Duki Is Trying to Take Argentina’s Trap Sound Global

As the sun sets over Buenos Aires, Argentina, the energy outside the Movistar Arena is electric. A sea of fans—many dressed in sleeveless tees, fake tattoos on their face, and adidas—fill the streets, chanting the lyrics of Mauro Ezequiel Lombardo, better known as Duki, the face of Argentine trap music. It's late March, and there are over 15,000 fans walking up the arena to see Duki's homecoming show.

Few artists have shaped Latin urban music like Duki. Rising from Buenos Aires’ underground freestyle battles, he’s become Argentina’s most-streamed artist, blending hard-hitting bass, melodic flows, and experimental beats that push the genre’s boundaries.

His first spark of inspiration came not from a mic, but a basketball court. Watching NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson introduced him to hip-hop culture in the early 2000s. As he got older, it was legendary rappers like Eminem and Lil Wayne who fueled his obsession with rap.

In 2013, he took his first shot at freestyle rapping in an online test for Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos, an annual Spanish rap battle competition. He laughs now when he thinks about how his rhymes didn’t really mean anything back then, but the rush of it all had him hooked. “I wasn’t saying anything, I was just rhyming,” he said. “From there, I’d just put on beats and rap all the time, every day.”

Buenos Aires' freestyle scene became his training ground. At El Quinto Escalón, the most legendary battle competition in Argentina, he proved himself as a force, winning the contest. That victory earned him a free studio session, where he recorded "No Vendo Trap" in 2016—his breakout hit and the first from the rap battle scene to reach 1 million views. He left battle rap behind, locked himself in the studio, and never looked back. “I stayed at a friend’s apartment, and we recorded non-stop. Wake up, record a song, sleep, wake up, record, sleep... nonstop.”

By 2017, Duki emerged to fill a gap in the music scene, where the most popular rappers were from Colombia and Puerto Rico. His track “Hello Cotto” made waves across South America, drawing attention to Argentina’s rising movement. Collaborations with Khea and Cazzu turned this momentum into a full-blown cultural wave. “Loca” wasn’t just a hit in Argentina—it spread across Latin America, proving that a genre once doubted could not only thrive locally but also command international recognition.

“I wanted to get recognition from the global hip-hop community,” he tells me. “To show them what we’re doing in Argentina.”

Over the years, he’s collaborated with rappers like Wiz Khalifa and YG, working with artists he’s admired for years. When YG flew to Argentina to work with him in person, it was a full-circle moment. “I’ve been listening to YG since he dropped 'Flow,' a song I love for its drumless beat that captivates me,” Duki said. “I always dreamed of meeting him. Then, at one point, another Argentine artist was working with YG’s manager, Polo. Polo asked YG who he’d like to collaborate with from Argentina, and he said me. Next thing I know, he’s hopping on a 20-hour flight, and we were making music together.”

Even though Duki is fully entrenched with trap he has showed a willingness to evolve, also pulling from rock and reggaetón sounds. Take “Hablamos Mañana," his 2020 collaboration with Bad Bunny. The song’s raw, guitar-heavy sound was unlike anything either artist had done before. According to Duki, it was pure studio experimentation.

“Bad Bunny played a huge role in how that track came together,” he says. “We didn’t plan it—we just went for it.”

Now, Duki’s setting his sights on an even bigger challenge: conquering the U.S. market. With an international fanbase already locked in and an upcoming U.S. tour on the horizon—Duki is hoping Argentina’s trap movement can have an impact in the States.

And you can say the dedication all over his face, which is full of tattoos.“Once I tattooed my face, that was it. No backup plan,” he says. “This was my life.”