Pretty Boy Paco talks about his new projects and “staying punk”!

by mia weisfeld

Latin funk wave pop artist Paco uses his identity as a first-generation Mexican American to inspire his music, as well as inspire other first generation kids to get into creative fields. After Paco began his career in 2020, he has continued to hone in on his sound, independently releasing sonically stunning songs like “2PM” and “Pretty Boy,” which got over 350,000 streams. Paco is currently paving the way with Latin funk wave pop inspired by Latin American artists like Omar Apollo and bounce music showcasing sounds reminiscent of Kaytranda and Pharrell Williams. 

I had the chance to connect and chat with Paco recently, and here’s what he had to say about his art, his musical process, his outlook on life, and most importantly… about staying punk. 

So just to start off, I'd love to know, how did you get into music? And how would you describe your sound?

I actually didn't know I was gonna do music for real until three years ago. One day I just started as a joke on some tight beats on YouTube. I just dabbled into that and I really enjoyed it. Then, it progressively got to, “Okay, I can do this, and it's actually fun.” 

I would describe my sound as silly, but also very… can I say sexy? Like sexy and chill?

I saw you describe your genre as Latin funk wave pop, so where did you get that idea from?

Correct. I am a first generation Mexican American. I like to tap into my Latin roots, really. Any way I can implement any sort of Latin touch or spice, as some would like to say, into the music is key for me. Then, the funk wave [is] I just love funkiness. So I would just say Latin funk wave pop is a big mix of stuff that I love and enjoy on my own musically and try to fuse it into one.

Yeah, I was going to say, as of 2021, you started singing some of your songs in Spanish. So, what inspired you to start incorporating Spanish into your music?

It took a while, honestly. I think I was always nervous because I didn't want to disappoint [my parents]. I always knew I wanted to write in Spanish, and it came easily, like writing in English. It was just hard to put it out there in the world. But I'm glad that I’m more comfortable releasing stuff in Spanish. 

One of my favorite songs from you is “CELLULAR.” So what's the story behind the song “CELLULAR?”

Crazy. Crazy. Yeah, it's in Spanish and French — shoutout Caramilk. I was talking to my lady friend and envisioning [us] in a perfect world. So, it’s just me and her underneath the stars type thing. Lowkey [it] is an underrated one, deep cut for some people. 

So you were mentioning before that it was about you and your lady friend, and I feel like a lot of your songs are about love. So would you characterize yourself as a hopeless romantic?

Oh, I don’t want to say hopeless, man. I got love for my one girl. I always wrote about love since I started making music, really. I never really experienced it until recently. Before having that experience, it was just the silly “I love you, you love me” type of lyrics. It’s gotten a little bit more lyrical in that sense. Love is beautiful and writing about it is so unique because everybody has different experiences. It [doesn’t] even have to be about a person, it can be about a thing, or about yourself. 

Is that what you want people to take away from your music?

Overall, for now, yeah. Love is universal and it's very versatile. If you can connect to my music and if you want to make your own story in some way, shape or form, I think that's cool. 

I love that. So I actually found you from your song “Pretty Boy” and I've been a really big fan of your music ever since. It's a great song, and it has over 350,000 streams on Spotify alone. So as an independent artist, how exciting was that success? And what was that experience like? 

That was the first single leading up to an EP that I was going to drop in 2021. I ended up not dropping it because I wasn't ready, but the single itself was nothing that I expected at all. I didn't expect it to do so well, I didn't even expect it to be my number one song at the moment because [I was new to all of it]. I had just moved to LA, and it seemed like any other upload, right? I remember I was showering and Jack Woods was knocking on my door like, “Bro, you got on this Fresh Finds [Spotify] playlist.” I had never had anything cool happen in my life musically like that. It was my second song that I had ever dropped. 

I think a part of what makes “Pretty Boy” so great is its production — it has a really fun bounce to it that I feel like a lot of people appreciate. It's fun, and it's fresh. My next question is who are your biggest inspirations as an artist?

I would have to say Varnish La Piscine is very, very up there. He's this French dude who's crazy — if you don't know about bro you need to tap in right now. Omar Apollo, for sure, because, like I said, the reason I'm really doing this is just for other first gen kids to be able to venture out and tap into their artistic side. I feel like there's not enough love in that sense, where you have the option to do an art form, right? So I definitely give big kudos to Omar for that. He’s been a big inspiration for me. Outside of Omar, Pharrell and Kaytranada — those two are crazy. That's where the funk wave comes from. 

What motivates you as an artist?

I'm doing this for myself, my family, and to inspire other first gen kids. Especially Mexican American kids because [it’s] very hard growing up, you have this certain pressure of what you're gonna do when you grow up. It's very black and white — you either work your whole life or you go to school. So it was very difficult for my parents to really grasp and understand when I started doing this. I'm very fortunate that they understand what I'm doing now. I feel like not enough first generation kids are really trying to venture out and do this dream that they may have. That's definitely what motivates me to keep going — I’m doing it for myself and trying to inspire others.

That's amazing. You're your own inspiration, you're others' inspiration. So, I follow you on Instagram and I always see you commenting and posting the phrase “stay punk.” What does that mean?

Well, I mean, if you didn't already know, Mia, everything is punk. Everything. Like, I'm an avid water drinker. I'm not even joking, I drink so much water and that's punk. Right? But there are people who just don't drink water. And that's punk, too. Everything is fine. There's no hate to anybody. 

I love that. It's your affirmation. 

It is. My Instagram stories are like little journal entries every day, and I just always got to top it off with “stay punk, stay silly”. That's what I live by really… just staying punk, staying silly.

I love your song “2PM.” I really want to know the process of making that song.

That was the fastest I've ever made a song and [released it] in my whole life. I remember Jack Woods was like, “Yo, are you trying to go to the studio right now and make some music?” He picks me up, and we go to the Target parking lot. I'm like, “This is not the studio, big dog. What are we doing?” and he's like, “We’re just cheffin’ here in the car.” He had the beat ready. He was like… running it from his car battery, but it was about to die. So I recorded it in 30 minutes. It was basically a crazy freestyle type thing, it was wild. 

Any insights on your next project?

Yes, I have a single coming out this month, the 24th of February called “Supersonic.” It’s the third single from my EP Cuatro, coming out March 9th. Put it in your calendar, set a reminder. Very punk if you listen to it, and very punk if you don't listen to it. 

That's amazing. All right. Well, thank you for being here today. Paco, do you have any last sentiments for us?

Just stop being so serious, just be silly. And enjoy life. Be peaceful. Everything is punk and patience is a virtue, because it really is.