Serving as a follow-up of his third studio album Génesis (2023), he began recording the album at several locations in the United States and Mexico, including Prajin Parlay Studioz in Anaheim, California and Lab Studios in Coconut Grove, Miami, with several sessions lasting from 2023 to mid-2024. Recorded in different stages and phases of Peso Pluma's life and career, the album explores a variety of music genres, as well as the inclusion of new collaborators. Thematically, Éxodo contains lyrics which revolve around subjects such as luxury, organized crime, stardom and religion. He had also referred to the album as his "dark side", marking a new era for him, while biblically, it follows his third album Génesis, creating a reference to the Book of Exodus following its predecessor Book of Genesis.
Upon release, Éxodo received mostly favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the album's production and Peso Pluma's versatility within it, while other publications criticized its lack of consistency and the inclusion of its second disc. On Spotify, the album garnered 29.8 million global streams within all of its tracks in its first 24 hours, becoming the highest debut for an album by a Mexican artist. After a four-hour tracking period for Billboard charts, it debuted at numbers 41 and 19 on the US Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums charts, respectively, with 3,000 album-equivalent units. After the next full tracking week, it reached a peak position of number one on both charts, additionally debuting at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 64,000 additional album-equivalent units, becoming his second top-five album on the chart. It was later certified undecuple-platinum in the Latin field by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Peso Pluma rose to global prominence in early 2023, when he released singles such as "PRC" with Natanael Cano, "El Azul" with Junior H, "Ella Baila Sola" with Eslabon Armado, and "La Bebé" with Yng Lvcas, which have appeared on the Billboard Hot 100. Amidst his success, he announced his third studio album Génesis in May 2023.[2][3] Promoted with a trailer featuring Mike Tyson,[4] it was released on 20 June 2024, with a "deluxe" edition being released a week later, adding three additional tracks.[5][6] A commercial success, it debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 73,000 album-equivalent units after its next full tracking week, making history as the highest debut and charting for a regional Mexican album on the chart; all of its tracks were also charting on the US Hot Latin Songs upon debut.[7][8][9]
In October 2023, the singer revealed to Billboard that he was working on his next album, adding that there would be reggaeton tracks among other genres and that frequent collaborators would appear, along with new collaborators.[10][11] In February 2024, Génesis received the Grammy Award for Best Música Mexicana Album (including Tejano) at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, becoming the singer's first time accomplishing this.[12][13] Despite the success, a video of him with another woman in Las Vegas spread around social media, abruptly ending his relationship with Argentinian singer Nicki Nicole, which began in 2023.[14] During a cover story with Rolling Stone, where he also became the first regional Mexican artist to be on the cover of their magazine, he revealed his next album title as Éxodo while regarding the rumors about his breakup with Nicole, to which he did not want to talk about.[15][16]
He also confirmed that there would be experimentation within the album, aside from his main genre of regional Mexican music, stating he wanted it to be a "surprise" for everyone and that he has "liked doing things to get out of [his] comfort zone".[17] About the album's title, he also explained that his third album Génesis showed his "superhero side", while Éxodo shows "his dark side" and is a direct response to critics who "focus more on the negatives than the positives", likely referring to his music.[18][19] Translated to "Exodus" in English, the album follows his third studio album Génesis (2023), creating a biblical reference to the Bible's second book Exodus following that of Genesis.[20][21] He explained to Spin that Génesis marked "the beginning" and that Éxodo is a continuation of it, adding that Éxodo marks a new era for him.[22]
After the release and success of Génesis, Peso Pluma began recording his next studio album, with several album recording sessions taking place throughout 2023 and mid-2024.[15] According to Peso Pluma, the album was recorded in different stages and phases of his life and career.[23] Recording and production for the album took place in cities such as Los Angeles, Miami and New York City, including Mexico.[24] The first disc of Éxodo was co-produced by Peso Pluma, as well as fellow producers Ernesto Fernández and Jesus Iván Leal Reyes, who helped produce his third studio album Génesis (2023).[25] "Mami" and a majority of the album was recorded at Prajin Parlay Studioz in Anaheim, California.[26]
While being interviewed by Rolling Stone, a recording session for the album took place at Lab Studios in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida, where American producer Édgar Barrera and fellow songwriter Alexis Fierro (El Chachito) appeared in the process.[15] His touring band contributed with the instruments for the album, while artists from his label, Double P Records, including his cousin Tito "Double P" Laija, contributed to most of its production and songwriting.[27][24] Barrera contributed to four tracks off the album; he co-wrote and co-produced "Santal 33" and "14 - 14", while he co-wrote "Vino Tinto" and "Tommy & Pamela".[28][29] "Put Em in the Fridge" was first sent to Peso Pluma by one of Cardi B's producers, with production credits going to Charlie Handsome and Fresh.[27][30]
Éxodo was released as a double album, which is composed of 24 tracks in total, split into two discs.[27] Its first disc consists of 16 tracks which have been characterized as regional Mexican music with corridos tumbados tracks.[31] Instruments used within it include the tenor horn, the requinto guitar, the tololoche and the electric bass.[27][32] Its second disc contains a variety of musical genres, mostly Latin music genres, including electronic, hip hop,[33]Latin trap[34] and reggaeton tracks.[35] Peso Pluma decided to create such album because "some of [his] fans were craving música Mexicana, and some were craving urbano", doing so while continuing to use his original musical style.[24] On the first half of the album's second disc, which includes "Gimme a Second", "Put Em in the Fridge", "Pa No Pensar" and "Peso Completo", Peso Pluma explores trap music.[1][36] In its second half, reggaeton is used on the tracks "Bellakeo", "Mala" and "Tommy & Pamela", while the closer "Teka" is an electronic dance track.[37][32][38][1]
Musically, the album's second track "Me Activo" (transl. "I Activate Myself") with Jasiel Nuñez, features Peso Pluma "shift[ing] his voice into a serenade-like tone", while containing "catchy, high-stakes" guitar tones in the background,[34][36] with its following track "La Patrulla" with Netón Vega being a narcocorrido.[39] On "Bruce Wayne", it opens with a "left-field" piano melody,[36][39] while "Reloj" (transl. "Clock" or "Wristwatch") with Iván Cornejo is a sad sierreño song which features psychedelic sounds while both singers "take turns harmonizing one another to mesmerizing effect"[32][40][39] and the album's 12th track "Ice", is a corrido bélico which begins with a sample spoken by American wrestler Ric Flair,[1][36] "Vino Tinto" (transl. "Red Wine"), the 15th track and third collaboration between Natanael Cano and Gabito Ballesteros, begins with a synthesizer used to transition into what was suspected to be an "EDM-corrido", instead transitioning into a corrido tumbado,[36][39] while the solo track "14 - 14" contains "suspensful, organ-like keys" with an "echoing sound of gunfire" that are heard at the very end of the track.[32][1][41] Throughout the album, themes found within its songs' lyrics include stardom, women, luxury, religion, stress relief and organized crime.[42][41]
"La Durango", the opener for Éxodo, features Peso Pluma, Junior H and Eslabon Armado singing about how beautiful women are in a Dodge Durango, which alludes to the title, and also makes a reference to the tequila Don Julio 70.[43][44] The fourth track, "La People II" with Tito Double P and Joel de la P, is a sequel to the former's track with the first mentioned singer "La People" and contains lyrical elements to that of a narcocorrido. Lyrically, it is an apology for organized crime and contains references to El Nini, El 27, and El Piyi, who all have connections to the Sinaloa Cartel.[36][45][46] On "Sr. Smith", Peso Pluma and Luis R. Conriquez sing about hustling for a lush lifestyle,[1][39] while "Rompe la Dompe" (transl. "Break the Dompe"), the album's sixth track with Junior H and Óscar Maydon, contains lyrics which revolve around having a party, forgetting about a lover, and opening a bottle of Champagne, specifically the Dom Pérignon brand.[47][48][49]
In the album's eighth track, "Belanova" with Tito Double P, features lyrics which revolve around promising to die fighting; its title makes a reference to the Mexican pop band of the same name and is described as a possible "follow-up" to the former's song "Rosa Pastel", which may inspired to the Mexican pop band's song of the same name.[37][32] On "Bruce Wayne", Peso Pluma thematically plays the role of a dark character and sees himself as a billionaire with "gravelly self-assurance", while casually switching his vocal approach; he includes a rap approach within its second verse.[34][40][36][39] An alternate-cover version, "Hollywood" with Estevan Plazola, the album's 10th track, is an ode to Hollywood, Los Angeles, with its lyrics revolving around being abused as a child and gaining eventual fame, while it also contains lyrics possibly directed at Mexican politician Andrés Manuel López Obrador.[1][39][50][51] "Solicitado" (transl. "Requested") lyrically sees Peso Pluma reflecting on fame and its negative outcomes, as well as changes in life,[1][52][39] while "Santal 33" with Óscar Maydon, in which its title is a reference to the cologne of the same name, features lyrics about high life.[37][1] Concluding the album's first disc, "14 - 14" aesthetically revolves around religion; the track title is an angel number, referencing Exodus 14:14, and the lyrics revolve around him hiding a crucifix around his neck.[32][41]
"Gimme a Second" with Rich the Kid features lyrics revolving around a rags to riches theme,[1] while "Put Em in the Fridge" is a Spanglish song where both Peso Pluma and Cardi B rap about transporting cocaine.[36][53][33] "Pa No Pensar" (transl. "To Not Think") with Quavo revolves around smoking to escape reality,[36] while "Peso Completo" (transl. "Heavyweight") with Arcángel, features a mention of the neighborhood of Condado, Santurce.[54] The musical theme of "Bellakeo" with Anitta revolves around being flirtatious, including a reference to reggaeton duo Plan B.[55] "Mala" (transl. "Bad") with Ryan Castro is a reggaeton song with a "hypnotizing [and] hip-swiveling" drum beat.[1] "Tommy & Pamela" with Kenia Os is a titular reference to American musician Tommy Lee and Canadian-American actress Pamela Anderson, where its lyrics are about "recreating" the mentioned partners' sex tape.[39] The album's closing track, "Teka" with DJ Snake features Peso Pluma rapping about dancing in a discoteca (discothèque), interpolating lyrics from Farruko's 2011 single "Pa' Romper la Discoteca".[56]
On 8 March 2024, Éxodo was first teased when Peso Pluma made a post on Twitter, which showed a specific date, 21 March 2024, along with the text "solo mi deber ejecute...", which marked speculation that it would be released on the exact date.[57][58] The text is a lyric from the song "La People II", which would instead be released on the posted date as one of the album's singles.[45] In April of the same year, he collaborated with Sony to promote the ULT Power Sound, where its accompanying advertisement contains elements from "Peso Completo", one of the singles from the album.[59] That same month, the album's first planned release date was confirmed by Peso Pluma at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards, where he won the awards for Regional Mexican Song (for "Ella Baila Sola" with Eslabon Armado) and Regional Mexican Artist of the Year, set for release in May 2024, which was not fulfilled.[60] Pluma, who is managed by George Prajin, would later sign a global distribution deal with Creative Artists Agency where he planned on distributing the album from.[61]
In early May of the same year, to further tease Éxodo, fellow collaborators Eslabon Armado and Junior H, along with Peso Pluma, shared an image of a cropped car on their respective Instagram stories with a snippet of an untitled song playing, possibly leading to a collaboration with all three artists.[62] It led to the release of the single "La Durango", as part of the album.[63] He would then announce the official release date for Éxodo on 8 May 2024, though a teaser featuring Irish professional mixed martial artist Conor McGregor.[64]Éxodo was first available for pre-save on Spotify on 24 May 2024.[31] Its album artwork was revealed on the same day, which shows a "distorted inverted-color" image of Peso Pluma holding the V sign with both hands.[31][37] In an interview with Publimetro México, he explained that he wanted the album cover to be different from what he had seen before, while stating that it is "a representation of these changes that [Éxodo] and [himself] have gone through in recent years".[65]
Its track list would also be revealed on the same day, later revealing on Instagram that he cut his signature mullet haircut off, on a story which showed excess hair on the floor, which was also suspected to be his "new look" for the album.[31][66] An image of him with his new hairstyle, which appears to be a taper fade or side-part,[67] surfaced around social media, which was later confirmed to have been created with artificial intelligence.[68] The album was released for digital download and streaming on 20 June 2024, through Double P Records, Peso Pluma's label.[69]
"Bellakeo" was released on 7 December 2023, along with its accompanying Madrid-filmed music video, serving as the lead single from Éxodo.[70][71] Directed by Willy Rodríguez, its video features multiple dancers in black clothing who also appear performing a ritual on a man.[55] In the United States, it peaked number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100,[72] number three on Hot Latin Songs[73] and number eight on Latin Rhythm Airplay.[74] The song reached the summit of the charts in Bolivia and Nicaragua,[75][76] while it peaked within the top 10 in Ecuador (5),[77]Mexico (6),[78] Paraguay (2),[79] and Peru (2),[80] additionally peaking at number seven on the Billboard Global 200.[81] It also received certifications in Brazil,[82]Portugal[83] and Spain.[84] Three weeks later, on 28 December 2024, he would release "Rompe la Dompe" as the album's second single.[85] The song peaked at number four in Mexico,[78] number 80 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[72] number 12 on US Hot Latin Songs,[73] and number 51 on the Billboard Global 200.[81]
"La People II" was released on 21 March 2024 as the album's third single.[45] Its music video was also released simultaneously, which was filmed in Coyoacán, Mexico and was directed by Fernando Lugo,[86] and it peaked at numbers 69 and two on US Billboard Hot 100 and US Hot Latin Songs charts, respectively.[87][88] It would also reached peak positions of number four in Mexico[78] and number 61 on the Billboard Global 200.[81] "Peso Completo" was released on 11 April 2024, as the fourth single from Éxodo, which peaked at number 42 on US Hot Latin Songs.[89][73] Its accompanying music video was released the following day; both rappers are seen in a wrestling ring with other sumo wrestlers, with later clips showing women in bikinis.[90] "Teka" was released on 17 April 2024 as the album's fifth single.[91] It peaked at number 28 on US Hot Latin Songs,[73] number 21 on US Latin Rhythm Airplay,[74] and number 11 on US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.[92] "La Durango" was released on 9 May 2024 as the sixth single from Éxodo.[63] The single was also announced in a trailer featuring McGregor.[93] The song peaked at number five in Mexico,[78] number 75 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[72] number 2 on US Hot Latin Songs,[73] and number 83 on the Billboard Global 200.[81]
"Gimme a Second" was released on 25 May 2024 as the co-lead single from the latter's album Life's a Gamble and was also set to be included on Éxodo as its seventh single.[94] "Vino Tinto" was released on 26 June 2024, along with its music video, as the album's eighth single.[95][96] Following the album's release, it peaked at number three in Mexico,[78] number 91 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[72] number five on US Hot Latin Songs,[73] and number 96 on the Billboard Global 200.[81] It received significant airplay, peaking at numbers 13 and five on the US Latin Airplay and Regional Mexican Airplay charts, respectively.[97][98] "Tommy & Pamela" was then released as the album's ninth single on 18 July 2024.[99] It peaked within the top 10 of Mexico (4) and Puerto Rico (8),[78][100] while it peaked at number 137 on the Billboard Global Excl. US chart and number 24 on the US Hot Latin Songs chart.[101][73] "La Patrulla" was released as the 10th single from Éxodo on 5 September 2024.[102] It has since peaked atop the chart in Mexico,[78] number 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[72] number two on US Hot Latin Songs,[73] and number 35 on the Billboard Global 200.[81]
During his 9 June 2024 performance at the 2024 Governors Ball Music Festival, where he also invited Rich the Kid and Jasiel Nuñez as special guests,[112][113] he fractured his foot on stage and would keep performing instead of ending his show, later confirming on Instagram that he fractured his ankle.[114][115] He would then confirm that surgery for his ankle was a success and assured that he would continue touring.[116] Due to the injury, several North American tour dates were either postponed or cancelled in between further tour dates, including shows in Nashville, New Orleans and Oklahoma City, where in some shows, Peso Pluma was seen with a medical boot on his right foot.[117][118] Several album collaborators, including Iván Cornejo, Kenia Os and Tito Double P, have also joined Peso Pluma onstage as surprise guests throughout the tour.[119] Additional invited guests throughout include 50 Cent, Becky G, Cypress Hill, Don Toliver, Gunna, Saweetie, Snoop Dogg and Ty Dolla Sign, among others.[120][121]
Upon release, Éxodo received generally favorable reviews from critics. According to Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received "generally favourable reviews" based on an weighted average score of 67, from four critic scores.[129]
Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan stated that the album is "a lengthy undertaking that functions as a great snapshot of just about everything Peso Pluma's capable of".[130] Alicia Civita of The Latin Times considered Éxodo to be a worthwhile addition in Peso Pluma's career, praising the album's production and his attempt on experimentation, "even if it doesn't fully deliver on the promised 'darker' [...] music".[131] In a positive review, Lucas Villa of NME applauded the first disc of the album, stating that the songs within it "are more fiery, fearless and bélico ('badass') than before", and that "he certainly doesn't turn his back on [corridos]" on the second disc.[33] On Suzy Exposito's review for NPR, they stated that "[Peso Pluma's] vulnerable corridos remain his strongest works on Éxodo" and that "Pluma offers listeners a sampler of his budding potential as a multi-genre star".[40]
Steve Forstneger, in their review for Beats Per Minute, said that Éxodo "does [close a chapter] so effectively. The door, however, remains open for the further development of corrido[s]".[32] Isabelia Herrera of Pitchfork praised Peso Pluma's idea to be versatile, although considered the album's second disc to be "littered", adding that "it's particularly tough to hear La Doble P struggle in his ventures outside of corridos tumbados".[36] David Crone of AllMusic noticed that the tracks off the album's first disc are "lyrically indifferent" and added that the production and instrumentals sound "flat and emotionless", having assumed that the album would continue to change the regional Mexican music scene.[34]Rolling Stone's Tomás Mier commented that the album "presents a Peso Pluma we've already met, perhaps with a bit more experience and angst, but still struggling to take the extra risk".[39] In a mixed review, Gabriel Cárcoba of Jenesaispop found the tracks on the first disc as average, but was dissatisfied with the album's second disc and collaborations, stating that his attempt in being versatile does not work and questioning his decision on doing so.[52]
In a mid-year list by Billboard, Éxodo was named the best Latin music album of the first half of 2024, with Isabela Raygoza from the publication highlighting Peso Pluma's versatility within the album.[132]
Éxodo amassed over 29.8 million global streams on Spotify within its first 24 hours of release, making it the highest debut for a regional Mexican album and a Mexican artist on the platform, dethroning the singer's own album Génesis (2023).[138][139] The album also reached the summit of the US Apple Music albums chart,[140] All of its tracks debuted on Apple Music's Top 100 song chart for streams in Mexico, with 10 of the tracks charting simultaneously within the top 10, with "Vino Tinto" charting the highest at number one.[141] 10 of its tracks also debuted on the platform's Top 100 Global chart.[142]
Éxodo was released on 20 June 2024 at 8:00 PM EST,[143] which is four hours before 21 June 2024, the start of the next tracking week for Billboard charts.[144] The album debuted at numbers 41 and 19 on the US Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums charts on the issue dated 29 June 2024, respectively, with 3,000 album-equivalent units garnered within "one day of activity"[145][146][147] In its next full tracking week, it peaked atop both charts with 64,000 album-equivalent units, which only consisted of 87.51 million official streams in the United States within all 24 tracks, becoming Peso Pluma's second number-one album on both charts.[144] It also debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, becoming his second album to debut within the chart's top five, after Génesis (2023) debuted at number three in July 2023.[148][149] On its second week on the Billboard 200, the album fell two places down to number seven, earning 40,000 additional units, summing up total units earned to 107,000.[150] In Spain, it debuted at number 68 on the albums chart published by Productores de Música de España.[151]
On the issue dated 29 June 2024, "Put Em in the Fridge" would become the first track off Éxodo, without being a single, to appear on a song chart before the rest of the tracks, debuting at number eight on the US Latin Digital Song Sales chart, making it Peso Pluma's 27th and Cardi B's seventh top-10 single on the chart.[152] On the issue dated 6 July 2024, 20 of the album's tracks were charting simultaneously on the US Hot Latin Songs chart, with only three of its tracks appearing on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Global 200: "Reloj" (69 and 130) "Vino Tinto" (91 and 96), and "La Patrulla" (99 and 164); additionally, 23 of the album's tracks have reached a certain position within the US Hot Latin Songs chart.[144] On October 21, 2024, Éxodo was certified undecuple-platinum in the Latin field by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for attaining sales of 660,000 certified units.[153]