Netón Vega is redefining what a música Mexicana star can be. The 23-year-old Mexican maverick went from writing hits from Peso Pluma to scoring global smashes of his own, including the recent "Riki." Vega has infused traditional corridos with hip-hop while branching out into genres like reggaeton and EDM. With a new album called Aura on the horizon, he's on a mission to spread his Mexican-maxxing around the world.
"The fact that I'm representing my massive country with many different kinds of music, I feel very chingón [badass] honestly," Vega tells Teen Vogue over Zoom from a recording studio. It's really cool and I hope to keep taking [Mexico] to the highest level possible." He was born Luis Ernesto Vega Carvajal in La Paz in Baja California Sur. Vega’s inspirations span from corridos icons like Alfredo Olivas and Chalino Sánchez to Mexican rap group Cartel de Santa and late hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur.
As a teen, he wrote songs for fun, but his hobby later turned into a career when he caught the attention of Peso Pluma's cousin, Tito Double P. After befriending Tito and Peso, Vega co-wrote hits for them like "Rubicon" and "La People." Pluma later tapped him to feature on "La Patrulla," which earned them a MTV Video Music Award nomination last year. To make his own mark in música Mexicana, Vega released Mi Vida Mi Muerte, which was the best-selling album in the genre last year.
He blended elements of hip-hop in the swaggering title track and explored reggaeton with the playful "Loco." Vega continued to push boundaries with his second album Delirium, which featured pop hit-maker Benny Blanco. Showing that his success isn't tied to a single genre, he has ruled the Spotify's Top 50 chart in Mexico this year with the haunting corrido "Pvta Luna," the hip-hop banger "Nalguita y Teta," and the hypnotic reggaeton of "Riki." Ahead of his next album Aura, Vega opened up with Teen Vogue about moving from songwriter to superstar, befriending Blanco, reshaping música Mexicana. Teen Vogue: How do your beginnings as a songwriter shape the artist that you are today?
Netón Vega: Well, songwriting was very important for me because that formed the pillar upon which I built my career. After all, songwriting is essentially what defines my tracks. I handle almost the entire process myself.
Of course, there are collaborations and such along the way, but for the most part, I’m the one who creates and writes my songs. TV: Reggaeton is still a new frontier for Mexican artists. How do you feel about having success in that genre with songs like "Loco" and "Riki"?
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