Omar Banos (born June 26, 1998), known professionally as Cuco, is an American singer-songwriter from

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. His music has been described to blend elements of bossa nova,

indie-pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and ...

, and

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

. Teaching himself how to make his own music, Cuco self-released his first EP, ''Wannabewithu'' in 2016, which featured some of his first songs to go viral, "Lover is a Day" and "Amor de Siempre". He then released his second EP, ''Songs4u'', the following year. Cuco rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 single, "Lo Que Siento", allowing him to drop out of college to pursue a music career. Signing with

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

in 2019, he released his first studio album, '' Para Mi'' (2019). He released his second album, ''Fantasy Gateway'' in 2022, created with producers, Manuel Lara and Andres Rebellon. He released his third EP, ''Hitchhiker'' on November 10, 2023. In 2025, he released his third album Ridin'.

Early life

Omar Banos was born an only child in

Inglewood Inglewood may refer to: Places Australia *Inglewood, Queensland * Shire of Inglewood, Queensland, a former local government area *Inglewood, South Australia *Inglewood, Victoria *Inglewood, Western Australia Canada * Inglewood, Ontario *Inglewoo ...

, California, on June 26, 1998, to immigrant Mexican parents. His mother, Irma, came from the city of

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

, while his father, Adolfo, came from

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. He grew up in the city of

Hawthorne, California Hawthorne is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is part of a seventeen-city subregion of the Los Angeles metropolitan area commonly known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay. As of the 2020 United States cens ...

, and began playing music at the age of eight. He had experimented with trumpet, guitar, keyboard, drums, bass guitar,

mellophone The mellophone is a brass instrument used in marching bands and drum and bugle corps in place of French horns. It is a middle-voiced instrument, typically pitched in the key of F, though models in E, D, C, and G (as a bugle) have also historica ...

and

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

before the age of 15. Banos attended junior school in Lennox and graduated from Hawthorne High School where he played in the school marching band as well as the jazz band.

Career

2015: ''Heavy Trip''

After graduating, Banos uploaded a

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

cover of

Sleep Walk "Sleep Walk" is an instrumental song written, recorded, and released in 1959 by American instrumental rock and roll duo Santo & Johnny Farina, with their uncle Mike Dee playing the drums. Prominently featuring steel guitar, the song was record ...

Santo & Johnny Santo & Johnny were an American rock and roll instrumental duo of Italian descent from Brooklyn, New York, composed of brothers Santo Farina (born October 24, 1937) and Johnny Farina (born April 30, 1941). They are known best for their instrum ...

to YouTube, which gained thousands of views. He began producing and releasing songs from his parents' home and releasing them onto

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

and

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

. In January 2015, Banos released his first EP on Bandcamp, titled ''Heavy Trip''. In the same year, Banos had released his first song, "Yeah" on SoundCloud under the moniker of Heavy Trip. He then switched to Cuco, which was a nickname given to him by his mother as a child. Cuco Pitchfork Stage

2016–2017: ''Wannabewithu'' and ''Songs4u''

By the age of 18, Banos had self-produced his first mixtape ''Wannabewithu'' in 2016'','' after teaching himself how to use Ableton Live software. Cuco released his second mixtape, ''Songs4u'' in 2017 when he started playing at clubs in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, selling out his first two venues. Cuco released his first single "Lo Que Siento" in 2017, which has reached over 320 million streams on Spotify alone. Following the success of "Lo Que Siento," Cuco dropped out after a year of attending

Santa Monica City College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The coll ...

to pursue a career in music.

2018–2019: ''Para Mi''

Cuco collaborated with American singer

Clairo Claire Elizabeth Cottrill (born August 18, 1998), known professionally as Clairo, is an American singer-songwriter. She began posting music on the internet at age 13. Clairo rose to prominence following the viral success of the music video for ...

for the single "Drown", which was released in August 2018. He then collaborated with

Polyphia Polyphia is a primarily instrumental progressive rock band based in Plano, Texas, formed in 2010. The group consists of guitarists Tim Henson and Scott LePage, bassist Clay Gober, and drummer Clay Aeschliman. Initially rooted in a metal-focused ...

on a track called "So Strange" off their album ''New Levels New Devils'', which was released in October 2018. Cuco played alongside saxophonist

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

in April 2018, as well as at

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

in October 2018. In February 2019, he collaborated with his childhood

Chicano rap Chicano rap is a subgenre of hip hop that embodies aspects of the Mexican American or Chicano culture. History Early years The first recognized Chicano rap album was the 1990 debut album '' Hispanic Causing Panic'' by Kid Frost; the album's le ...

idols

MC Magic Marco Cardenas (born June 29, 1977), better known by his stage name MC Magic, is a Mexican-born American rapper, singer and songwriter known for singing and rapping, both in English and Spanish. He is also the founder of NastyBoy Records which h ...

and

Lil Rob Roberto L. Flores (born September 21, 1975), also known as Ese 1218, and better known by his stage name Lil Rob, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. Early life Flores was born in San Diego, and raised in La Colonia de Eden Gardens, a ...

on a track called "Search". After a

bidding war A bid price is the highest price that a buyer (i.e., bidder) is willing to pay for some goods. It is usually referred to simply as the "bid". In bid and ask, the bid price stands in contrast to the ask price or "offer", and the difference bet ...

that lasted two years, Banos signed under

in March 2019. On April 2, 2019, Cuco released "Hydrocodone," the lead single for ''Para Mi'', before releasing "Bossa No Sé" with Jean Carter on May 22, 2019. Cuco later released his debut studio album, '' Para Mi'', on July 26. The album touches on recent problems that Cuco has experienced first-hand, including a tour bus accident that sent him and his band to hospital. It debuted at 94 on the

US Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a recordi ...

2022-present: ''Fantasy Gateway'' and ''Hitchhiker''

On April 29, 2022, Cuco released "Caution" as the lead single from his sophomore studio album, ''Fantasy Gateway''. On July 22, 2022, ''Fantasy Gateway'' was released via

. The 12-track LP includes appearances from

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 20 ...

, Adriel Favela, Bratty, and

DannyLux Daniel Balderrama Espinoza (born March 12, 2004) better known by his stage name DannyLux, is an American singer-songwriter. He is well known for his hit song with Eslabón Armado called " Jugaste y Sufrí" which introduced him to the music indu ...

. On March 10, 2023, he collaborated with indie pop band

the Marías The Marías is an American indie pop band from Los Angeles, California. They are known for performing songs in both English and Spanish, as well as infusing their music with elements like jazz percussion, guitar riffs, and horn solos. Their ...

on the song "Si Me Voy", later performing at the

Camp Flog Gnaw Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival (formerly known as the OFWGKTA Carnival or Odd Future carnival) is an annual American music festival and carnival created by Tyler, the Creator and has been held annually since its inception in the fall of 2012, except from ...

music festival in November of that year. He released his third EP, ''Hitchhiker'', on November 10, 2023, which included 6 tracks. He released his third studio album, ''Ridin, on May 9, 2025.

Artistry

Musical style and songwriting

Banos' musical style blends elements of bossa nova and

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

. Suzy Exposito from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' described his music as "psychedelia-soaked love ballads". Brett Calwood told ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'' that Banos's music has "smooth Latin influences with a nostalgic lean". Banos blends English and Spanish lyrics over what he describes as "alternative dream pop" melodies that have "a lot of synthesizers" and "a lot of 808's".

Influences

Banos grew up listening to

from names such as

Baby Bash Ronald Ray Bryant (born October 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Baby Bash (formerly Baby Beesh), is an American rapper. His first two albums, '' Savage Dreams'' (2001) and '' On Tha Cool'' (2002), were released by the independent Housto ...

and

, as well as

Spanish rock Spanish rock is the term used for the variety of rock music produced in Spain. Most bands formed in Spain have sung in Spanish, but many others have sung in English, French and Italian, in addition to the other languages spoken in Spain, such as ...

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

s and other old ballads that his parents would play around the house. He listens to jazz, classical music and

trap music Trap music, also known simply as trap, is a subgenre of hip-hop music which originated in the Southern United States, with lyrical references to trap starting in 1991 but the modern sound of trap appearing in 1999. The genre gets its name from t ...

, and has cited Kevin Parker of

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (musician), Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring a ...

and

Ariel Pink Ariel Marcus Rosenberg ( ; born June 24, 1978), professionally known as Ariel Pink, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter whose work draws heavily from the popular music of the 1960s–1980s. His lo-fi aesthetic and home-recorded al ...

as some of his major musical influences. In an interview with

Jesse Thorn Jesse Michael Gabriel Thorn (born April 24, 1981) is an American media entrepreneur and public radio and podcast host/creator. He is the founder of the Maximum Fun podcast network, and the host and producer of the podcasts '' Judge John Hodgman' ...

from ''

Bullseye Bullseye or Bull's Eye may refer to: Symbols * ◎ (Unicode U+25CE BULLSEYE), in the Geometric Shapes Unicode block * (Unicode U+0298 LATIN LETTER BILABIAL CLICK), the phonetic symbol for bilabial click Animals and plants * Bull's Eye, '' Eury ...

,'' Banos described how the song, "

Feels Like We Only Go Backwards "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" is a song by Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala. It is the seventh track on their 2012 album '' Lonerism'', and was released as its second single on 1 October 2012. The single features artwork from Aust ...

''"'' by

helped him with visualizing his career in music and navigating his life in high school.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Bandcamp releases

Music videos

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuco 1998 births Living people 21st-century American singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from California American musicians of Mexican descent American Internet celebrities American indie pop musicians Musicians from Hawthorne, California Musicians from Inglewood, California Interscope Records artists Bedroom pop musicians Hawthorne High School (California) alumni