Latin Mafia have risen to the top of the Mexican alternative scene by infusing it with soulful R&B and punk swagger. Collaborating with superstar DJ Fred again.. for a new joint project, 9 months & 50 hours, the band finds new creative powers and a bit of levity among his feel-good brand of ambiance. The 14-track mixtape also offers Fred again.. a chance to try his hand at Latin house with a band that’s dismantled the limits of the Latin label. 9 months & 50 hours isn’t reinventing electronic music, but its freewheeling approach manages to generate some imaginative friction.
Latin Mafia includes twin singer-songwriters Milton and Emilio de la Rosa and their older brother, producer Mike de la Rosa. The maverick trio exploded in popularity after signing with Bad Bunny’s record label, Rimas, in 2024. That year, Latin Mafia released Todos los días todo el día, a debut album that tapped into trap, R&B, rock, and hyperpop to explore the brothers’ feelings surrounding their newfound fame and mental health. They found a kindred spirit in Fred again.., who a few years ago released the existential Actual Life album series.
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On 9 months & 50 hours, their mutual search for catharsis finds an outlet. The mixtape comes on the heels of Fred again..’s durational USB project, which concluded with 2025’s USB002. This past December, at his USB002 concert in Mexico City, he previewed his collaborations with Latin Mafia as the band danced on top of the DJ booth. Then there was no news until July 28, when Fred again.. and Latin Mafia announced a 50-hour YouTube livestream to finish recording the mixtape. It was a family affair, with Fred’s younger brother Benjy Gibson also contributing.
9 months & 50 hours dropped three days later; the title reflects the total time spent to complete it. Fred again.. and Latin Mafia bridge their worlds in songs about connection and disconnection, like “Te Estoy Correteando,” where galloping cumbia is punctuated by gloomy synths. Hyperpop and electro-house collide in “Quiereme” as Milton and Emilio sing in Spanglish about a messy relationship alongside bby, the indie rock group fronted by Benjy. The industrial grime of “Alvafro” melds with otherworldly R&B reminiscent of Latin Mafia’s debut, but with Fred on board, the track shifts into house overdrive for its final act.
The collaborators also enhance a few previously released songs for the mixtape. Latin Mafia help to morph Fred again.. and Brian Eno’s ambient “Cmon,” from 2023’s Secret Life, into a heartfelt ode to yearning. Mabe Fratti is credited on the transcendental “Mabe” for tender vocals lifted from her song “Todo Lo Que Querías Saber.” The mixtape takes a detour for Fred again.. to pay tribute to Jon Hopkins with the inclusion of “Open Eye Signal.” Fred’s tweaks to the techno house classic are minimal but meaningful. But while it’s cool to hear a Spanish version of IVOXYGEN’s “Casino143,” the “Rue De La Fortuna Remix” is basically Latin Mafia singing over the original track without much of the reimagination one might expect from a freeform mixtape.
With Fred again.. and Latin Mafia seemingly on a time crunch to finish the record before their July 30 concert at the Palacio de los Deportes, some songs still sound to be in demo form. The sensual but underdeveloped disco of “Piensas En Mi” could have used more attention to the audio mix. In “Halo,” Latin Mafia is barely audible while a muffled Lil Yachty sounds like he submitted his feature by voicemail. For all the pandemonium whipped up by the rollout—the 50-hour livestream was followed by an arena-sized dance party where Latin Mafia dove into the crowd—the mixtape only captures glints of that lightning. Perhaps if 9 months & 50 hours had had more time to cook, the myth wouldn’t feel mightier than the music.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
