Humbe
September's Artist Spotlight
For HUMBE, growth has always come with reinvention. From teaching himself instruments as a kid in northern Mexico to independently releasing his first music, breaking through during the pandemic, earning a Latin Grammy nomination, and eventually stepping away from a major label to take control of his work again, the 25-year-old artist has built a career around following his own creative instincts.
Born Humberto Rodríguez Terrazas on November 11, 2000, in Monterrey, Nuevo León, HUMBE spent portions of his childhood between Monterrey and Chihuahua City. Music entered his life early. At nine years old, encouraged by his father, he began learning piano before eventually picking up guitar and ukulele as well.
His influences were just as varied. He grew up listening to rock acts like Aerosmith and Journey alongside Mexican pop groups like Reik and Camila, influences that helped shape an early curiosity for songwriting and experimentation rather than tying him to one particular sound.
By 2017, HUMBE was already putting that experimentation into a full-length project. He independently released his 13-track debut album, Sonámbulo, beginning a DIY chapter that would ultimately lay the foundation for everything that followed.
That independence continued with Soy HUMBE, released in May 2020. At the same time, with the pandemic reshaping how artists connected with audiences, HUMBE began sharing videos of his music-making process on TikTok. The combination introduced a growing audience not only to his songs, but to the person creating them.
The momentum eventually led to HUMBE signing with Sony Music México in 2021, turning what had begun through self-released music into a much larger platform. His first album under the label, Entropía, arrived that same year and was written and produced entirely by HUMBE himself. Its single “El Poeta” went on to receive Gold certification in Mexico from AMPROFON.
But he wasn't finished. On November 11—his 21st birthday—HUMBE released Aurora, leaning further into the introspective, emotional songwriting and blend of pop and R&B that were becoming central to his identity. By the end of 2021, that rapid evolution had earned him a Latin Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
With Esencia in 2023, HUMBE turned even further inward. Across 11 tracks, the album pulled from personal experiences while exploring ideas of humility, identity and self-love. Later that year came a song that would introduce his music to an even wider audience.
Released in November 2023 and conceived as a tribute connected to Día de Muertos, “Fantasmas” took on a life of its own online. The track went viral across social media, pushing HUMBE into a new stage of his career and bringing his emotionally driven songwriting to listeners well beyond the audience he had already built.
As his profile grew, so did his collaborations. He joined Latin Mafia for “Patadas de Ahogado” and eventually worked with one of the groups he had listened to growing up, Reik, on “Malbec”—bringing one of his earliest influences directly into his own musical story.
In 2024, HUMBE took Esencia across Latin America with a sold-out tour. The run concluded on November 28, the same day he released Armagedón, his fifth studio album and his first independent record following his departure from Sony Music.
The move brought his career almost full circle. Years after self-releasing the music that first got the industry's attention, HUMBE was independent again—but this time with a global audience behind him.
With Esencia in 2023, HUMBE turned even further inward. Across 11 tracks, the album pulled from personal experiences while exploring ideas of humility, identity and self-love. Later that year came a song that would introduce his music to an even wider audience.
Released in November 2023 and conceived as a tribute connected to Día de Muertos, “Fantasmas” took on a life of its own online. The track went viral across social media, pushing HUMBE into a new stage of his career and bringing his emotionally driven songwriting to listeners well beyond the audience he had already built.
As his profile grew, so did his collaborations. He joined Latin Mafia for “Patadas de Ahogado” and eventually worked with one of the groups he had listened to growing up, Reik, on “Malbec”—bringing one of his earliest influences directly into his own musical story.
In 2024, HUMBE took Esencia across Latin America with a sold-out tour. The run concluded on November 28, the same day he released Armagedón, his fifth studio album and his first independent record following his departure from Sony Music.
The move brought his career almost full circle. Years after self-releasing the music that first got the industry's attention, HUMBE was independent again—but this time with a global audience behind him.
With Esencia in 2023, HUMBE turned even further inward. Across 11 tracks, the album pulled from personal experiences while exploring ideas of humility, identity and self-love. Later that year came a song that would introduce his music to an even wider audience.
Released in November 2023 and conceived as a tribute connected to Día de Muertos, “Fantasmas” took on a life of its own online. The track went viral across social media, pushing HUMBE into a new stage of his career and bringing his emotionally driven songwriting to listeners well beyond the audience he had already built.
As his profile grew, so did his collaborations. He joined Latin Mafia for “Patadas de Ahogado” and eventually worked with one of the groups he had listened to growing up, Reik, on “Malbec”—bringing one of his earliest influences directly into his own musical story.
In 2024, HUMBE took Esencia across Latin America with a sold-out tour. The run concluded on November 28, the same day he released Armagedón, his fifth studio album and his first independent record following his departure from Sony Music.
The move brought his career almost full circle. Years after self-releasing the music that first got the industry's attention, HUMBE was independent again—but this time with a global audience behind him.
With Esencia in 2023, HUMBE turned even further inward. Across 11 tracks, the album pulled from personal experiences while exploring ideas of humility, identity and self-love. Later that year came a song that would introduce his music to an even wider audience.
Released in November 2023 and conceived as a tribute connected to Día de Muertos, “Fantasmas” took on a life of its own online. The track went viral across social media, pushing HUMBE into a new stage of his career and bringing his emotionally driven songwriting to listeners well beyond the audience he had already built.
As his profile grew, so did his collaborations. He joined Latin Mafia for “Patadas de Ahogado” and eventually worked with one of the groups he had listened to growing up, Reik, on “Malbec”—bringing one of his earliest influences directly into his own musical story.
In 2024, HUMBE took Esencia across Latin America with a sold-out tour. The run concluded on November 28, the same day he released Armagedón, his fifth studio album and his first independent record following his departure from Sony Music.
The move brought his career almost full circle. Years after self-releasing the music that first got the industry's attention, HUMBE was independent again—but this time with a global audience behind him.
Words and photographs by Ana Oquendo