With the title of his new record, La vida era más corta, Milo J proves that he shares the scene with local urban music, yet is building other layers of his artistry. The title oozes melancholy, as well as an effect which, at the very least, breaks apart time and turns it into malleable matter.
La vida era más corta is already a success. Streaming giant Spotify said that if Milo J’s music hits the last week before the launch to the first week afterwards were to be compared, streams have increased by 112 percent. On the day of the launch alone, the new double album recorded some 12.1 million streams, compared to 5.5 million overall the day before; listeners increased by 20 percent. In Mexico, Argentina and Spain, in that order, Milo J’s album sat at the top of the Spotify’s podium.
Just a few days after celebrating his 19th birthday, Camilo Joaquín Villarruel – better known as chart-topping star Milo J – has a voice and references not in keeping with the time he has spent in this world. His latest creation features Argentine and Latin American folklore, trap, samplings in indigenous languages, collaborations and a clear mutual respect with renowned singers and musicians.
In his art, the past is like a walled city, one where he enters and watches. His lyrical voice is reminiscent of and comes back to the present, completing the scene. With his pendulum of focus, Milo J constructs his music from various influences but doesn’t forget his roots – after all, he is a sponsor of Deportivo Morón, his favourite football club from the city in Buenos Aires Province where he lives.
Make no doubt about it. La vida era más corta is one of the musical events of the year and features, among other pleasures, a collaboration with Silvio Rodríguez – the emotional ‘Luciérnagas,’ a song written by Milo J when his grandmother died. There is also a version of ‘Jangadero,’ with the voice of Mercedes Sosa retrieved from a Sony Music archive.
Milo’s recent image at a square, near Tiago PZK, went viral all of a sudden. What was the context? A recurring scene for the start of the main figures nowadays: el Quinto Escalón. Who was the star of the battle? A teenage Wos. There, Milo J and Thiago PZK are in the audience. In social media comments, nostalgia becomes intermingled with emotion and the message ‘Perseguí tus sueños’ (“Chase your dreams”) is repeated as a sort of conclusion. Via a meritocracy, the feeling might be accepted: a passion developed since they were kids which led them to stardom a few years later in an appealing narrative arc. Yet fame would come soon afterwards.
Milo J wrote his first song aged 11 and understood that he was likely talented. ‘Milagrosa,’ launched in August 2022, changed his life since it was received well immediately. Collaborations with his peers would come later and finally, on October 4, 2023, Milo J would see the light: ‘BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 57,’ the second turning point of his career.
At that time, Bizarrap’s sessions were at an uninterrupted prime, and every new launch added a new streaming record to his back catalogue. When Milo J’s name was announced, then only 16 years old, for the star producer’s scope, it almost seemed like a countercultural decision. Unexpectedly betting on Milo J was not merely choosing that artist. Sessions came with videos that expanded the universe. It was unprecedented: Milo J’s session became an EP with its respective videos. One may even talk of a music short, directed by Pedro Colmeiro. After that day, the kid from Morón became a superstar.
Milo J’s international projection now seems to have been as probable as it is unstoppable. His recent appearance on the successful Spanish programme ‘La resistencia,’ hosted by David Broncano, was a sensation, given the way it was handled. During the show, he announced the tour he will go on in January 2026, with concerts in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla. Yet before that, next December, Milo will have his first two concerts at the Vélez Sarsfield stadium, with 50,000-plus fans each night. The star continues to rise.
by Pierre Froidevaux, Perfil
Comments