A
narco-corrido (,
Drug Ballad) is a subgenre of the Mexican
norteño-
corrido (northern ballad) music genre, a traditional folk music from northern Mexico, from which other several genres have evolved. This type of music is heard on both sides of the
US–Mexican border. It uses a danceable, accordion-based
polka as a rhythmic base. The first corridos that focus on
drug smugglers—the
narco comes from "
narcotics"—have been dated by Juan Ramírez-Pimienta to the 1930s. Early corridos (non-narco) go back as far to the
Mexican Revolution of 1910, telling the stories of revolutionary fighters. Music critics have also compared narcocorrido
lyrics and style to
gangster rap and
mafioso rap.