[1] Lyrically, cumbia villera uses the vocabulary of the marginal and lower classes, like the Argentine lunfardo and lenguaje tumbero ("gangster language" or "thug language"), and deals with themes such as the everyday life in the villas miseria (slums), poverty and misery, the use of hard drugs, promiscuity and/or prostitution, nights out at boliches (discos and clubs) that play cumbia and other tropical music genres (such as the emblematic Tropitango venue in Pacheco),[1] the football culture of the barra bravas, delinquency and clashes with the police and other forms of authority, antipathy towards politicians, and authenticity in being true villeros (inhabitants of the villas).

Some of the most affected by this crisis were workers and the lower classes, and among them were the inhabitant and dwellers of the villas miseria (slums or shantytowns) in Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area, which favoured cumbia and other tropical music genres.

His band rejected them, so he began saving money from the royalties he earned from Amar Azul songs in order to buy instruments and equipment for producing an independent record.

Flor de Piedra released the first cumbia villera album, La Vanda Más Loca, by sending the master to a pirate broadcaster due to lack of interest from major record companies.

[1] The group's records began to receive heavy airplay, and soon the poor, the marginalized, and the unemployed identified with the new musical genre,[1][6] and cumbia villera spread to other large urban settlements, eventually rising to popularity across Argentina.

[1][9] By 2000, dozens of cumbia villera bands were playing and recording,[1] one of which was another Lescano project, Damas Gratis, which he formed after a motorbike accident that cost him his place in Amar Azul.

[1] Other bands also went beyond the original foundations of Flor de Piedra and started to explore new sounds and themes, borrowing elements from rock (Los Gedes) or classical (Mala Fama), and writing lyrics that were either more socially conscious (Guachín) or radically aggressive (Pibes Chorros).

Additionally, the Argentine music industry began to pressure bands to stop using controversial lyrics, and censorship from broadcasters and the COMFER reduced cumbia villera's prevalence.

In the 1990s, commercial interests started promoting local cumbia numbers such as Amar Azul and Ráfaga with a more sophisticated image and an emphasis on attracting wider audiences.

The term cumbia villera took hold in the media, and many bands were propelled into fame when emerging football stars from the shantytowns, such as Carlos Tevez, proclaimed their allegiance.