Where does your name Trueno come from?
My dad [MC Peligro] had a band called Comuna 4. The first song they released was called ‘Trueno en la Madrugada.’ It talked about the story of our neighborhood La Boca. When I was 5-years-old, I wanted to come up with my own rapper name. I looked through my father’s notebook, and I saw Trueno in there. Since then, it’s stayed with me forever.
What is your first musical memory?
Not everyone has a dad that supports them and shares their dreams. I do, and it’s a privilege. My dad was one of the pioneers of rap in Argentina, and he introduced me to hip-hop culture and movement. I saw him fighting for that, wanting to better that movement, and to move it forward. Now we can bring Argentine rap to other countries, and even represent it on COLORS. I always share these achievements with him. They are worth double to us because we started with nothing but a dream.
How did taking part in freestyle rap battles inform the artist that you are today?
The rap battles were fundamental. A lot of rappers were born out of battles—almost all of the Argentine artists today, as well as the likes of Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Busta Rhymes participated in them. Battles have given visibility to a lot of Argentines in the hip-hop scene: they’ve given us the motivation to create music, and shown us that we have an audience. Also, in terms of writing verses, battles give you an agile mind—they’re like improvisation training.
