Cuco

Omar Banos (born June 26, 1998), known professionally as Cuco, is an American singer-songwriter from Hawthorne, California. His music has been described as a blend of elements from bossa nova, indie-pop, and psychedelia.

Teaching himself how to make his own music, Cuco self-released his first EP, Wannabewithu in 2016, which featured some of his first songs to go viral, "Lover is a Day" and "Amor de Siempre". He then released his second EP, Songs4u, the following year. Cuco rose to prominence following the release of his 2017 single, "Lo Que Siento", allowing him to drop out of college to pursue a music career.

Signing with Interscope Records in 2019, he released his first studio album, Para Mi (2019). He released his second album, Fantasy Gateway in 2022, created with producers, Manuel Lara and Andres Rebellon. He released his third EP, Hitchhiker on November 10, 2023. In 2025, he released his third album Ridin'''.

Early life Omar Banos was born an only child in Inglewood, California, on June 26, 1998, to immigrant Mexican parents. His mother, Irma, came from the city of Puebla, while his father, Adolfo, came from Mexico City. He grew up in the city of Hawthorne, California, Banos attended junior school in Lennox and graduated from Hawthorne High School where he played in the school marching band as well as the jazz band.

Career 2015: Heavy Trip After graduating, Banos uploaded a slide guitar cover of Sleep Walk by Santo & Johnny to YouTube, which gained thousands of views. In January 2015, Banos released his first EP on Bandcamp, titled Heavy Trip. In the same year, Banos had released his first song, "Yeah" on SoundCloud under the moniker of Heavy Trip. He then switched to Cuco, which was a nickname given to him by his mother as a child.

2016–2017: Wannabewithu and Songs4u By the age of 18, Banos had self-produced his first mixtape Wannabewithu in 2016, after teaching himself how to use Ableton Live software. Cuco released his second mixtape, Songs4u in 2017 when he started playing at clubs in Southern California, selling out his first two venues. Cuco released his first single "Lo Que Siento" in 2017, which has reached over 400 million streams on Spotify alone. Following the success of "Lo Que Siento," Cuco dropped out after a year of attending Santa Monica City College to pursue a career in music. He then collaborated with Polyphia on a track called "So Strange" off their album New Levels New Devils, which was released in October 2018. Cuco played alongside saxophonist Kenny G at Coachella in April 2018, as well as at Lollapalooza in August 2018. In February 2019, he collaborated with his childhood Chicano rap idols MC Magic and Lil Rob on a track called "Search". After a bidding war that lasted two years, Banos signed under Interscope Records in March 2019. On April 2, 2019, Cuco released "Hydrocodone," the lead single for Para Mi, before releasing "Bossa No Sé" with Jean Carter on May 22, 2019. Cuco later released his debut studio album, Para Mi, on July 26. It debuted at 94 on the US Billboard 200. On March 10, 2023, he collaborated with indie pop band the Marías on the song "Si Me Voy", later performing at the Camp Flog Gnaw music festival in November of that year. He released his third EP, Hitchhiker, on November 10, 2023, which included 6 tracks. He released his third studio album, Ridin', on May 9, 2025. It is a Chicano soul album inspired by norteño and lowrider culture, mixed by Tom Elmhirst, and influenced by artists Barbara Lewis, Ralfi Pagan, Joe Bataan, Smokey Robinson, Al Green, Brenton Wood, Thee Sacred Souls, Thee Sinseers, and Los Yesterdays.

Artistry Musical style and songwriting Banos' musical style blends elements of bossa nova and indie pop. Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone'' described his music as "psychedelia-soaked love ballads". Banos blends English and Spanish lyrics over what he describes as "alternative dream pop" melodies that have "a lot of synthesizers" and "a lot of 808's".

Influences Banos grew up listening to Chicano rap from names such as Lil Rob, Baby Bash and MC Magic, He listens to jazz, classical music and trap music, and has cited Kevin Parker of Tame Impala and Ariel Pink as some of his major musical influences. Banos also points to Pink Floyd as an influence for his music, which can be heard on songs like 2022's "Pendant"

Discography Albums + List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions.TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions US USAlt. Para Mi Released: July 26, 2019 Label: Interscope PS Label: Interscope PS Formats: CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl62''Ridin''' Released: May 9, 2025 Label: Interscope PS Formats: CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl, cassette

Extended plays

Singles As lead artist Year Title Certifications Album/EP2017 "Lo Que Siento" 2018 "Sunnyside" "CR-V" Chiquito "Drown" "Lucy" 2019 "Hydrocodone" Para Mi "Bossa No Sé"RIAA: Gold 2022 "Caution" Fantasy Gateway "Time Machine" "Fin Del Mundo" "Aura"2023 "Si Me Voy" 2025 "ICNBYH" Ridin'''

As featured artist

Bandcamp releases Track listing headline = Heavy Trip'' (2015) "Summertime Hightime" Mu$ty Boyz "CR-V" David Gantz & Theo Cohn 2019 "Search" Ali Zamani "Hydrocodone" Jazmin Garcia "Bossa No Sé" Pasqual Gutierrez "Feelings"Francisco Outón "Keeping Tabs" Pasqual Gutierrez & RJ Sanchez 2021 "Paradise" Cliqua "Forevermore" Cliqua "Under the Sun" Carlos Lopez Estrada & Jeff Desom "Piel Canela"Basa 2022 "Caution"Cole Kush "Sitting in the Corner" (featuring Kacey Musgraves & Adriel Favela)Dan Streit "First of the Year"Suscato 2023 "Best Disaster"Eric Foster "Si Me Voy" (featuring the Marías)Carlos Lopez Estrada & Jeff Desom