Fuego

As reggaeton began morphing with hip-hop and growing into a Latin trap scene, Fuego became a breakthrough name when his Spanish-language remixes of Drake songs earned him a following on SoundCloud and his album 'Fireboy Forever 2' became a cult favourite in 2016. Growing up in Maryland, Miguel Angel Duran Jr. was inspired both by 1990s hip-hop stars Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur and by the traditional Latin sounds of merengue and bachata loved by his Dominican parents. His father and cousin also played together in a group called Optimo, but when Fuego began getting into trouble as a teenager, they sent him to live in the Dominican Republic. It helped him further connect with his musical roots and he got his start performing on the local reggaeton scene with his brother. After returning to the US, he was spotted by Plan B's Chencho and began releasing mixtapes through Boy Wonder's label Chosen Few in 2005. He further crafted a colourful, up-tempo, tropical sound on singles 'Mi Alma Se Muere' and 'Hustlin' Time' and on debut album 'La Musica Del Futuro' in 2010; but when his mother died unexpectedly in 2013, his style took a darker turn and began incorporating sludgy, hypnotic trap beats and an eerie, more claustrophobic atmosphere on mixtape 'Fireboy Forever'. A deal with Pitbull's Mr 305 Inc label also helped build his profile and his remixes of Drake's 'Hotline Bling' and Yo Gotti and Young Thug's 'Rihanna' grew from viral hits into club anthems which chimed with a new generation of Latinx fans. His second album 'Fireboy Forever 2' in 2016 was another melting pot of dancehall and hip-hop that raised the bar for Latin rap, and as the Trump presidency took an aggressive approach to the Latino community, his voice seemed particularly vital and relevant when he returned again in 2019 with tracks 'Good Vibes' featuring Nicky Jam and 'Sigo Fresh' with Duki.

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