After 2-Year Legal Battle, Argentinian Trap Hitmaker Paulo Londra Is Back
It’s official: Paulo Londra, the Argentinian trap hitmaker behind reggaeton bangers like “Adan y Eva,” is back into the music business and ready to drop new songs. Londra has signed a partnership with Warner Music Latina and thus has put an end to almost three years of silence.
Through a press statement, Londra said: “I’m really happy about this new phase. I waited and went through a lot to be able to do what I love, so ‘ya pase las malas, me tocan las buenas, por eso empecé a disfrutar.’” Quoting the song lyrics of his song “Luna Llena,” the translation essentially means: “I went through the worst, now it’s time for the best, that’s why I began enjoying it.”
According to Billboard, Londra settled a two-year legal battle with Cristian Salazar and producer Ovy on the Drums in November 2021. The feud between Londra and the two producers — and their label Big Ligas — was resolved after they reached an agreement in a Miami court and settled in amicable terms over Londra’s future.
Even though the conflict emerged publicly in 2020, it started earlier into Londra’s career. Londra, who’ll turn 24 in April, released his debut album Homerun in 2019, the year he headlined Lollapalooza Argentina. With nominations coming from all sides, the road was clear for a smash-hit follow-up. But after collaborating with Ed Sheeran and then dropping his single “Party” in Sep. of that year, he abstained from releasing new music due to legal issues.
The issues stemmed from a contract: In 2018, when he was a 19-year-old, Londra signed a three-year agreement with Ovy on the Drums and Kristoman. The three became co-founders of Big Ligas, their label. Londra had allegedly consented to extend the three-year contract if Big Ligas successfully signed a deal with a “big” music label. According to Billboard, Big Ligas reached a $3 million agreement with Warner Music for the release of Homerun back in 2019, thus extending his contract with Big Ligas beyond Londra’s initial expectations. Suddenly, he found himself tied to a contract he’d signed as a teenager.
Unhappy by what he considered manipulation and fraud, he sued Ovy on the Drums and Kristo in 2020 to break away from Big Ligas, halting all music releases. Upon realizing that the rapper wasn’t dropping music due to legal issues, #FreePaulo became a Twitter obsession. Fans even scolded María Becerra for uploading a picture with Ovy on the Drums, which they considered a lack of support for Paulo.
Since the news of his freedom broke, fans had speculated around the rapper’s next moves. Fans even fueled the theory that Bizarrap’s session 23, considered the producer’s “lost” session, is a track he recorded with Paulo Londra. They couldn’t release it before because of the conflict, but the track could drop anytime since #FreePaulo became a reality.
The deal with Warner Music Latina might allow this track to see the light, and whatever Londra’s been working on will surely see a release soon. Finally, #PauloIsBack. And this time for good!
