Oscar Maydon Won’t Stop Making Corridos

It's a troubling time to not only be Mexican but to be a Mexican performer. Just as people have continued to be detained by ICE, and we continue to hear horror stories about the effect this current administration has on Latin culture in America, musicians have also been at the forefront of these attacks.

Artists such as Julion Alvarez, Grupo Firme, and Natanael Cano are among those who have had to cancel shows due to visa issues. This all comes during a blossoming time for Musica Mexicana, which began exploding in popularity only two years ago, thanks to acts like Peso Pluma and Grupo Frontera.

Even with all the commotion in the world and the industry politics that tend to get messy as well, it hasn't stopped 25-year-old Oscar Maydon from releasing Rico o Muerto, Vol 1, his third full-length project. The project features Musica Mexicana's biggest names, such as Fuerza Regida, Junior H, Tito Double P, and Luis R Conriquez, the latter of whom has faced the consequences of making corridos bélicos (violent/drug-related) the most.

"Look, corridos are our foundation. It's what I grew up on, it's in my blood. I can't stop doing them. Even if they're not bélicos (violent/drug-related), they're still corridos. So yeah, I'll always be making them", he tells New Times over Zoom from his home in California.

Maydon is upfront about keeping the tradition of Musica Mexicana alive and isn't about to take any steps back. He tells us that he already has a new strategy for the future. "Less bélico. Because yeah, artists are running into problems with that style. Fans still love corridos bélicos, but you can't perform them everywhere anymore. We grew up with that, so it's not something we'll just abandon."

Corridos aren't the only thing Maydon has filled the 12-track project with. Sure, you have the opening track, "Baja Beach," which begins with an organ and circus-like backdrop before the guitar, bass, and tololoche combine as Oscar, JOP, and Junior H hop back and forth between verses.
Although corridos take over most of the album, reggaeton and hip-hop are two genres that creep their way throughout the project. The deep cut "2030" starts with a west-coast-inspired beat before dropping into our usual corrido flavors as Maydon goes into singing about blowing as much cash as possible since the world is ending soon.

A sentiment also highlighted on one of the standout tracks, "Tuxxi." It's four minutes and six seconds of pure excellence from Maydon, who perfects the hybrid corrido-reggaeton banger with the help of Puerto Rican trap star Anuel AA.

"He reached out to me. So here's what happened: DJ Luian hit me up and asked for some tracks to show Anuel. I sent over a few, and he liked two of them. He actually ended up making three songs with me. So we met up at a studio in Miami, and that's where we made Tuxxi," Maydon explains. "We had a good session, like seven hours together. And I told him, 'Yo, this one gives me a vibe. I wanna make it reggaetón.' I felt like the timing and feel fit for that sound. So with the producers we had in the studio, we started working on the beat. Anuel recorded his part that same day. I remember it. And bro, two or three days later, I laid down my part."

The song is a good fit as the two can trade bars back and forth. The highlight is when Anuel says: "Un cristiano me dijo que Cristo ya va a venir/Si ya se acaba el mundo, que sea contigo encima 'e mí." It's Anuel at some of his most tongue-in-cheek, but the track can effortlessly blend between reggaeton and Musica Mexicana, two genres that couldn't be more different.

The other standout moment on the project is "Zaza," the straight-up Mexican trap song with Victor Mendivil. Not only is the track as braggadocious as something that prime Lil Wayne would write, as Oscar sings "las putas me aman" at the top of his lungs, but the flow is just impeccable and goes to show another facet of his artistry.

Halfway through the song, Oscar shouts out Miami, letting us know he made this closing track down in the 305 (which is quite fitting).

"That song, it was impossible not to release it. People were already asking me for it, nonstop. So I thought, 'Why not?' Let's include "Zaza" in the deluxe version. It might be one of the strongest tracks on the whole album. I love the flow in it. And it's a completely different vibe." It's a side of Maydon no one had seen before.

"The city just pushes you, it inspires you. You know Miami is the place where all the reggaetón, trap, and urban artists are based. So when you go there, you're naturally inclined to want to make that kind of music. That's what happened with "Mejores Jordan" too, I made that one in Miami," says Maydon.
In a political climate that would make you think that releasing a project like this would be difficult, Maydon assures that he's not sweating about it too much, as he is already looking ahead to what the next era will look like. "My corridos won't be super bélico anymore. Even though I never went fully in that lane, I have some songs I held back because of all this. But now I'm going for more laid-back vibes, just party music and wild energy. No drugs, no weapons, nothing like that."

There also seems to be no slowing down for Maydon, as he's currently on a 14-date US tour that takes him through cities like Houston, Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles. Ultimately, Oscar hopes to bring the show to Miami at some point in full force. He's got 32 guys on stage playing instruments with a setlist that now includes bangers like "Tu Boda" and "Madonna."

It's a risky move to be touring and playing this type of music, but Oscar is confident that he won't be running into controversy. "Look, you can still perform corridos, as long as you don't cross the line. If you're glorifying stuff or naming people, that's when it gets tricky. But if it's a song for women, about life, about the hustle, that's still a corrido. It doesn't have to be violent. That's what I believe."