���غ���

Using his vocal chops to deliver an emotionally charged take on Latin trap, Argentina's Seven Kayne made a splash with conflicted debut single "Si Te Lastimé" before finding subsequent domestic hits with "Cerca de Tí (Remix)," "Bésame," and "Tres Roses."

Coining his artistic identity around an affinity with the number 7 -- and the lucky playing card he carries with him -- Argentinian rapper/singer Seven Kayne (born Joaquin Cordovero) spent most of his teenage years fueling two passions: video games and hip-hop. Though the former eventually burned out, Cordovero's interest in his country's battle-rap circuit only intensified, as he continued to share performances with the likes of Alejo MKS, Duki, and Dtoke. In 2017, Kayne entered the music game himself, appearing on Iacho's "Muevelo Mami" before dropping debut single "Si Te Lastimé" on Mueva Records. The latter, immediately attracting attention with its emotionally conflicted, sung-rap style, became an immediate success with over eight-million streams within its first month.

Kayne's more emotive take on the Latin trap genre led to a wave of popularity through 2018: he dropped lamenting singles like "Atrapado," "Lento," and "Tres Roses" to tens of millions of streams apiece, along with collaborating with Bhavi on "Bésame," Luck Ra on "No Quiero Más (Remix)," and Eladio Carrion on "Hace Tiempo." After closing out the year with an acoustic EP as part of the Red Bull Music Sessions, Cordovero moved fairly quietly into 2019 with the trap-led directions of "A Mi Manera," "El Tiempo," and "Buenos Aires." In 2020, Kayne once again entered the spotlight with an appearance on Bizarrap's Music Sessions series, shortly followed by the all-star "Cerca de Tí (Remix)," which brought him together with Tiago PZK, LIT Killah, Rusherking, Bhavi, and Tobi for a number 20-charting domestic hit. The roll-out for his debut EP, Secretos Perdidos, began with 2020's "Con Otra," "Wave," and "Eyes on My Ice," before Cordovero issued the full-length in April 2021. Continuing to refer to his songs as "secretos" due to their personal significance, he built further on his rock-trap fusions with sophomore EP 7 Secretos, released that December. ~ David Crone

Luck Ra is the moniker of Juan Facundo Almenara Ordóñez, an Argentine singer and songwriter of Latin urban music. Like many kids of his generation, Ordóñez became interested in music thanks to the video game Guitar Hero, so much so that he began to learn guitar and even briefly formed a rock band. He eventually switched his allegiance to the much more popular trap and urban sounds of his day, and around 2017 he started releasing tracks. A dispute with his first label stalled his career for a while, but by 2020 he was attracting considerable attention as a streamer on Twitch. In 2021, he had a first big hit with "Te Mentiría," and from then on, his ascent was unstoppable. Luck Ra became one of the leaders of the Argentine urban scene thanks to a continuous stream of singles and, perhaps more significantly, his willingness to collaborate with artists from other genres, in particular cumbia and cuarteto -- both strongly associated with his home province of Córdoba. Released by Sony Music in 2024, his debut album, Que Nos Falte Todo, featured several of his biggest hits such "La Morocha" with BM, "Hola Perdida" with Khea, "Que Me Falte Todo" with Abel Pintos, "Ya No Vuelvas (Versión Cuarteto)" with La K'onga and Ke Personajes, and "Quiero Creer" with La T y La M and Rusherking, all of which surpassed the 100-million mark on main streaming platforms. ~ Mariano Prunes