$ad Boyz 4 Life

Though his breakout moments came courtesy of the corridos tumbados king Natanael Cano, the Guanajuato-bred Junior H spent much of 2020 making a name for himself on his own terms. The oft moody and brooding songs across Atrapado en un Sueño, Cruisin’ With Junior H, and MUSICA earned him a fanbase more than receptive to his profoundly affecting and emotive variant of the popular new wave of regional Mexican music. $ad Boyz 4 Life, a 75-minute journey deep into his sonic universe, is marked by a captivating interplay of singer and musicians, and permeated with a certain sadness.

The opening title track sets a tone that carries throughout the record, his distinctly forbidding voice guiding listeners through relatable experiences with a painful sense of knowing. The fatalistic longing he shares on “La Bestia” leaves devastation in its wake, its earnest confessions of love coming too late and in vain. Collaborations are scarce but substantial, with the Marca MP team-up “El Velador” and generational peer Ed Maverick joining for “Por Dentro.” While he successfully reunites here with some of the same skilled songwriters from his prior projects, the album’s most striking moments generally come from those penned by himself, further securing him a future as one of the genre’s most compelling young artists.