Teaching himself how to make his own music, Cuco self-released his first EP, Wannabewithu in 2016, which featured some of his first songs to go viral, "Lover is a Day" and "Amor de Siempre".

[12][13][14] After graduating, Banos uploaded a slide guitar cover of Sleep Walk by Santo & Johnny to YouTube, which gained thousands of views.

[22] Following the success of "Lo Que Siento," Cuco dropped out after a year of attending Santa Monica City College to pursue a career in music.

[27] In February 2019, he collaborated with his childhood Chicano rap idols MC Magic and Lil Rob on a track called "Search".

[22] The album touches on recent problems that Cuco has experienced first-hand, including a tour bus accident that sent him and his band to hospital.

[33] On March 10, 2023, he collaborated with indie pop band the Marías on the song "Si Me Voy", later performing at the Camp Flog Gnaw music festival in November of that year.

[37] Banos grew up listening to Chicano rap from names such as Lil Rob, Baby Bash and MC Magic,[20] as well as Spanish rock, boleros and other old ballads that his parents would play around the house.

[19] In an interview with Jesse Thorn from Bullseye, Banos described how the song, "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" by Tame Impala helped him with visualizing his career in music and navigating his life in high school.