Éxodo (transl.Exodus) is the fourth studio album by Mexican singer Peso Pluma. It was released on 20 June 2024, through Double P Records. After releasing his third studio album Génesis (2023) to critical and commercial acclaim, he began recording his next album throughout several locations in the United States and Mexico. He later confirmed that it would explore a variety of music genres, as well as new collaborators. Referred to as his "dark side", the album's title and details were further revealed in 2024.
A double album, Éxodo is split into two discs; the first disc contains regional Mexican tracks and corridos tumbados songs, while its second disc explores more urban genres such hip hop, Latin trap, reggaeton and electronic dance music. Thematically, Éxodo contains lyrics which revolve around subjects such as luxury, organized crime, stardom, breakups and partying, while biblically, it follows his third album Génesis, creating a reference to the Book of Exodus following its predecessor Book of Genesis. Upon release, Éxodo was met with favorable to mixed reviews from critics; some praised the album's production and versatility, while others criticized its lack of consistency and the inclusion of its second disc.
The singer embarked the Éxodo Tour as the album's supporting tour. In addition, it was supported with 10 singles; "Bellakeo", "Rompe la Dompe", "La People II", "Peso Completo", "Teka", "La Durango", "Gimme a Second", "Vino Tinto", "Tommy & Pamela" and "La Patrulla". After a four-hour tracking period for Billboard charts, it debuted at numbers 41 and 19 on the US Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums charts, respectively, with 3,000 album-equivalent units. After the next full tracking week, it became a commercial success, reaching a peak position of number one on both charts, additionally debuting at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 64,000 additional album-equivalent units, becoming his second top-five album on the chart.
Background
Peso Pluma rose to global prominence in early 2023, when he released singles such as "PRC" with Natanael Cano, "El Azul" with Junior H, "Ella Baila Sola" with Eslabon Armado, and "La Bebé" with Yng Lvcas, which have appeared on the Billboard Hot 100. Amidst his success, he announced his third studio album Génesis in May 2023.[1][2] Promoted with a trailer featuring Mike Tyson,[3] it was released on 20 June 2024, with a "deluxe" edition being released a week later, adding three additional tracks.[4][5] A commercial success, it debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 73,000 album-equivalent units after its next full tracking week, making history as the highest debut and charting for a regional Mexican album on the chart; all of its tracks were also charting on the US Hot Latin Songs upon debut.[6][7][8] In October 2023, the singer revealed to Billboard that he was working on his next album, adding that there would be reggaeton tracks among other genres and that frequent collaborators would appear, along with new collaborators.[9][10]
On February 2024, Génesis received a Grammy Award for Best Música Mexicana Album (including Tejano) at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, becoming the singer's first time accomplishing this.[11][12] Despite the success, a video of him with another woman in Las Vegas spread around social media, abruptly ending his relationship with Argentinian singer Nicki Nicole, which began in 2023.[13] He began to tease the album by first posting a random date on X (formerly Twitter), 21 March 2024, along with the text "solo mi deber ejecute...", which marked speculation that it would be released on the exact date.[14][15] The text is a lyric from the song "La People II", which would instead be released on the posted date as one of the album's singles.[16] During a cover story with Rolling Stone, where he also became the first regional Mexican artist to be on the cover of their magazine, he revealed his next album title as Éxodo while regarding the rumors about his breakup with Nicole, to which he did not want to talk about.[17][18] He confirmed that there would be experimentation within the album, aside from his main genre of regional Mexican music, stating he wanted it to be a "surprise" for everyone and that he has "liked doing things to get out of [his] comfort zone".[19]
The album's first planned release date was confirmed by Peso Pluma at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards, where he won the awards for Regional Mexican Song (for "Ella Baila Sola" with Eslabon Armado) and Regional Mexican Artist of the Year, set for release on May 2024.[20] Pluma, who is managed by George Prajin, would later sign a global distribution deal with Creative Artists Agency where he planned on distributing the album from.[21] To further tease Éxodo, fellow collaborators Eslabon Armado and Junior H, along with Peso Pluma, shared an image of a cropped car on their respective Instagram stories with a snippet of an untitled song playing, possibly leading to a collaboration with all three artists.[22] It led to the release of the single "La Durango", as part of the album.[23] He would then announce the official release date for Éxodo on 8 May 2024, though a teaser featuring Irish professional mixed martial artist Conor McGregor.[24] Its track list would also be revealed on 24 May 2024,[25] later revealing on Instagram that he cut his signature mullet haircut off, on a story which showed excess hair on the floor, which was also suspected to be his "new look" for the album.[26] An image of him with his new hairstyle, which appears to be a taper fade or side-part,[27] surfaced around social media, which was later confirmed to have been created with artificial intelligence.[28]
Recording and writing for Éxodo began some time after Génesis (2023) was released and before it received its Grammy award in 2024, with multiple recording sessions lasting within in a year and a half.[17] According to Peso Pluma, recording for the album took place in cities such as Los Angeles, Miami and New York City, including Mexico; his touring band contributed with the instruments for the album's first disc, while artists from his label, Double P Records, contributed to its production and songwriting, including his cousin Tito "Double P" Laija.[34] In the recording sessions of Génesis, about 40 songs were recorded and only 17 of them were used for the album.[17]
While being interviewed by Rolling Stone, a recording session for the album took place at Lab Studios in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida, where American producer Édgar Barrera and fellow songwriter Alexis Fierro (El Chachito) appeared in the process.[17] He also worked with fellow producer Ernesto Fernández, who helped produce Génesis, to produce the entirety of the album's first disc. An electric bass was used on the recording for "Solicitado" instead of a tololoche, while "Ice", which begins with a sample spoken by American wrestler Ric Flair, was one of the last songs to be added on the album.[37] Additionally, Barrera contributed to four tracks from the album; he co-wrote and co-produced "Santal 33" and "14 - 14", while he only co-wrote "Vino Tinto" and "Tommy & Pamela".[38][39] Production for "Put Em in the Fridge" was also handled by Charlie Handsome and Fresh.[40]
Songs
The album in full opens with "La Durango", where Peso Pluma, Junior H and Eslabon Armado sing about how "beautiful" women are in a Dodge Durango, which alludes to the title, and also makes a reference to the tequila Don Julio 70.[41][42] Transitioning into the second track, "Me Activo" (transl. "I Activate Myself") with Jasiel Nuñez, it features Peso Pluma "shift[ing] his voice into a serenade-like tone", while containing "catchy, high-stakes" guitar tones in the background,[32][43] while "La Patrulla" with Netón Vega is a narcocorrido.[44] The fourth track, "La People II" with Tito Double P and Joel de la P, is a sequel to the former's track with the first mentioned singer "La People" and contains lyrical elements to that of a narcocorrido. Lyrically, it is an apology for organized crime and contains references to El Nini, El 27, and El Piyi, who all have connections to the Sinaloa Cartel.[43][16][45] Shifting into corridos bélicos with its fifth track, "Sr. Smith", Peso Pluma and Luis R. Conriquez sing about hustling for a lush lifestyle.[46][44] "Rompe la Dompe" (transl. "Break the Dompe"), the album's sixth track with Junior H and Óscar Maydon, is a corrido tumbado where its lyrics revolve around having a party, forgetting about a lover, and opening a bottle of Champagne, specifically the Dom Pérignon brand.[47][48][49] In the album's eighth track, "Belanova" with Tito Double P, features lyrics which revolve around promising to die fighting; its title makes a reference to the Mexican pop band of the same name and is described as a possible "follow-up" to the former's song "Rosa Pastel", which may inspired to the Mexican pop band's song of the same name.[50][30]
On "Bruce Wayne", it opens with a "left-field" piano melody, with Peso Pluma thematically transitioning into a dark character and seeing himself as a billionaire with "gravelly self-assurance", while casually switching his vocal approach; he includes a rap approach within its second verse.[32][51][43][44] An alternate-cover version, "Hollywood" with Estevan Plazola, the album's 10th track, is an ode to Hollywood, Los Angeles, with its lyrics revolving around being abused as a child and gaining eventual fame, while it also contains lyrics possibly directed at Mexican politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador.[46][44][52][53] Leaping into the 11th track, "Reloj" (transl. "Clock" or "Wristwatch") with Iván Cornejo, it is a sad sierreño song which features psychedelic sounds and lyrics possibly surrounding the aftermath of Pluma's breakup with ex-partner Nicki Nicole, while both singers "take turns harmonizing one another to mesmerizing effect".[30][51][44] The album's 12th track "Ice", is a corrido bélico which begins with a sample spoken by American wrestler Ric Flair,[46][43] while "Solicitado" (transl. "Requested") lyrically sees Peso Pluma reflecting on fame and its negative outcomes, as well as changes in life.[46][54][44] "Santal 33" with Óscar Maydon, in which its title is a reference to the cologne of the same name, features lyrics about high life that are sung in French.[50][46] "Vino Tinto" (transl. "Red Wine"), the 15th track and third collaboration between Natanael Cano and Gabito Ballesteros, begins with a synthesizer possibly transitioning into an "EDM-corrido", instead transitioning into a corrido tumbado.[43][44] Concluding the album's first disc, "14 - 14" aesthetically revolves around religion; the track title is an angel number, referencing Exodus 14:14, and the lyrics revolve around him hiding a crucifix around his neck, while "suspensful [and] organ-like keys" with an "echoing sound of gunfire" are heard at the very end.[30][46][36]
Commencing the disc, "Gimme a Second" with Rich the Kid is a trap song, with its lyrics revolving around a rags to riches theme.[46] "Put Em in the Fridge" is a Spanglishcorrido-trap song with a horn sample, where both Peso Pluma and Cardi B rap about transporting cocaine.[43][55][31] "Pa No Pensar" (transl. "To Not Think") with Quavo is an emo trap ballad where its lyrics revolve around escaping reality.[43] "Peso Completo" (transl. "Heavyweight") with Arcángel, which translates to "heavyweight", is a Latin trap song that was produced by Dímelo Flow where Arcángel mentions the neighborhood of Condado, Santurce.[56] "Bellakeo" with Anitta is a reggaeton song where its theme revolves around being flirtatious, including a reference to reggaeton duo Plan B.[57] "Mala" (transl. "Bad") with Ryan Castro is a reggaeton song with a "hypnotizing [and] hip-swiveling" drum beat.[46] "Tommy & Pamela" with Kenia Os is a titular reference to American musician Tommy Lee and Canadian-American actress Pamela Anderson, where its lyrics are about "recreating" the mentioned partners' sex tape.[50][30][44] The album's closing track, "Teka" with DJ Snake as a producer and secondary artist, is an electronic dance track where Peso Pluma sings about dancing in a discoteca (discothèque), interpolating lyrics from Farruko's 2011 single "Pa' Romper la Discoteca".[46][58][59]
Marketing
Title and artwork
The album artwork for Éxodo was revealed on 24 May 2024.[25] It shows a "distortedinverted-color" image of Peso Pluma holding the V sign with both hands.[50] In an interview with Publimetro México, he explained that he wanted the album cover to be different from "what [he] had seen before", and states that it is "a representation of these changes that [Éxodo] and [himself] have gone through in recent years".[60]
The album's title, Éxodo, was revealed during the interview with Rolling Stone, where he also explained that his third album Génesis showed his "superhero side", while Éxodo shows "his dark side" and is a direct response to critics who "focus more on the negatives than the positives", likely referring to his music.[61][62] Translated to "Exodus" in English, the album follows his third studio album Génesis (2023), creating a biblical reference to the Bible's second book Exodus following that of Genesis.[63][64] He explained to Spin that Génesis marked "the beginning" and that Éxodo is a continuation of it, adding that Éxodo marks a new era for him.[65]
The Éxodo Tour was announced as Peso Pluma's second headlining concert tour in February 2024, set as the album's supporting tour.[66] It was also announced to have an "all-new show, inclusive of a fully reimagined set design and setlist, featuring his remarkable live band".[67][68] Promoted by Live Nation Entertainment, the tour was set to begin on 26 May 2024, at the Sueños Music Festival in Chicago, Illinois, which ended up getting cancelled before the singer's performance started due to severe weather.[69][70] Several North American tour dates were also cancelled, including shows in Miami, Nashville, New Orleans and Oklahoma City.[71] The tour began on 19 July 2024 and is set to conclude on 18 October 2024 at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, through an update on tour dates due to "high demand".[72][73]
During his 9 June 2024 performance at the 2024 Governors Ball Music Festival, where he also invited Rich the Kid and Jasiel Nuñez as special guests,[74][75] he fractured his foot on stage and would keep performing instead of ending his show, later confirming on Instagram that he fractured his ankle.[76][77] He would then confirm that surgery for his ankle was a success and assured that he would continue touring.[78] Several album collaborators, including Iván Cornejo, Kenia Os and Tito Double P, have also joined Peso Pluma onstage as surprise guests throughout the tour.[79] Additional invited guests throughout include Becky G, Cypress Hill, Gunna, Saweetie and Snoop Dogg, among others.[80][81]
In addition to the tour, Peso Pluma and Arcángel performed "Peso Completo" at the 2024 Latin American Music Awards, on 25 August 2024.[82][83] The singer and Pedro Tovar of Eslabon Armado performed "La Durango" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, on 16 May 2024.[84][85] Two days before the release of the album, Peso Pluma announced that he would host two free-access listening parties for the album in Mexico City, titled The Éxodo Experience, in partnership with social networking app StoyCo.[86]
Singles
"Bellakeo" was released on 7 December 2023, along with its accompanying Madrid-filmed music video, serving as the lead single from Éxodo.[87][88] Directed by Willy Rodríguez, its video features multiple dancers in black clothing who also appear performing a ritual on a man.[57] In the United States, it peaked number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100,[89] number three on Hot Latin Songs[90] and number eight on Latin Rhythm Airplay.[91] The song reached the summit of the charts in Bolivia and Nicaragua,[92][93] while it peaked within the top 10 in Ecuador (5),[94]Mexico (6),[95] Paraguay (2),[96] and Peru (2),[97] additionally peaking at number seven on the Billboard Global 200.[98] It also received certifications in Brazil,[99]Portugal[100] and Spain.[101] Three weeks later, on 28 December 2024, he would release "Rompe la Dompe" as the album's second single.[102] The song peaked at number four in Mexico,[95] number 80 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[89] number 12 on US Hot Latin Songs,[90] and number 51 on the Billboard Global 200.[98]
"La People II" was relessed on 21 March 2024 as the album's third single.[16] Its music video was also released simultaneously, which was filmed in Coyoacán, Mexico and was directed by Fernando Lugo,[103] and it peaked at numbers 69 and two on US Billboard Hot 100 and US Hot Latin Songs charts, respectively.[104][105] It would also reached peak positions of number four in Mexico[95] and number 61 on the Billboard Global 200.[98] "Peso Completo" was released on 11 April 2024, as the fourth single from Éxodo, which peaked at number 42 on US Hot Latin Songs.[106][90] Its accompanying music video was released the following day; both rappers are seen in a wrestling ring with other sumo wrestlers, with later clips showing women in bikinis.[107] "Teka" with DJ Snake was released on 17 April 2024 as the album's fifth single.[108] It peaked at number 36 on US Hot Latin Songs,[90] number 22 on US Latin Rhythm Airplay,[91] and number 11 on US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.[109]
"La Durango" was released on 9 May 2024 as the sixth single from Éxodo.[23] The single was also announced in a trailer featuring McGregor.[110] The song peaked at number five in Mexico,[95] number 75 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[89] number 2 on US Hot Latin Songs,[90] and number 83 on the Billboard Global 200.[98] Through other teasers, it was also confirmed that Pluma would collaborate with Rich the Kid, where they both later released "Gimme a Second" on 25 May 2024 as the co-lead single from the latter's album Life's a Gamble and was also set to be included on Éxodo.[111] "Vino Tinto" with Natanael Cano and Gabito Ballesteros was released on 26 June 2024 as the album's eighth single.[112][113] Following the album's release, it peaked at number three in Mexico,[95] number 91 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[89] number five on US Hot Latin Songs,[90] and number 96 on the Billboard Global 200.[98] Weeks later, "Tommy & Pamela" was released as the ninth single on July 18.[114]
Release
Éxodo was first available for pre-save on Spotify on 24 May 2024.[25] It was released for digital download and streaming on 20 June 2024, through Peso Pluma's label, Double P Records.[115] Within its first 24 hours of release, it amassed over 29.8 million streams on Spotify, making it the highest album debut for a Mexican artist on the platform, dethroning the singer's own album Génesis (2023).[116] The album also reached the summit of the US Apple Music albums chart.[117] All of its tracks debuted on Apple Music's Top 100 chart for streams in Mexico, with 10 of the tracks debuting or charting simultaneously within the chart's top 10, with "Vino Tinto" being at number one.[118]
Commercial performance
The album was released four hours before 22 June 2024, the start of the next tracking period for Billboard charts.[119] As a result, it debuted at numbers 41 and 19 on the US Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums charts on the issue dated 29 June 2024, respectively, with 3,000 album-equivalent units.[120][121][122] On the same issue date, "Put Em in the Fridge" would become the first track off Éxodo, without becoming a post-single, to appear on a song chart before the rest of the tracks, debuting at number eight on the US Latin Digital Song Sales chart, making it Peso Pluma's 27th and Cardi B's seventh top-10 single on the chart.[123]
In its next full tracking week, it peaked atop both charts with 64,000 album-equivalent units, which only consisted of 87.51 million official streams in the United States within all 24 tracks, becoming Peso Pluma's second number-one album on both charts.[119] It also debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, becoming his second album to debut within the chart's top five, after Génesis (2023) debuted at number three in July 2023.[124][125] 20 of its tracks were also charting simultaneously on the US Hot Latin Songs chart, with only three of its tracks appearing on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Global 200: "Reloj" (69 and 130) "Vino Tinto" (91 and 96), and "La Patrulla" (99 and 164).[119] In Spain, it debuted at number 68 on the albums chart published by Productores de Música de España.[126]
Upon release, Éxodo received generally favorable reviews from critics. According to Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received "generally favourable reviews" based on an weighted average score of 67, from four critic scores.[127]
Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan stated that the album is "a lengthy undertaking that functions as a great snapshot of just about everything Peso Pluma's capable of".[128] Alicia Civita of The Latin Times praised the album's production, as well as Peso Pluma's attempt on experimentation, "even if it doesn't fully deliver on the promised 'darker' [...] music".[129] In a positive review, Lucas Villa of NME applauded the first disc of the album, stating that the songs within it "are more fiery, fearless and bélico ('badass') than before", and that "he certainly doesn't turn his back on [corridos]" on the second disc.[31] On Suzy Exposito's review for NPR, they stated that "[Peso Pluma's] vulnerable corridos remain his strongest works on Éxodo" and that "Pluma offers listeners a sampler of his budding potential as a multi-genre star".[51]
Steve Forstneger, in their review for Beats Per Minute, said that Éxodo "does [close a chapter] so effectively. The door, however, remains open for the further development of corrido[s]".[30] Isabelia Herrera of Pitchfork praised Peso Pluma's idea to be versatile, although considered the album's second disc to be "littered", adding that "it's particularly tough to hear La Doble P struggle in his ventures outside of corridos tumbados".[43]Rolling Stone's Tomás Mier commented that the album "presents a Peso Pluma we've already met, perhaps with a bit more experience and angst, but still struggling to take the extra risk".[44] In a mixed review, Gabriel Cárcoba of Jenesaispop found the tracks on the first disc as average, but was dissatisfied with the album's second disc and collaborations, stating that his attempt in being versatile does not work.[54]
Rankings
In a mid-year list by Billboard, Éxodo was named the best Latin music album of the first half of 2024.[130]