We have our next marquee crossover between the worlds of urbano and regional stars. SoCal label Del Records has facilitated a 4/20 release for “DEL Barrio a la Ciudad,” which sees Puerto Rican reggaetónero Farruko try his hand for the first time at a corrido with genre heavies T3R Elemento. Though arguably connected to the business side of chronic, the new single is far from T3R Elemento’s most 4/20 layback track—queue recent single “Jalo y Exhalo” with David Bernal and Ruben Figueroa if you need something smokier to accompany you on this day of days.
“Se formo un triangulo dorado/Primer boricua rodeado de mexicanos,” [“We formed a golden triangle/First Boricua surrounded by Mexicans”] sings T3R Elemento’s front person Kristopher Nava on “DEL Barrio a la Ciudad”. But really, the collaboration with Farru continues a grand tradition of PR urbano artists showing love for Mexican regional sounds. Though Bad Bunny grabbed headlines when corridos tumbados chief Natanael Cano got Benito onto a track, the history of these crossovers goes back further. PR emcees have been using notes of mariachi in their perreo since Dalmata’s 2007 “Pasarela,” memories of which were conjured in Cosculluela’s 2020 rakata celebration “Un AK.”
“He liked the song and so he wanted to jump on it,” Del Records head Angel del Villar commented on the release. “Farruko had been wanting to do something like this and this song caught his attention.” Indeed, Farru captures the story of Del Villar’s proposal in the song’s lyrics themselves; “De Bayamón hasta el Río Frío bastante daño va causar este corrido/Fueron las palabras de un Ángel” [“From Bayamón to Río Frío, this corridors going to cause a lot hurt/Those were the words of an Ángel”].
Farruko’s distinctive voice does fine sliding over the track’s sierreño-inspired requinto riffs. Surely as the trend amps up between the two scenes, this won’t be the last time we see an PR urbano great dropping a “güey” into their ad-libs.