In just under two years, Latin Mafia have gone from indie underdogs to Mexican pop luminaries. With each single released, the trio of brothers has kept making their music feel more limitless and experimental — but nothing has crystallized their sound like their debut album Todos Los Días Todo El Día, released on October 25. At the same time, Latin Mafia recently got a Tyler, the Creator co-sign and they’re nominated for Best New Artist at the Latin Grammy Awards.
“If we win, I’ll go accept the award in my underwear like Twenty One Pilots [at the 2017 Grammy Awards],” Milton de la Rosa jokingly tells Rolling Stone. “This nomination is like a hug for us. That recognition lets us know we’re doing things the right away. Being nominated is already an achievement in itself and we’re very happy.”
Latin Mafia’s previous hits span several genres like symphonic pop in “Patadas de Ahogado” featuring Humbe, trap-infused R&B in “No Digas Nada,” and reggaeton Mexa in “Julietota.” The members — Milton, Emilio, and Mike de la Rosa — have built an emotional bond with their fans through personal lyrics that touch on mental health and embracing emotions. After signing with Rimas Entertainment in July, Latin Mafia released Todos Los Días Todo El Día, which centers on their feelings on the hype around them and brushes with fame. Flamenco, EDM, and rock collide in the “Siento Que Merezco Más.” The guys go full punk in the “Sentado Aquí,” and they’re later feeling themselves in the swaggering trap of “Qué Vamos a Hacer?” Latin Mafia also blends música mexicana with hyperpop in “Yo Siempre Contesto.” The voice of their grandmother keeps them grounded in the ambient “Tengo Mucho Ruido.”
“This is us at our most real, raw, and ambitious,” Emilio de la Rosa says. “For us, Latin Mafia has no genre. We want to expand upon the Mexa sound. This album is an excess of noise saturation in vocals and in production. Above all, it’s our aspirations to create a different formula in the Mexa music industry.”
After making their U.S. debut at Coachella in April, Tyler, the Creator has tapped them for his upcoming Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in L.A. “It’s an honor to be a part of a festival that he curated,” Milton says. “It’s like getting a stamp of approval from an artist that you admire.” Next year, Latin Mafia will embark on the Te Odio Y Te Extraño Mucho Tour in the US, which kicks off on January 16. In an exclusive for Rolling Stone, Latin Mafia talked about the stories behind six songs from their sentimental album.
“Siento Que Merezco Más”
Emilio: Stillz directed this video, and he’s a boss. There was always a lot of feedback and communication between us and together, we arrived at what we wanted to communicate through the music video. Stillz has a lot of experience and he’s a great person. This song focuses on talking about anxiety, what those of us who tend to think too much feel, and trying to normalize being okay with feeling all of this.
“Tengo Mucho Ruido”
Mike: We included our grandmother’s voice in that song because we wanted to immortalize her essence for life. This song talks about the fear of losing someone. It also talks about the fear that your actions will make a person no longer want to be with you.
“Sentado Aquí”
Milton: The song is a feeling of release from so much stress. It’s a lot of raw feeling and emotion. It’s about feeling relief and freeing yourself from the negative emotions that you have towards yourself and others.
“Qué Vamos a Hacer?”
Mike: With this song, we wanted to capture the feeling of trauma. We also wanted to explore the feeling of dealing with that trauma even if it happened a long time ago.
“Nunca He Sido Honesto”
Emilio: This song is a critique. It’s a criticism of feeling that sometimes you are the best and that you can take on the world and then feeling that nothing is enough. You feel like you don’t deserve anything you have and that you are not enough.
“Pero Me Estoy Acabando”
Milton: This song is talking about what could be a successful career or a career that’s taking off. Sometimes we don’t realize that success can transform your life and not only in a positive way. It can change many things. There can be many things that you want and in the end, they’ll always be out of reach.