On a sweltering Saturday afternoon at Austin Metropolis Limits, the de la Rosa brothers of Latin Mafia are drenched in sweat after acting on the Miller Lite Stage. As one of many few Latin acts on the invoice, the trio carry themselves extra like Mexican rock stars after inciting mosh pits and crowd-surfing throughout their daring set.
“For us, it’s all the time a pleasure to be part of spectacular line-ups like this one,” Milton de la Rosa says whereas huddled together with his brothers within the band’s trailer. “To be acting at ACL with acts just like the Strokes, Sabrina Carpenter, and Feid, it’s an honor for us. The group was actually receptive to what we delivered to the stage.”
In Latin Mafia, Milton sings alongside his twin Emilio, and their older brother Mike serves because the band’s producer. The Monterrey natives, who are actually primarily based in Mexico Metropolis, began out making music on a laptop computer at their dad and mom’ house. Latin Mafia quickly amassed a following on TikTok because of their limitless sound, which shifted from R&B-infused Afrobeats in “Flores” to explosive reggaeton within the “Julietota.” Past their genre-bending spirit, the trio particularly linked with their listeners via emotional songs. They normalized the subject of psychological well being and opened up about their very own private struggles within the soulful entice of “No Digas Nada.”
“Whereas having enjoyable exploring totally different genres, we’re being real about what we actually really feel and what we actually suppose in our songs,” Emilio says. “We wish to make music that strikes us and strikes different individuals. I consider one of the best privilege of this job is to make somebody listening to your music really feel one thing.”
After conquering Mexico as an indie act, final 12 months Latin Mafia signed with Rimas Leisure, the label behind Dangerous Bunny. The brothers continued to exert full artistic management for his or her debut album Todos Los Días Todo El Día, which was launched final October. Within the visceral LP, Latin Mafia mined their emotions even deeper and formed the songs round these feelings, seamlessly mixing R&B, EDM, flamenco, and rock into songs like “Siento Que Merezco Más.” The punk-driven “Sentado Aquí” and the swaggering “Qué Vamos a Hacer?” melded entice with baroque pop.
“We’re very cathartic individuals,” Milton provides. “We really feel every part very strongly and aggressively. We additionally unleash these feelings at our reside exhibits. Our followers can really feel the music via our performances and join with us. We’re part of a era that’s possibly not used to issues like mosh pits and crowd-surfing, so it’s necessary for us to carry that again.”
Because the launch of their album a 12 months in the past, life has been a whirlwind for Latin Mafia. The brothers sold-out concert events throughout the U.S. and Mexico on their Te Odio y Te Extraño Mucho Tour. Latin Mafia have additionally carried out at music festivals like Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, Lollapalooza, and now Austin Metropolis Limits. For the remainder of the 12 months, they’ll fly from one nation to the following on the Latin American and European leg of their tour. “It’s wonderful to see that there’s no boundaries with regards to the individuals listening to our music,” Milton says. “We’re going to locations that we’d by no means imagined earlier than. It looks like an open-world online game the place you’re unlocking new zones on the map.”
Latin Mafia have additionally spent the previous 12 months unlocking collaborations with artists which have develop into followers of theirs. Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro tapped the trio for the playful “2:12 AM” for his Cosa Nuestra album. Omar Apollo lately embraced his Mexican roots with Latin Mafia within the dreamy “Hecho Para Ti” the place R&B collides with cumbia. The trio have shared photographs from a recording session with Peso Pluma whereas home music star Fred Once more.. is teasing an upcoming track that includes them. Latin Mafia’s desires of a Dangerous Bunny collaboration might additionally develop into a actuality after partying with him at his No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí residency final month.
“They’re unimaginable artists and those that we’ve admired,” Mike says. “To have labored with them was an honor. We’re grateful. Every time we collaborate with somebody, it’s like a tutorial of seeing how that particular person works and what we are able to study and apply to ourselves. They’ve motivated us to maintain working onerous, to need to contribute one thing totally different, and to problem ourselves extra.”
Final 12 months, Latin Mafia had been nominated for Greatest New Artist on the Latin Grammy Awards. They’ll be again once more for the following ceremony on November 13 with two nominations. This time round, Latin Mafia are vying for Greatest Different Music Album and Greatest Different Tune for “Siento Que Merezco Más.” Milton reveals that in the event that they win their first Grammy, he’ll fill in one of many areas within the artwork gallery tattoo on his again. “That’s one of many first tattoos I’ll get completed,” he says. “We’re actually hoping to win. It’s one thing that we’ve dreamed about all our lives. We’re excited to see what future and life has in retailer for us.”
