Biography

Roberto Tapia is a chart-topping singer, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger of regional Mexican music. With a mellifluous tenor voice, his many narcocorridos have won him fame and fortune across Latin America, but he is also equally adept at singing banda, romanticos, and in the 2010s, mariachis. Tapia became well-known for his 2009 offering El Niño de la Tuna (which detailed the life of drug trafficker El Chapo Guzman), but his chart success is best defined by the eight Top 10 albums he released between 2010 and 2015, including El Muchacho and Mi Niña. In addition to arranging his own songs, he has also worked with Enrique Iglesias, Romeo Santos, and Paulina Rubio. His 2017 album, Esto Es Sólo el Comienzo, was critically acclaimed for its meld of uptempo banda anthems and soulful norteño ballads. Born in Southern California but raised in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, corrido singer Roberto Tapia entered the prestigious Sinaloa school called Difocur at a young age, where he studied clarinet. While mastering the instrument he was reluctant to showcase his talents. But after coaxing from friends and family, he began performing at various dancehalls and receptions. At 17, he made his professional debut in Tijuana, Mexico alongside el Lobito de Sinaloa. In 2001, Tapia worked in a touring trio called Los Trillizos with Gerardo Ortiz and Espinoza Paz. (They split in 2006 due to the demands of their individual careers.) He also began assembling musicians for his debut album. Mixing touches of hip-hop and electronica with his norteños, it appeared on Sony in August 2002. Although he toured throughout Mexico, the United States, and Latin America, he didn't record much until 2008 brought Los Amigos del M on Machete Music. Several releases followed on Fonovisa, including 2009's El Nino de la Tuna, 2010's La Batalla, and two releases in 2011, El Corrido del Niño and a live album. Tapia's success grew gradually but steadily, thanks in part to the lasting power of narcocorridos like "El Niño de la Tuna," which detailed the life of El Chapo Guzman. Tapia finally struck gold in 2012 with El Muchacho. "Mirando al Cielo" topped the Regional Mexican chart on Billboard, and the album became his first to hit number one on the Latin Albums chart; it also reached the pop albums chart. In 2013, his song "El Guardián de Tu Vida" was chosen as the theme song for the telenovela hit Dama y Obrero. He made his debut as a coach on La Voz Kids that same year, and mentored for a total of three seasons. Tapia followed with the high-charting norteño album Mi Niña in 2014 and the innovative banda set Diferente a year later. In October 2017, he issued the highly anticipated Esto Es Solo el Comienzo to rave reviews. In 2019, he branched out further by releasing Por Siempre Ranchero, his debut collection of mariachis. ~ Jason MacNeil, Rovi