Differences in image aside, El Chapo and Rihanna have to be tied for most name checks in hip-hop right now. A survey of tracks featuring Mexico’s cartel escape artist include The Game’s “El Chapo” featuring Skrillex and 2 Chainz’ “El Chapo Jr.” It would almost be easier to find a hip-hop artist who hasn’t slipped in a homage to the Sinaloa Cartel leader.
“Chapo” is an accepted common noun at this point, as evidenced by Thin Jhon and Bulper’s “Like Chapo,” a song celebrating the Venezuelan artists’ crime boss level exploits. “En cualquier momento puedo morir,” go the lyrics. It’s a sleek effort, harder than some of Thin Jhon’s sweeter R&B love songs and darker than much of Bulper’s catalog.
Though 21-year-old Bulper currently lives in Lima, he was born in Maracay, Venezuela, a lakeside city near the Caribbean coast. He started singing at age 15, a year before his early crew TGF formed. One year younger, Thin Jhon was born in Caracas, where he started dabbling in music at the same age as Bulper. He currently reps for Nueva Esparta’s Ares Clan, along with Mexican producer BrunOG, who has spent time in the studio with the Venezuelans, Homegrown Entertainment artists, and Chilean rapper Jamez Manuel.