Chicago x Puerto Rico
building criollo future sounds between memory, movement, and survival
Antes de Correr — 2026
About Lester Rey
Lester Rey is a Chicago-born Puerto Rican artist building criollo future sounds between memory, movement, and survival.
Bridging the raw energy of Chicago’s bass lineage with the ancestral rhythms of Puerto Rico, his work lives in the liminal space — ni de aquí, ni de allá. Salsa, Rumba, and Merengue are reimagined through Juke, acid house, and 808-driven futurism, creating a sonic world where the Pentecostal church meets the underground warehouse.
Rooted in personal rupture and reinvention, his music moves through themes of identity, betrayal, queerness, and transformation — using the dance floor as a site of release and reclamation.
The upcoming debut Antes de Correr is not just an album, but a process of return — a restless search for self, rooted in tradition and launched into an experimental digital future.
Press Quotes
"A healthy reminder that Bad Bunny is not the only urbano artist challenging gender binaries, Lester Rey’s brand new single “Santuario” is all about finding refuge in your own authentic self."
“'Chicago-Rican', 'latinx', cantante, músico y productor. Amante de la salsa, del soul y del bugalú, Lester Rey se define como un intérprete y artista que mezcla sus preferencias, gustos y causas en su propuesta, con la que busca actualizar el estilo del R&B."
“Making music he calls the reinvention of Latin Soul, Lester’s ability to flirt with a variety of rhythms and create something unexpected in an R&B format reflects vulnerability and courage.”
