Ryan Castro and Gangsta earn their first No. 1 on Billboard’s overall Latin Airplay chart as “La Villa,” with Kapo, jumps 2-1 on the chart dated April 11. Kapo adds his fourth champ.
“‘La Villa’ was born from a real vibe, from a party with Kapo, all organic, nothing forced,” Castro tells Billboard. “When music comes out like that, big things happen. This No. 1 means a lot to me and to the fans who have been with me since day one.”
“La Villa” incorporates a sample from Jamaican dancehall artist Sister Nancy’s 1982 song “Bam Bam,” whose chorus is itself inspired by the 1966 track of the same name by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, featuring Toots and The Maytals. Both Castro’s “La Villa” and Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam” draw from the instrumental “Stalag Riddim”—the oft-sampled reggae rhythm—originally created for Ansell Collins’ 1973 track “Stalag 17,” which was produced by Winston Riley.
“La Villa” was produced by Colombian Gangsta, who previously earned a No. 1 as producer on Latin Airplay through Maluma’s “11 PM” in 2019 —both Sony Music Latin releases. “La Villa” jumps 2-1 after an 15% growth, to 8.8 million audience impressions in the week ending April 2, according to Luminate.
“It is an honor to reach this No. 1, not just as a producer but also as a standout artist,” Gangsta, born Pedro Juan de la Ossa Medrano, adds. “This is a song that, like all our music, was born genuinely and with strong musical identity because it combines the best of two genres: dancehall and Afrobeat, which we call Afro dancehall.”
The Colombian producer of Latin Afrobeats, dancehall and Caribbean music has been instrumental in crafting most of Kapo’s hits. Among those, three Latin Airplay top 10s: “Ohnana” peaked at No. 2 in November 2024; “Uwaie” reached No. 5 in March 2025; while Kapo’s previous Castro pair-up, “Dónde,” stretched to No. 8 in January.
While Castro and Gangsta celebrate their first No. 1, Kapo adds his fourth chart-topper, dating to Danny Ocean collaboration “Imagínate,” “Más Que Tú,” with Ozuna, and “Luna,” with Wisin —all in 2025.
The popularity of “La Villa” extends beyond the U.S. The song spent six weeks atop the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 and the Billboard Colombia Hot 100 charts between January-April.
Stateside, the success of the song continues, as it lands atop Latin Rhythm Airplay and rises 6-5 on the Latin Rhythm Songs list.
