Mateo Palacios Corazzina (born 25 March 2002), better known by the stage name Trueno, is an Argentine rapper, singer and songwriter.}} An established figure in the urban music scene of Argentina, his music combines Latin hip-hop and trap with elements of reggaeton, R&B, pop, rock, and the stylings of classic hip-hop.
Trueno began freestyle rapping at twelve and gained prominence in the Latin American freestyle scene after performances in the ACDP Zoo Juniors tournament and El Quinto Escalón, and winning the Red Bull Batalla de los Gallos and Argentina Freestyle Master Series.}} He garnered international recognition for his appearance in the freestyle session "BZRP Freestyle Sessions # 6" in collaboration with Bizarrap, which managed to exceed 250,000,000 views on YouTube and currently holds the record for being the most viewed freestyle video on that site.}}}
After qualifying for the grand finals of FMS International in 2020, he retired from freestyling to prioritize his music career, releasing his first studio album, Atrevido, soon after. He has since released an additional three studio albums. With 2026's Turrazo (stylized as TURR4ZO) gaining Trueno his most traction on a global level, he considers representing Argentina and its music on an international level to be part of his "calling" and pride as an artist.}
Early years
Mateo was born on 25 March 2002 in the neighborhood of La Boca in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has described growing up poor,} his childhood home constructed from sheet metal and salvaged wood from river boats.} As a child, he wanted to be a soccer player,} but was influenced by his father into becoming a musician himself. His father is Uruguayan-born rapper Pedro Palacios, known as MC Peligro, who himself is recognized for having won multiple freestyle competitions and founding the hip hop group Comuna 4. His mother, Juliana Corazzina, is a singer and instrumentalist, who Mateo credits with introducing him to rock and roll and other alternative genres, which shaped his musical style.} His paternal grandfather was Yamandú Palacios, an Uruguayan singer-songwriter and guitarist of folklore music, who played alongside artists such as Alfredo Zitarrosa, Joaquín Sabina and Joan Manuel Serrat. } From a very young age, he had a great love for rap and hip hop, with some of his influences including American rappers Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg. He has also cited Xzibit, 50 Cent, Vico C, and Control Machete as inspirations.
Career
2015-2018: Freestyle competition and first singles
Trueno participated in his first nationwide freestyle tournament, A Cara de Perro Zoo Juniors, at thirteen, in Tecnopolis in 2015. Though optimistic about his chances of winning, he performed poorly in the first qualifier and was eliminated. On the loss, his father noted that “he did not say a word in the whole journey back.”} That same year, he attempted to participate in the Regional Red Bull in Buenos Aires, but was also eliminated in his first matchup.
In 2016, he participated in A Cara de Perro Zoo Juniors once again, where he was the winner. Reflecting on the experience, he said: “I always care what they say about me. They said I was overrated because I was little or because my old man was a rapper and I thought, what did I do wrong? It cost me, but now I understand that I can’t dwell on that.” After his victory, he was invited to participate in a freestyle competition organized by Vans, celebrating the brand’s fiftieth anniversary. He managed to reach the semifinals, where he was defeated by the rapper Zonda.} His participation in this competition was praised by The Free Style, who posited that Trueno “grazed perfection”, adding that in the classic part of the contest, “one could see Trueno a little better than [Zonda].”
He would then compete in the fifth date of the 2016 season in the El Quinto Escalón competition, being eliminated in the round of 16 by Klan in the mode 1vs1vs1.}} He returned to participate in the sixth date of the competition, where he was again eliminated in the round of 16 in the 1vs1vs1 mode, where the rapper Dani was the winner.}} In mid-August, he took part in the first Las Vegas Cup date, where he managed to advance to the semifinals before being eliminated. Following his performance that month, Mexican rapper Aczino noticed him and invited him to participate in the Supremacía MC tournament, which would be his first international competition.} Again, Palacios managed to advance to the semifinals, where he was defeated by the Peruvian rapper Stick.} Later, he participated in the seventh date of El Quinto Escalón where, for the first time in this competition, he managed to reach the quarterfinals, where he was eliminated by the rapper Ecko.}
Following being crowned champion in the ACDP Zoo Juniors competition, Trueno would go on to compete in the main category of A Cara de Perro Zoo. A strong performance throughout the tournament carried him to the finals, where he lost to the rapper Cacha.} In late October, he participated in the last date of El Quinto Escalón, where he was eliminated in the round of 16 by the rapper Legar.}} Later, he entered the Ego Fest 2016 tournament, his last competition of that year, and was eliminated by Ecko in the round of 16. In May 2017, he returned to El Quinto Escalón, and participated in the second date of the season, where he was eliminated in the round of 16 against Almagro's Duki.}}
On June 15, 2017, he released his debut single, "K.I.N.G", alongside a video by Mauro Pérez Quinteros, under the record label NEUEN.} On his musical and writing style, he said: “My thing is the attitude and forcefulness of rhymes. My songs come out of nights when I turn on my lamp and write them in 15 minutes.”
In the following month, he participated in the 2017 Cross of Champions, held at the Teatro Gran Rex. There, Trueno was crowned the winner of the tournament after beating the rapper Cacha. The digital media outlet El Estilo Libre commented "Trueno stood out once again above the stage", adding that the event "marked history in the scene of Argentine freestyle".} After this, he released his second single, "En La Ola", accompanied by a video directed by León Pintos Alarcón. The song became popular online, which led to the music video exceeding one million views in just under two weeks. This success led to the organizers of the Club Media Fest Argentina inviting him to perform an exhibition battle. The exhibition, held in October, was attended by Dtoke, Underdann, and his father MC Peligro.}}
In November, he appeared on the song "Salamandra" by Underdann, published on November 18. Trueno went on to publish two songs in the first half of 2018: "4AM" on January 25, and "Rain" on May 30. The former was released along with a music video, with León Pintos Alarcón directing again.} The latter, "Rain", produced by XOVOX, gained traction online and surpassed 15 million views on YouTube by 2019, and would go on to be the first song in his Rain series.} Later, he participated in the 2018 edition of the FMS Argentina championship, but performed weakly in his matches and finished in the last place, with 8 points and losing 7 of the 9 matches.} “I was watching the battle with others and laughing a lot, that’s what’s best, more than winning or losing.”} Rappers Wos and Dani soon retired from the tournament, however, saving Trueno from being demoted, as the lowest ranking rapper. Instead, he competed in a play-off between the last and first of the first and second divisions, respectively.
Nearing the end of December, he released the single "BOOM", again produced by XOVOX, which garnered attention on social media and achieved 14 million YouTube listens in just under a year.}
2019: Sessions with Bizarrap and wider reach
On March 23, Thunder was invited to participate in the Pangea tournament, an international freestyle competition held at the Pepsi Center WTC in Mexico City.} Originally paired with the rapper Dtoke, Palacios competed alongside Replik, who replaced him. There, the pair was eliminated in the round of 16 by the Ibero-Chilean duo Zasko and Ricto.} Four days later, in the municipal theater of Lomas de Zamora, he competed against the rapper Tuqu in the playoffs, which decided who would compete in the FMS Argentina tournament. Trueno was declared the winner with 350 points, 24 more than his rival, securing a spot in that year's competition.} The following month, he was invited to perform an exhibition battle at the Lollapalooza Argentina along with rappers Dtoke, Papo, Dozer, MKS, and Dani.}} A few months later, Trueno was chosen alongside rappers Wos and Papo to represent the Argentine team in the 2019 edition of the international God Level competition.} There, the trio of Argentines managed to finish in second place, losing in the final round against team Chile.}
Trueno’s relevance led to music producer Bizarrap inviting him to record the freestyle session "BZRP freestyle Sessions #6", which became a huge success on YouTube, exceeding 120 million views a year after its release, giving it the record of the most viewed freestyle video on the website. Later, in August, he released the song "Fresko" in collaboration with Bhavi and Halpe.} Its music video, directed by Facu Ballve, was sponsored by the Axe brand and supported by Orishinal, an executive producer. Silvana Frenquel, head of operations of Orishinal, commented that, to carry out this campaign, they had to “map the artists, taking into account their reach on social networks and interaction.”} The video became popular online and managed over 18 million views in less than six months.} At the end of that month, he was invited to an exhibition battle against local rapper Bion in the 2019 BDM Cádiz tournament, held in Arcos de la Frontera, Spain.}
Later, in a qualifying-round battle for FMS International held in Valencia, he faced the Spanish rapper Kaze, in an event also featuring DJ R de Rumba.} In early October, he did another freestyle session with Bizarrap. The session, "BZRP Music Sessions #16", was posted on October 3 on YouTube and garnered 78 million views in under a year.} It also did well on the charts in Argentina, entering the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart and debuting in the 13th position.}
Thunder participated in the freestyle competition organized by Red Bull: the Argentine edition of Battle of Gallos, held at Luna Park in Buenos Aires on October 21. After winning the final round against rapper Wolf, Palacios became champion of the competition.}} Belén Filgueira, from Infobae, admired Trueno’s performance: "He’s from La Boca, he's 17 years old, and with his flow, he was crowned champion of the biggest freestyle competition in the Spanish-speaking world. Now, he will travel to Spain to compete for the international championship, the title that every MC wishes to achieve.” A few months later, he performed alongside Venezuelan rapper Letra in the 2vs2 All Stars edition of the God Level tournament. There, the pair reached the final, where they were defeated by the rappers Jaze and Stuart.}}
For his performance in its national counterpart, Trueno was chosen as one of the Argentine representatives for the International edition of Red Bull Battle of Gallos.} Trueno advanced to the quarterfinals, where he was eliminated by Mexican rapper Aczino.}
At the end of the year, he competed in the last round of the Argentine FMS and, with 5 wins and 4 losses, was crowned as champion over Papu, who, while having a higher number of victories, ended up being runner-up by point difference.} The writer Dante Conti, from Silencio magazine, described Palacios as going “from not being called to the league to being the favorite” and from “being the first eliminated to being first place.” He opined that Trueno was the “MC with the greatest projection of the history of Argentine freestyle”.}
2020-2021: Atrevido