La 701 drops listeners into a cinematic narcocorrido, letting Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán narrate his own legend from behind bars. Over an infectious regional groove, Tito Double (all the way from Nigeria) and ALMIGHTY paint vivid snapshots of the drug lord’s life: the misty mountains of Badiraguato, secret tunnels in his ranch La Tuna, the headline-making escape from Puente Grande, and the ever-present gold-plated pistol that gives the song its title (701 was El Chapo’s spot on Forbes’ billionaire list). The lyrics balance swagger and nostalgia as Joaquín sends hugs to the children he never got to say goodbye to, warns his crew to stay sharp, and reminisces about parties where he danced confidently with a blonde on his arm while ex-military bodyguards watched every corner.
Beneath the bravado lies a bittersweet farewell. El Chapo salutes loyal friends, admits a painful betrayal, and wishes he could have avoided the fate that landed him “here, locked up.” The corrido ends with a request for old-school ballads to keep his memory alive. In just a few minutes, the song captures the magnetism, danger, romance, and regret that swirl around one of the most notorious figures in modern pop culture, giving English learners a fast-paced lesson in storytelling, regional slang, and the power of music to mythologize real-world events.