Meet LA GURU: The Colombian Artist Who Captivated Karol G & Co-Wrote Anitta and Shakira’s New Collab
The artist from Pereira will release a new album, Agítese Antes de Usar, at the end of May.
Black News 
Two years ago, all of Colombia got to know La Guru after Karol G fell in love with “Perra Melancólica,” one of her early hits, which led to an interview with Juanpis González in one of his viral segments. But La Bichota did more than just boost one song; she embraced the independent artist from Pereira as she would any of her close friends and, over time, invited her to write together.
She recalls when the Colombian star invited her to participate in a songwriting camp in Los Angeles while working on what ended up being Tropicoqueta. Karol even suggested they create together one-on-one in the studio — and from that session came “LATINA FOREVER,” the album’s lead single.
“Our relationship has been very beautiful, not like we’re best friends who are always together, but very professional,” says La Guru in an interview with Billboard Colombia about her relationship with Karol G.
“She respects my journey a lot and hasn’t wanted to interfere, and she’s told me that many times.”
The truth is, the artist born Daniela Aponte has been in the music industry for around 15 years writing, singing, recording and kicking down doors that others didn’t want to open for her. In that studio, La Guru knew she had to shine.
“The first thing we did was set the vibe, connect, talk, have a few cocktails and laugh. We shared some really intimate things. Then, we realized that the Latin community was missing unity, especially among women, and that now everyone wants to be Latino — everyone wants to marry a Colombian and come here,” says La Guru.
She adds that she and Karol have written many songs together, but that “LATINA FOREVER” is the only one that’s been released — so far. After her work with Karol G, La Guru also contributed to “Choka Choka,” the new single by Anitta and Shakira. Soon, she’ll be featured on “No Era Mío,” a track from Greeicy’s new album releasing at the end of May — marking her participation not just as a songwriter but also a featured artist.
She was connected to Anitta through her producer friend Daramola (who has worked with artists like Boza, Beéle and Farruko), who invited her to contribute to “Choka Choka.” La Guru worked closely with the Brazilian star, who ended up loving the song, without knowing that another star would join the track. Just days before it dropped, she learned that the guest artist was Shakira. “It wasn’t part of my plans, and it was even more gratifying when I heard the final master of what was going to be released,” she says.
La Guru is now preparing for the release of her own new album, Agítese Antes de Usar (Shake Before Use), which will come out at the end of May and reflects her growth in recent years. This will be her first album since Gurundanga (2022), which included the song that captivated Karol G, and it will arrive just months after her EP NUMEN, released at the beginning of 2023 in collaboration with Colombian producers The Rudeboyz (whose credits include Maluma, Prince Royce, Shakira, and others).
So far, only one single from the new album has been released: “Pereke,” a trap track with Latin percussion that she worked on last year during a trip to Europe, while recording with “a bunch of people who had nothing to do with Latin music.”
The main difference between her last album and this upcoming one lies in their themes. While the previous one was about heartbreak, Agítese Antes de Usar focuses much more on her perspective on the present and future.
“It’s loaded with a different kind of emotion, no longer about ‘my heart was broken in a relationship,’ but rather, ‘my heart was broken by the people around me.’ The industry, close friends, work colleagues,” she admits.
The way La Guru speaks about this album feels as if it was her way of grieving, of taking all the experiences she’s had in the music industry and channeling them into new music — something she’s done at various points in her career.
This interview was originally published by Billboard Colombia.
