How Duki became the urban scene’s great generational idol

Duki has shown that only the sky is the limit. A status with which the Argentinian singer and songwriter Mauro Ezequiel Lombardo has redefined the music of our generation, going from competing in cockfights to becoming one of the leading exponents of the urban genre globally.

The rapper is now continuing to resonate and impact the industry with his European tour ‘A.D.A Tour‘ of 2024: a tour of different countries with which he will arrive in Madrid on 8 June. Specifically, on the stage of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, after triumphing with his previous 2023 tour ‘Desde el fin del Mundo’. In the capital, he will once again demonstrate his connection with Madrid and with the national artistic community; a powerful nexus that began with his first concert in the Sala BUT, and would continue with countless shows and collaborations with artists such as Khea, C. Tangana, Bizarrap and Bad Bunny.

Beyond the national scene, he will also activate his subversive ritual in other venues such as the Estadio Monumental in Santiago de Chile on 15 November. But before focusing on the present and future of his career, let’s take a look at the origins and hits of Duki, the stage name he was given in 2011.

The construction of the idol

The musical career of Duko, considered as the great leader of the urban movement in Argentina and South America, would start from the subcultural sphere of freestyle rap in 2013 in the mythical cockfights ‘El Quinto Escalón‘; the Argentinean competition that was the germ of stellar collision of many other successful artists such as WOS, YSY A or Lit Killah. Although his interest in rap in general dates back to when he was just 7 years old, an early age when he already began to feel that connection with the music that vibrated from the family nucleus at home.

The Latin artist, with all that vortex of stimuli, value system and codes influenced by the subculture -in sync with his eternal devotion to American rap- would then begin to distil his inner world into music, somehow championing that movement started in the Argentinean urban scene that has impacted the whole world.

Since his 2016 release of ‘No vendo trap‘ on Youtube, as a product of his winning session after winning at Quinto, his impact on the internet and trap of our era has continued to steadily climb, along with later tracks such as ‘Si te Sentís Sola‘ (2018). The singer would continue to trace that trail with tracks that have resonated from the street to the club like ‘She Don’t Give a FO’, considered one of his earliest hits. On November 1, 2019, Duko would release his first studio album titled ‘Super Sangre Joven‘, which included collaborations with big names in the urban scene such as Eladio Carrion, C. Tangana, Sfera Ebbasta, Khea and Ysy A.

The artist’s rise in the music industry would also be reflected through his collection of hits in 2020. A year in which Duki participated in Bad Bunny‘s album ‘YHLQMDLG’ on the track ‘Hablamos Mañana‘, which would end up being nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards that same year; along with one of his best known tracks titled ‘Goteo‘.

In his sound universe, the featurings he has carried out with artists such as Frijo, Trueno, Wes$T Dubai, Bizarrap, Nicki Nicole, Eladio Carrión or his current girlfriend, Argentinean singer Emilia Mernes, with whom he has managed to connect with their communities through mythical tracks such as Bzrp Music Sessions Vol. 50, ‘Hello Cotto’, ‘GIVENCHY’, ‘Sin Frenos’ or ‘Panamá’, have also had a great transcendence.

Signs of identity

Beyond the music, Duki’s image and aesthetics are essentially in sync with his theme ‘Soy la moda’. Fashion becomes an artistic expression that the Argentinian rapper has masterfully explored through outfits from brands such as Burberry, Givenchy, Palm Angels, adidas that have just emphasised his charisma.

Returning to the artist’s current era, he will continue to climb to the top of the global stage as part of his ‘A.D.A tour‘ through shows in cities such as Milan, Paris, Berlin and London where he will continue to activate his ‘devil mode’ -as a subversive concept that surrounds the whole figure he represents-, closing the year in style at Buenos Aires Trap, the largest urban festival in Argentina.