“The origin of all this goes back years,” Peso Pluma tells Apple Music. “My musicians, my team and I started this dream called Peso Pluma.” For Hassan Kabande Laija, 2023 has been sweet:. He has become one of the brightest stars and flag bearers for música mexicana’s incredible rise. In short order, he’s gone from local to global, with songs so popular that they’ve transcended into the collective subconscious. Peso Pluma became internationally known for hits like “Ella Baila Sola”, “La Bebé (Remix)”, “PRC” and “El Azul”. But GÉNESIS, his third studio album, clearly portrays the artist as someone more concerned with the longevity and legacy of his craft than with the momentary thrills that come from viral successes. “The title of the album represents the beginning of a new era,” says the Zapopan-born artist, referring to its release as a deliberate turning point both in his life and in his career. After such an impressive run, often in collaboration with other Latin hitmakers, GÉNESIS feels undeniably like a fresh albeit raw statement befitting his arrival on a new level. The album presents 14 corrido tracks across música mexicana’s spectrum, from the most romantic to the most bélicos and back again. On the instantly memorable “LUNA” with Junior H, he delivers a love letter in ballad form dedicated to the one who got away. “I made this song for a very special person, so that the moon could communicate the things that I cannot say to that person,” he says. The rest of the album’s stacked guest list includes his cousin Tito Double P, corridos tumbados master Natanael Cano and previous collaborator Gabito Ballesteros, as well as artists as seemingly disparate as Luis R Conriquez and Eladio Carrión. “We are very happy to globalise Mexican music and the music we grew up with,” he says. “That has always been the goal and the same objective: to expand what we like to do and the type of music we listen to and globalise it to every corner of the world.” Having opened the ears of the world to música mexicana, he wanted to emphasise the idea that his work is not regional, but rather universal. The requinto and the bajoloche are now part of the world’s sonic tapestry, thanks in no small part to his efforts. “I'm 23 and I'm already out and about,” he says on “NUEVA VIDA”, a song that gives greater meaning to the album’s concept. Overall, GÉNESIS is a work that explores the artistic and conceptual capacities of the corrido in 2023, at the exact moment in which Peso Pluma has all eyes on him. “We are very happy with everything that is happening to us,” he says. “There are many blessings that are raining down on us, and I think that little by little, we have learned how to take the bull by the horns.”