Peso Pluma‘s new album Éxodo is out now. In 2023, the Mexican music superstar faced alleged death threats from Mexican drug cartels. So, is Pluma still alive, or was Éxodo was released posthumously?
In September 2023 Pluma — legal name Hassan Kabande — was set to perform in Tijuana, Mexico, near the United States border, when banners reportedly appeared nearby cautioning Pluma to call the concert off or he might get killed. Mexican drug cartels are active in that area, and Pluma’s music sometimes references those criminal organizations, who are known to murder to protect their territory, Reuters reported.
It’s unclear who or why the banners were put up, but Pluma and his team called off the concert just in case, the second time they had canceled a show in the city in recent months. “Our aim is to protect the fans and the team. We are canceling our show in Tijuana for the safety of everyone involved,” Pluma’s label Doble P Records said on Instagram when the decision to cancel was announced.
Meanwhile, Pluma canceled five more shows around that same time and later rescheduled a show in Chicago over similar purported death threats. In the aftermath, fake TikTok and other social media posts spread, claiming Pluma had died, and leading some fans to think the cartel plot to kill him was successful. Pluma is and was, however, alive and well.
Death threats or poor ticket sales?
However, in January 2024, The Daily Mirror reported that Peso Pluma canceled the concert in Tijuana, at least, not over death threats, but that the banners were put up on purpose to cover poor ticket sales and to provide Pluma an excuse to back out. “Peso Pluma had to cancel his concert in Tijuana for Oct last year due to alleged threats from a Mexican cartel. Turns out he only sold 10,000 tickets out of 30,000 and used a narco banner to avoid paying back the sold tickets [sic],” Mexican journalist Luis Chaparro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), the Mirror said.
Who knows what’s going on with Pluma and whether or not his life was ever threatened, but Éxodo is out, and he’s still alive, so for those two things, at least, Pluma fans are thankful. “Thank God that you’re alive they said you were dead I cried a lot when I heard that may God protect you always [sic]” one comment said on an ABC Chicago 7 YouTube report back when news of Pluma’s rescheduled Chicago show was shared.
