Cartel de Santa

Biography

Cartel de Santa is a Mexican hip hop group from Santa Catarina, Nuevo León, Mexico, founded by Hector Montaño and Ronaldo Sifuentes. The band started playing in 1996 as part of the Avanzada Regia musical movement and Artilleria Pesada. Currently composed by Eduardo Davalos de Luna, also known as MC Babo or Babo (lead vocals), Rowan Rabia (beatmaker) and DJ Agustín (only in live shows). They have been referred to as one of the most notable Mexican hip-hop groups.

1996–2003: Beginnings and self-titled debut album

Cartel de Santa started playing in 1996, when MC Babo and some friends began singing improvised rap songs.
The group became famous in 2003, when the band released their debut self-titled album. The album includes hits such as "Perros", "Todas Mueren por Mí" and "La Pelotona". The album was produced by Jason Roberts who had previously worked with artists such as Cypress Hill, Ice Cube, House of Pain, Guns N' Roses, Control Machete, and Plastilina Mosh. This contributed to the fame of the band.
That same year, the group released a video clip of the song "Perros". This video was broadcast across Latin America on MTV.

2004–2007: Vol. II and Volumen ProIIIbido

A year later, in 2004, a new album was released, Vol. 2, which included hits as "Blah, blah, blah", "La Llamada" and "El Arte del Engaño". Cartel de Santa Vol. 2 counted with the collaboration of other artists, such as Tego Calderón, in "Conexión Puerto Rico", and Mr. Pomel, in "Crónica Babilonia".
In 2007, Cartel de Santa recorded its third album, named Volumen ProIIIbido×Volumen proIIIbido2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Mira quien vuelve al 1002:532Cheka Wey3:133La ranfla del Cartel3:394Déjate caer3:475Hey si me ven3:436México lindo y bandido3:1072 mujeres en mi cama3:448Si son bien jotos5:189Yo me la Pérez Prado3:0310Conexión vieja escuela3:5511Súbele a la Greibol3:4212Ahora si voy a Lokear5:20. It included the single "Cheka Wey" featuring female hip-hop artist Mery Dee.

2008–2013: Vol. IV and Sincopa

In February 2008, the band released its fourth album, Vol. IV. The album was meant as a message to fans that "el Cartel" would keep making music. The first single of this album was "Hay mamita" which also has a music videoclip.
In March 2010, Babo announced on the band's Myspace the release of another album. The fifth album was released in May 2010 with the name Vol. V: Sincopa. Like their last work, Volume V showed a better sound and beats quality. Cartel de Santa was nominated for the Latin Grammys as a result of their new release.

2014–present: Golpe Avisa and Viejo Marihuano

The group's sixth album, Golpe Avisa×Golpe avisa5 August 2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Andamos zumbando2:182Si te vienen a contar3:393Suena mamal***4:454Es de ley3:545Bullyar3:396Los mensajes del Whatsapp3:337Doctor Marihuana4:268Me alegro de su odio 20144:269Wacha están maman** riata3:2610A ti te da besitos3:1411Para cada loco3:3412Lo que quiero es besarte3:10 was released on August 5, 2014, by Sony Music Entertainment. This work is the group's first studio album released after the departure of rapper MC Dharius. The album features collaborations with Campa, Da Fucking Draw, Big Man and Millonario. The song "Me alegro de su odio" had originally been released with vocal work from then group member Dharius in June 2013. However, after the rapper's decision to leave the group, this subject had to be re-recorded to include it in the album. This reissued theme was never released as a single.
On 3 October 2016, Cartel de Santa released their seventh album Viejo Marihuano×Viejo Marihuano18 November 2016 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Volvio el Sensei3:242Leve3:453Bailar y Volar4:164Desde Cuando3:355Clika Nostra3:366Mucha Marihuana3:487Culon Culito3:438El Loco Mas Loco4:029Si Estuviera en Dubai3:2110Somos Chidos3:3111Soy Quien Soy3:33, with the singles "Mucha Marihuana" and "Soy Quien soy". It was published by Babilonia Music, S.A. De C.V. In 2017, the group received a gold record in Mexico for reaching 100,000 sales of the album.

Controversy

In May 2018, nude photographs of MC Babo were published on the internet.

Compilation albums

Cartel de Santa, Casa Babilonia presentan: Los Mixtapes (2006)
Cartel de Santa, Greatest Hits (2007)
Casa Babilonia Records: Compilado (2008)
Casa Rifa: Demos (2009)
Sincopa 5.1 (2011)
Golpe Avisa (2014)
Viejo Marihuano (2016)

Soundtrack albums

Los Jefes (Banda Sonora de la Película) (2015)

Singles

"Pollo y Conejo×Pollo y Conejo20 July 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Pollo y Conejo3:34" (2018)
"Burbujas de Cristal×Burbujas de Cristal16 December 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Burbujas de Cristal3:45" (2019) (with Millonario)
"Vaya Vaya" (2020)
"TUY" (2021) (with Alemán, Millonario, and Adán Cruz)
"Piensa en Mi" (2023)
"Shorty Party×Shorty Party4 March 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Shorty Party4:25" (2023) (with La Kelly)
"Pablito y el Pelon" (2023) (with Pablito Calavera)