Whether they realize it or not, Junior H fans have been listening to his collaborations with Gael Valenzuela for years. The latter artist held a considerably heavy presence over 2023’s $AD BOYZ 4 LIFE II, with songwriting credits on the charting hit “Y LLORO” and “LA CHERRY,” among others. As such, when the heartbroken “MI GATA” dropped at the start of 2026 as a joint single co-headlined by them both, it served as a harbinger for their first album as a proper duo. As its stylized title clearly indicates, DEPRᐸ/3$$ED MFKZ delves directly into matters of the heart and refuses to relent for its tear-stained duration. Kicking things off with pure corridos tumbados aggression, “NO TENGA$ MIEDO” twists and contorts its confident messaging to suit the intended romantic target. Betrayal and bitterness swiftly follow on the crushed “EN DONDE ESTA$” and the unresolved “MI$ LLAMADA$.” Their duets turn into vulnerable pleas on “ERRORE$” and “NO TE DOLIO,” songs sure to satisfy the sad sierreño audience’s downer needs. Whether puffing out their chests on “CHOLO” or reactively recoiling from pain on “DEMENCIA,” this thematic push and pull keeps the album a compelling listen from end to end. It also provides the artists with opportunities to push their styles further, via the vivid storytelling approach of “POLE DANCE” and the accordion-accented closer “M3&M4.” But even when they play to their obvious strengths on tracks like “DROGA LETAL” with Peso Pluma and “VALLE DE $OMBRA$,” Junior and Gael demonstrate that they’re outpacing many of their genre competitors.