El Malilla made headway last weekend as the only reggaeton act billed at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. He is also the first reggaeton Mexa act to introduce the fast-growing genre on the desert stage.
Reggaeton Mexa artists take inspiration from the early 2000s, when dembow beats were powered by Caribbean hitmakers like Daddy Yankee, Héctor el Father, Tego Calderón, Arcángel and Plan B. Those old-school beats are fused together with traditional Mexican sounds, including cumbias sonideras (like Pablito Mix’s “Por que no te pones en 4”). Its lyrics are often salacious, showcasing slivers of working-class life in the Mexican barrios (like Sayuri & Sopholov’s “Muñecas Del Estado”).
In El Malilla’s case, he gravitated toward old-school reggaeton while running errands at the local tianguis, or flea market, often purchasing pirated discs. As an artist, he began to add his own Mexican flair to the mix, incorporating slang from his barrio, or “ñerismo.”
Before returning to the Coachella stage for a second weekend on Saturday, he’ll perform in Los Angeles with Spanish Venezuelan singer Judeline on Thursday, April 17 at the Roxy. In the meantime, here are five more must-know reggaeton Mexa acts that are taking the sound to new frontiers.
Bellakath
Trailblazing the reggaeton Mexa movement is Bellakath, a diva who has wedged herself into the male-dominated genre with her titillating lyrics and cheeky flow. The Mexico City native, originally from the Agrícola Oriental neighborhood, was a law school graduate from the esteemed National Autonomous University of Mexico. She leveraged her social media following after appearing as a contestant on the dating show “Enamorándonos” to jump-start her music career.
In 2022, her steel-drum infused song “Gatita” reached the masses on TikTok, further propelling her, and the genre, to greater heights. A year later, she released her debut album “Kittyponeo” under her label La Mafia del Perreo and Warner Music Latina, which included her monumental hit, “Reggaeton Champagne,” with Dani Flow. It was the first of Bellakath’s songs to chart on the international Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart. Since then, the 27-year-old has continued to collaborate with some other industry giants, notably on the “Vaquero Remix” (featuring Andres Castillo, El Malilla , El Bogueto, La Dinastia, Riky Produce), and pays tribute to the origins of reggaeton Mexa.
No tour is in store for the singer just yet, but she is making a stop at the Sueños festival in Chicago on May 25.
Yeri MuaAlso making moves on the reggaeton Mexa scene is 23-year-old MC Yeri Mua, a glitzy beauty influencer whose success in the glam world has translated to the Mexican music world. Originally from Veracruz, the artist began uploading makeup tutorials and lifestyle videos to social media at age 16, which grew in popularity thanks to her knack for generating chisme. Boasting over 27.3 million followers to date, Mua was named TikTok’s No. 1 artist in 2024.
Her pivot to the music scene came in 2023 with the release of her single “Chupon,” featuring El Gudi, Jey F, Alan Dazmel, Oviña. Mid-2024, she released her campy hit “Traka,” a perreo jam that lambasted her haters, including those who’ve criticized her plastic surgery.
The singer, who signed under Sony Music Mexico last June, is currently working on her first album. She is set to perform at the Baja Beach Fest in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, on Aug. 10.
El Bogueto
Inspired by reggaeton titans Tego Calderón, Héctor & Tito and Daddy Yankee, El Bogueto has taken the emerging genre by storm with his bold rapping skills. Originally from Nezahualcóyotl, which lies at the edge of Mexico City in the State of Mexico, El Bogueto has released numerous hits under Candela Music, Uzielito Mix’s record label.
He reached greater fame following the debut of his 2023 album “Reggaetoñerito,” which is a combination of the word reggaeton and ñero, a Mexican slang word for a person from the hood. The LP included popular hits like “G Low Kitty,” which includes Uzielito Mix, El Malilla and DJ Rockwel Mx. Bogueto’s sophomore album, “No Hay Loco Que No Corone,” features hits like the tantalizing song “Nena Moxita” with Yeri Mua and Uzielito Mix, which has counted over 66 million streams on Spotify.
Uzielito Mix
Behind the genre’s most popular hits is Uzielito Mix, a DJ with a talent for finding the perfect beat for his industry friends under his homegrown label, Candela Music. Originally from Mexico City, the self-taught producer has become a pillar in reggaeton Mexa. He has a few hits of his own, including “Se Menea” and “Suena Perreo,” both featuring Michael G.
Mix is the rhythm genius behind Yeri Mua and El Jordan 23’s “Línea del Perreo” featuring DJ Kiire, which has clocked more than 121 million YouTube views to date, as well as El Bogueto and El Malilla’s “G Low Kitty” featuring DJ Rockwel Mx, which was later remixed to include Colombian hitmaker J Balvin and Yeri Mua. In 2022, Mix opened for Bad Bunny in Mexico City during his World’s Hottest Tour.
Dani Flow
Though controversial for his crude lyrics, Dani Flow has distinguished himself as one of the leading acts in the genre. Compared to the majority of his contemporaries that live in or around Mexico City, he originates from Irapuato, Guanajuato, where he competed in freestyle rap battles as a teen. Some of his earliest freestyles can still be seen on YouTube, where he’s been active since 2012.
Yet the self-proclaimed “morbid king” has been most successful in reggaeton Mexa, most notably for the 2023 smash “Reggaeton Champagne,” a collaboration with Bellakath. This year, the 29-year-old debuted his album, “El Rey Del Morbo” which highlights popular hits like “Martillazo” (featuring El Bogueto and Uzielito Mix) and “Las Que No Tienen Papa.”
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