San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico native Yng Naz opens up about his upcoming album Una y Otra Vez, his border-town roots, and the moment music became everything.
More Than Just a Sound
If you ask Yng Naz to describe his music to a first-time listener, he keeps it simple: “digestible, subtle.” But spend any amount of time talking to the young artist from Sonora, Mexico and it becomes clear there is nothing simple about what he is building. With his fourth studio album in just two years, Una y Otra Vez dropping April 16th, Yng Naz is arriving with a project that carries the weight of personal experience, border-town culture, and a worldview shaped by rock, trap, and the rawness of regional Mexican music.
A Voice from the U.S.–Mexico Border
Yng Naz was born in Mexicali but raised entirely in San Luis Río Colorado, a detail he makes sure to clarify. “I’m 100% from San Luis,” he says with certainty. Growing up in a border zone between Baja California and Sonora meant absorbing everything at once: trap, rock, pop, regional. That cultural collision allowed for a unique musical blend in his records.
When asked about the trap elements woven into his music, Yng Naz doesn’t credit a single artist or trend. He traces it back to where he grew up. “Regional is culture,” he explains. “I feel like regional [music] can be made in a lot of ways. So I grabbed a little from here and a little from there and tried to make my own sound within what is my culture, which is regional.” Aesthetically, he draws inspiration from Playboi Carti, and among Spanish-speaking artists, Milo J.
His rock influences run just as deep. Green Day, Gorillaz, Nirvana are the names that shaped him early. His favorite Nirvana track is The Man Who Sold the World, a song he chose not for its lyrics but for the guitar tone. “It’s a sound that if I hear it anywhere, I know that’s that song,” he says.
Before any of the bands or the beats, there was his dad. Yng Naz’ father had his own band, and a young Naz was always nearby, marking his father a prominent musical influence. “My dad was always my musical inspiration,” he says. That childhood surrounded by live music planted something that would take root years later in the most unexpected way.
When Music Became a Lifeline
The most striking moment of our conversation comes when Yng Naz is asked whether music is therapy or passion. His answer is immediate and cuts through everything else.
“Music saved my life.”
He doesn’t elaborate with a neat story. He says it saved him in every sense, across every aspect of his life. “Making music, dedicating myself to making music. That saved my life. It made a very big change in me.”
The turning point came during what he describes as the worst moment of his life. When he hit rock bottom and faced a series of difficult experiences, Yng Naz made a decision: to grow up, take music seriously, and go all in. “I bet on myself and left everything behind for music.” The decision paid off as he has been a professional artist for about two and a half years with collaborations from other notable names such as Danny Lux and Jasiel Nuñez.
Una y Otra Vez
His upcoming album, Una y Otra Vez, is a project you have to hear front to back to fully understand and Yng Naz is clear about that. At its center is the concept of marginalization, of difference, and of how easy it is to speak about things you don’t understand. “It talks about outside judgment — how easy it is to talk about something you don’t know,” he says. The album also reflects on the disconnect between how people present themselves online versus who they actually are.
His recent singles “JORDAN” and “No Lo Sé” have been gaining traction, with “No Lo Sé” exploring what Yng Naz calls “the confusion of love.” Like most of his work, it comes from personal experience and he writes it in a way that invites everyone in. “The majority of my songs are personal experiences, things that happen to all of us and that we all feel,” he says. “I try to create empathy. I make people feel empathy through the songs.”
A Note of Gratitude
Yng Naz speaks warmly about musical peer Danny Lux, who he credits as the person who opened the door for him in the industry. “He’s the one who gave me the spotlight, the support to go out there and give it everything,” he says. “He is my brother.” Beyond that relationship, Yng Naz has learned that success in the industry isn’t about who you know so much as who surrounds you. “It’s easier when you have friends with the same vision and the same hunger as you,” he says. “As long as you have a well-put-together team that walks alongside you — in the good and the bad — the industry matters least.”
Leaving a Mark That Lasts
When the conversation turns to the future, Yng Naz admits he doesn’t think about it much. He prefers the present. But when pushed on his larger vision as an artist, the answer is one that stays with you.
“I want to leave something in the world. Beyond just music. I want to leave a message.” He pauses. “I want to be eternal.”
He wants his music to reach everyone to children, grandparents, anyone in between. For Yng Naz, that reach isn’t just about streaming numbers. It’s about meaning something to someone. “It goes beyond just making music,” he says. “It’s my vision of life.”
Keep an eye for Yng Naz as Una y Otra Vez releases April 16th.
I am from Richmond, TX and currently studying communications at the University of Houston. I enjoy drinking peach oolong tea and attending concerts!
