Latin music charts, 18-year-old Cano is one of the few artists outside of that genre to hold his own alongside J Balvin, Ozuna, and Bad Bunny. The latter was such a big fan of Cano’s “Soy El Diablo,” that he jumped on a remix. Cano recently out-peaked that remix on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart this month with his own “Amor Tumbado” reaching No. 10. On a chart that ranks the best-selling Latin songwriters of the week, he sits at No. 2 behind Balvin.
With the Latino youth’s insatiable taste for corridos tumbados, Cano is keeping them well-fed with singles like “El Drip,” two albums, and this latest EP all dropping within months of each other. At the Corazón Tumbado release party in L.A., Cano spoike exclusively with Remezcla about his rising career, his new music and what’s next.
Who are some of your influences?
My influences are Ariel Camacho, Alfredito Olivas and Virlán García. Those are people who I listened to.
Where does the inspiration behind your music come from?
It comes from what I live day-by-day. That’s the inspiration behind my songs.
How do you feel to be the face of the corridos tumbados movement?
It’s something that’s fucking awesome because we’re [me and my labelmates] all friends and we have a good time.
Who do you want to collaborate with in the future?
I would like to collaborate with Daddy Yankee, Anuel AA, and Bad Bunny. With everyone.
There’s a lot of men making corridos tumbados right now. On your song “Golpes de la Vida,” why did you decide to collaborate with female artist Ivonne Galaz?
It’s a decision I made because she has a lot of talent. I really love how she sings. I liked the song and she’s from Sonora like me, so I decided to include her on it.
Your biggest hit at the moment is “Amor Tumbado.” How did that song develop?
That song was about a girl, a person that I met. I dedicated it to her.
How do you feel about the success of the song and why do you think people are connecting to it?
I feel very happy. I felt like it was going to work out and it did work out. And here we are riding a hit. Maybe that’s happening because everyone can feel and identify with the lyrics.
You’re second on Billboard’s top Latin songwriters list. How do you feel about being a songwriter?
I feel great. You realize that you can reach what you want to achieve. It’s fucking awesome that people can see you right there [on that list] based off the music that you’re writing by yourself.
How would you describe your latest EP Corazón Tumbado?
It’s like a closure to this cycle. We already planned a tour and later the new stuff will come.
What are your plans for this year?
I’m going to release a little bit of music. I’m going to release music that’s very exclusive. I’m going to keep working and planning more discos tumbados. [Corridos Tumbados] Volume 2 should be coming soon and I’ll be planning other things as well.
What do you see for the future of corridos tumbados?
It’s coming along well. Everything is happening in good time. We’re going to keep hanging in there. It feels good.
