Farruko’s “Pepas,” an EDM/reggaetón track about pill-popping partygoers, hit No.1 this week on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs and Hot Dance/Electronic Songs charts. Equally impressive is the fact that “Pepas” is not a multi-artist collaboration, but a Farruko solo single, bolstered by an irresistible, anthemic chorus that sent fans wild at the recent Baja Beach Fest in Rosarito, Mexico despite the fact that the song is only two months old.
That’s all sweet news for Farruko (real name Carlos Efrén Reyes Rosado), a reggaetón star who’s had eight prior top 10 hits on Hot Latin Songs, and who in the past decade has seen many of his pals, including J Balvin and Bad Bunny, ultimately climb to the top of the mainstream charts, even though their collabs with Farruko were often their major launching pads. Witness 2014’s “6 a.m.” with Balvin (No. 3 on Hot Latin Songs); 2017’s “Krippy Kush” with Rvssian and Bad Bunny (No. 5); “2019’s Calma” with Pedro Capó (No. 3); and, most recently, 2020’s “Relación,” the Sech track that features Balvin, Daddy Yankee, Rosalía and, of course, Farruko (No. 2).
