At the young age of 22, Duki is one of the few Latin American artists who has changed the rules of the industry. He sold out a show at Luna Park — one of Argentina’s most prominent venues — without releasing an album, and he was headliner of Buenos Aires Trap, the biggest Latin trap festival, with Bad Bunny. “I’m living the trap” he says.
Spearheading the scene he represents, Duki is the lighthouse of Argentine trap that shines over all of Latin America. He’s not only the first El Quinto Escalón freestyler to reach 1 million views with his own song, but he’s also the first Argentine trapper to do so and to sell out Luna Park and Gran Rex, another important Buenos Aires venue.
It won’t be a surprise if he starts popping up in American or European lineups anytime soon — and all of this came without even releasing an album. “I’m gonna make something in the first months of the year, but then I’m going to release another one by the end of the year,” he shared.
Duki’s schedule is not the same as the industry’s: “I do whatever I want, however I want and whenever I want.” Regarding the frequency with which he publishes singles, he jokes, “I smuggle them out. They’re little treats I give myself.”
However, he also admits he recognizes when it’s time to set the whims aside and listen to those with more experience in the business: “Being my own boss, I’ll always have a bias towards my side, but every yang needs a yin, you gotta keep a balance. It’s good to have someone who keeps your feet on the ground … Although, most of the times it’s me who says, ‘Follow me on this one, let’s jump straight in, what could go wrong?'”
Here, Duki talks to Billboard Argentina:
Is this is exactly what your generation brings to the industry?
This last year, I stopped feeling a little bit of that hunger for things to happen. I don’t get up feeling distressed anymore, I always think: “Dude, are we really trying?” That’s what you gotta ask yourself everyday. The key to everything is to get started by knowing yourself and never, ever lie to yourself. That’s why I’m never gonna stop asking myself that question: Am I really trying?
And what would it be like to really try? A Grammy? Playing at Madison Square Garden?
Those are trophies … but don’t mistake me, I obviously want them. I know I’ll be playing at the Madison Square or Coachella someday. I want people to see me there and to freak out. But I’m talking more about energy than achievements. There’s something I’m dragging, and that’s why things happen all by themselves. That’s why some of us end up being headliners and others don’t. There is a competitiveness to it, and it’s really cool, but now we’re playing in a league that nobody else does.
This is because we don’t do trap, we live it. We have so much hunger that we manage to transmit it beyond a screen. In the ’80s or ’90s, rock was the lifestyle of Argentine musicians. Charly, Spinetta, Cerati, Calamaro, all of them lived the f—ing rock, you know? And that’s why they took it to the next level.
How do you feel about the connection between your songs and your audience?
I write about what I live, that’s how it is. That language never runs dry, and it actually even deepens. We are generating a loyal audience that starts to understand how we are evolving. I am more versatile in my lyrics than many of the genre.
But in many cases, I say and tell things that only a grown-up head gets. Some younger people get it also, but they are special cases, such as Lucho (the 16-year-old trap rapper Duki is sponsoring), who is a kid who had to live another life and developed a different mentality. But Luchito sees when we make mistakes, he sees the good and the bad.
He sees us wandering; he knows what we are doing wrong. He learns what to mess with and what not to mess with. We also try to pave the way for him, because he’s still a kid. Lucho is clever and understands.
You’re also versatile with your songs.
Yes, and that gives me a giant spectrum. I don’t have a follower stereotype. I leave one foot in the under and another in the mainstream. Always balanced.
Do you have time for holidays?
I live on holiday, that’s how it is. I’m living the f—ing American dream. I’m working with my family. I love playing and getting paid for it. I make music however I want, whenever I want and with people who love me and whom I love.