Trueno’s Brave New Old-School Rap

ARGENTINE RAPPER Trueno is just 20, but he’s already realizing his potential as one of South American hip-hop’s most compelling new voices. Songs like “Hoop Hoop” and “Fuck el Police,” from his excellent second album, Bien o Mal, are steeped in old-school American hip-hop. Splitting the 13 tracks between two sides, “The Bad” and “The Good,” Trueno raps about dictatorships, economic hardships, crime, and inequality, while urging people to rise and stand together. He says he wanted to turn “the idea of protesting into a celebration,” and that’s exactly what he does. The result is one of the year’s sharpest breakout releases.