2005–2007: First steps as Crema In 2005, he gained recognition as Crema as his freestyle demos began spreading online. He focused on rap music and released a seven-track
EP titled
Él Es Crema (2005) and then two more (
Madrid Files and
Septiembre) in 2006. After finishing his
baccalaureate he studied philosophy at the
Complutense University of Madrid.
2011–2016: Agorazein Álvarez formed the band Agorazein with a group of friends in 2011. That year he released a work entitled "C. Tangana", which was generally well-received, attracted many new followers, and was adopted by Álvarez as his new stage name. In 2011 the band released their debut album in Spanish as independent artists titled
Kind of Red. Between 2011 and 2012 Álvarez self-released two albums:
C. Tangana (2011) and ''LOVE'S'' (2012). Tangana had replaced his particular style of short and direct phrases with short Anglicized phrases. While playing music, he made a living working in a Pans and Company and in a
Vodafone call center. He began to shy away from the media in January 2013 because he did not feel comfortable with it. In 2014 he released his first EP as an independent artist titled
Trouble + Presidente. In 2015 he left his job to fully work on music. Agorazein released their final album
Siempre in November 2016 and have been on an indefinite hiatus since then.
2016–2017: Record deal and Ídolo In 2016, Tangana signed a record deal with
Warner Chappell Music and started working regularly with friend and producer
Alizzz. His first release as a signed artist was "
Antes de morirme", a flamenco-pop collaboration with then-girlfriend
Rosalía. The song was a
sleeper hit until late 2018, when Rosalía's career started growing internationally and the song was included in the soundtrack of the Spanish Netflix show
Élite. Tangana continued releasing songs throughout 2016. In 2017, Álvarez embarked on a tour in Latin America called C. Tangana Latino Tour. When the tour finished, he announced his official agreement with the record company
Sony Music Entertainment. In April he released the lead single off his debut album titled "Espabilao". One month later, "Mala Mujer" was released on digital platforms as the album's second single. The song became wildly popular in Spain and in parts of Latin America. The track became a top-five hit in Spain, was named song of the summer, certified three times platinum there, and was also certified gold in the United States. A remix featuring
Farruko and
French Montana was released in September. Later, C. Tangana performed the track at
LOS40 Music Awards 2017, where he was awarded Best New Artist of the Year. The music video for "Mala Mujer" also received a nomination for "Best National Video". He was also nominated at the
2017 MTV Europe Music Awards for
Best Spanish Act. His first studio album
Ídolo was released on digital download and streaming platforms on October 5, 2017. In December 2017 he released "Guerrera" alongside Dellafuente, which became a top 20 hit in Spain and was certified two times platinum.
2018–2019: Avida Dollars In January 2018, Tangana released the lead single of his debut mixtape as a signed artist: "Still Rapping" with Steve Lean. The song peaked at 86th on the
PROMUSICAE chart. In March he released the mixtape's second single "Llorando en la Limo", produced and featuring Alizzz, which peaked at number twelve on the chart and became another summer hit in Spain. The mixtape,
Avida Dollars, was released on digital platforms on April 20, 2018, presented with two sold-out shows at La Riviera in Madrid. and was well received by music critics. Since then, Tangana started releasing independent singles such as "Bien Duro", released in June 2018, which peaked at number six in Spain and became the 32nd most sold song in the country. It was certified double platinum. In October, he released his first international collaboration with American singer
Becky G. The song, titled "Booty" peaked at number 3 in Spain and became the 93rd best-selling song in Spain in only two months. "Booty" was also certified double platinum in Spain and platinum in the United States. Its music video was nominated for Best Music Video at the
2020 Premios Odeón. In November 2018, Tangana was awarded with two
Latin Grammy Awards for writing Rosalía's "
Malamente". He took home the awards for
Best Alternative Song and
Best Urban Fusion/Performance. The track was also nominated for
Record of the Year and
Song of the Year. He later received the
Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year and for
Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album for his contribution on eight songs on Rosalía's second album
El mal querer. In November, he also released "Un Veneno", a minimal, new flamenco track featuring Niño de Elche. It received critical acclaim due to its rawness. On November 21 he performed it on
Operación Triunfo 2018. After the performance, he left the stage aggressively despite being scheduled to give an interview, which was received negatively on Twitter. The media coverage the situation received caused an increase in "Un Veneno" streams, making it reach the number two spot on the PROMUSICAE chart and be certified gold in Spain. During 2019, Tangana continued releasing independent singles. In January he collaborated with Brazilian rapper
MC Bin Laden and once again with Alizzz on "Pa' Llamar Tu Atención". The track reached number three on the PROMUSICAE chart. In February he collaborated with Alizzz and Dellafuente once again on "París", which eventually became Tangana's fifth top 10 single. In March 2019 he performed at
Lollapalooza Argentina and
Chile. He also offered to do a show in
Lima and did a showcase in Miami. In April 2019 he moved to Los Angeles. He attended the
2019 Billboard Latin Music Awards and performed at the after-party. While in
America, he worked with Chilean-American singer
Paloma Mami on his song "No Te Debí Besar", released in September 2019, which marked Mami's debut on the Spanish music charts as well as a new top three hit for Tangana. That same year he collaborated with Argentine rapper Duki and Colombian singer Lao Ra on "5 Stars" and "Picaflor" respectively. A couple of months later, Tangana released "Yelo" alongside Alizzz. In February he collaborated with
Natti Natasha on his own track "Viene Y Va" and alongside
Tainy and former
Fifth Harmony member
Lauren Jauregui on the Puerto Rican's "Nada", included in his album
The Kids That Grew Up On Reggaeton (2020).
2020–present: Bien, El Madrileño and new musical directions On April 24 he released "Nunca Estoy", which was very well received by critics. It reached the top spot on the PROMUSICAE chart, and became Tangana's first number one hit in his career. The track sampled both "Cómo Quieres Que Te Quiera" by
Rosario Flores and "
Corazón Partío" by
Alejandro Sanz. In May, Tangana announced his first EP as a signed artist,
Bien, which was released through Sony Music on May 14, 2020, and debuted number one in Spain. He allied with Little Spain Productions to produce, write and direct his upcoming music videos. In September, Tangana revealed to
Forbes that his upcoming studio album would be very different from his previous releases and that it would be named
El Madrileño. On October 8, Tangana released the lead single of
El Madrileño. "Demasiadas Mujeres" became popular in Spain; it debuted at the top of the
PROMUSICAE chart and being gold-certified in only a week for selling over 20,000 copies. The song contrasted with everything Tangana had done and included a
Holy Week marching band from
Cádiz. The song included a message of frustration and elements of
folk. Its music video included a scene of Tangana's own funeral and references to his past relationships with
Rosalía and
Berta Vázquez. On November 6, Tangana released "Tú Me Dejaste de Querer", which he called "the most important song of his career". He defined the track as a combination of rumba and bachata with elements of flamenco music. The track broke the record for the most-streamed song in Spain in a 24-hour period with 1.6 million national streams. Internationally, "Tú Me Dejaste de Querer" debuted at number 31 on the Spotify Global chart, marking the first entry of Tangana on the list. In January 2021, Tangana released the single "Comerte Entera" featuring
Toquinho on
El Madrileño. C. Tangana released
El Madrileño on February 26, 2021. The album broke records in streaming services, and Tangana became the first Spanish artist to reach No. 1 in the global new albums list and place the whole album's tracklist in the top 25 of Top 100 Songs in Spain. The reissue
La Sobremesa includes the song
Te Venero which Tangana composed as an hommage to and recorded with the legendary Cuban singer
Omara Portuondo. At the
36th Goya Awards ceremony 2022 in
Valencia, Tangana presented this song in live TV as a duet with the young Catalan jazz musician
Rita Payés. This collaboration was as well a part of the following tour
Sin cantar ni afinar. In July 2023, "Oliveira dos cen anos", a song composed by C. Tangana as an anthem for the 100th anniversary of Galician football club
Celta de Vigo, was presented. == Artistry ==