Ariel Camacho is a once-in-a-generation talent. The Guamuchil, Sinaloa-born artist left an enormous legacy that has grown steadily since his tragic early demise in 2015. Though he only released one full-length album during his lifetime––El Karma (2014) as Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes Del Rancho––he unknowingly opened an important new chapter in traditional Mexican music, one that would influence a slew of contemporary corrido singers like Apple Music Up Next artist Natanael Cano and T3r Elemento, to name a few. His haunting voice and requinto (12-string guitar) were accompanied only by an additional guitar and a tuba, an unusual combination for a genre that veers mostly toward maximalism. This uniquely stripped-down approach set Ariel Camacho and his group apart and would provide a blueprint for the urban corrido movement in subsequent years. His impact and appeal are immediately palpable in songs like 2014’s “Te Metiste,” a late-night cantina tearjerker with verses woven together by Camacho’s signature requinto  work, which betrays the singer's emotions with an almost nervous tremble that humbly masks the virtuosity at hand. Another memorable cut, 2015’s “Hablemos,” is painted black and umber, evoking tragedy in a way that seems—like much of Camacho’s music—timeless yet uncannily modern.