walking upstream…
Omar Courtz
photo: omar courtz · cc by 3.0 ↗Omar Courtz
sourcesWikipedia2 · Rolling Stone · Billboard
Joshua Omar Medina Cortés was born in 1997 in Carolina, Puerto Rico, and as a teenager worked at a clothing store frequented by reggaeton stars, where he met the artists he has named as major inspirations — Farruko, Anuel AA, and Ozuna — long before he shared stages with them. He broke through around 2020 with the viral single 'En Su Nota' and released his debut album 'Primera Musa' in 2024, the same year his feature on Bad Bunny's 'VeLDÁ' pushed him to the front of the new-generation urbano wave. His sound is a flexible blend of reggaeton, Latin R&B, and trap carried by a distinctively deep, smoky vocal, which Bad Bunny has praised as a polished echo of urbano's 2000s era.
the sound in question
2020
En Su NotaOmar Courtz
walk the tributaries ↓
Anuel AA2010s · Latin trap / Reggaeton / Latin hip hop
Courtz has named Anuel AA among the reggaeton figures he idolized and first met while working at a clothing store as a teenager. Anuel's signature blend of melodic, heavily auto-tuned singing threaded over hard trap drums is the template Courtz reaches for in his own trap-leaning collaborations, where a romantic, sung-rapped hook rides an ominous, minor-key beat.
listen: upstream & here
2016
SolaAnuel AA
2025
Primer LugarOmar Courtz
listen forThrow on Anuel's 'Sola' right before Courtz's 'Primer Lugar' — hear how both wrap a smooth, auto-tuned croon around trap hi-hats and 808s, so the hook lands as sung melody even as the track keeps the swagger and menace of street trap.
Ozuna2010s · Reggaeton / Latin trap / Latin pop
Ozuna is another of the stars Courtz has said he encountered and looked up to during his clothing-store years, and Ozuna's high, honeyed melodic-reggaeton croon — the smooth, R&B-tinged singing that softened reggaeton's edges in the late 2010s — surfaces in Courtz's more tender, romance-driven material.
listen: upstream & here
2017
Se PreparóOzuna
2024
MUSA ELEVÁOmar Courtz
listen forPut Ozuna's 'Se Preparó' next to Courtz's 'MUSA ELEVÁ' — listen for the way both float a light, sweet vocal melody over a mid-tempo dembow, keeping the percussion soft and the singing out front rather than leaning on a rapped flow.
Farruko2010s · Reggaeton / Latin trap / Reggae
Courtz has cited Farruko as one of the artists he admired and met before his own career took off, and Farruko's versatile, melodic reggaeton — especially his breezy, summery, tropical-leaning records — informs the sun-and-sea mood Courtz reaches for in his more laid-back party tracks.
listen: upstream & here
2016
ObsesionadoFarruko
2023
BeachyOmar Courtz
listen forPlay Farruko's 'Obsesionado' before Courtz's 'Beachy' — notice how both ease off reggaeton's aggression for a relaxed, warm-weather groove, with an easygoing sung hook riding a lighter, swaying dembow built for the beach rather than the club.