Kemo The Blaxican :: Biography |
After 12 Years and more than one
million albums sold with Latin Hip Hop pioneers Delinquent Habits, the bilingual
MC steps into the spotlight for his solo debut. With the creation of his new
label Dead Silence Records, the entrepreneurial rapper expands his endeavours,
which already includes a successful clothing line and nightclub.
The hard-hitting beat is what grabs you first. Then you hear the smooth-yet-
powerful baritone vocals attack with a distinctive tone. You recognize the voice
as it commands attention with provocative lyrics over the flavourful track. The
MC shifts the rhyme from English to Spanish and then back to English again, with
such a seamless transition that you barely even notice the language switch. Your
head was bobbing the whole way through - it didn't even matter that some of you
couldn't understand the Spanish parts. Then it hits you, you're sure of it. The
voice and trademark rhyme flow belong to none other than "The Blaxican" - Kemo,
former member of Latin Hip Hop pioneers Delinquent Habits.
As Delinquent Habits only Spanish-fluent MC, Kemo spent twelve years with the
group, releasing four albums and taking the Delinquent sound beyond borders and
around the world. In 1996 the group struck gold with their very first single "Tres
Delinquentes", a song that masterfully fused a traditional mariachi sound
(courtesy of Herb Alpert's "Lonely Bull") with the raw Hip Hop backdrop of the
streets. The sound was a breath of fresh air in a stale rap scene, and opened a
new creative doorway into which many other hip hop groups would follow.
"Tres Delinquentes" blew up almost overnight,
receiving airplay not only on Hip Hop radio but rock and Top 40 stations as
well. The track even landed Delinquent Habits an appearance on NBC's Late Night
with Conan O'Brien and tours with heavyweights like Korn and Ice T. In no time,
"Tres Delinquentes" became a worldwide hit, selling over 1 million copies around
the globe and pushing the group s self-titled album to nearly the same figure.
It was then that the masses first caught wind of Kemo's lyrical skills and
flawless bilingual transitions. He stepped into the Hip Hop game, introduced
himself as "The Blaxican," and never looked back.
Four Delinquent Habits albums later - after
countless tours around the globe including the UK, Europe, Japan, South America,
Mexico and Taiwan - Kemo has decided to leave the group and embark upon a solo
career. The move will allow him to record the solo album that many DH fans have
been asking of Kemo for several years. Risky but necessary, Kemo walks away
having played a major role in solidifying Delinquent Habits as one of the most
influential Latin Hip Hop groups of all time and establishing himself as one of
today s top Latino MC's.
Kemo has always strived to keep himself on the move. In 2001, the multilingual
LA rapper (of Mexican and African-American descent) recorded a song with
Grammy-winning merengue queen Olga Tanon and Egyptian singer Hakim. The track
fused Hip Hop, merengue, and modern Middle Eastern sounds and was a mainstay on
the charts from the Middle East to the Wild Wild West. In the summer of 2003,
Kemo and long time business partner Albert Hernandez launched Club Vibe, a
no-dress code club that attracted MC's from throughout the Los Angeles area to
snatch up the mic and rock the hip hop-fiending fans that came to bear witness.
The self-proclaimed Blaxican even loaned his voice to a recent Budweiser
commercial in which he raps in Spanish to a heavy guitar-laced beat. Already in
2004, Kemo has teamed up with Sick Jacken of the Psycho Realm on a collaborative
effort to appear on the Spanish Hip Hop compilation "Imperial Latino" due out on
Profeta Records in the coming months. The compilation will also feature a solo
track of Kemo's called "No Que No." On top of it all, Kemo still finds time to
nurture new artists, cultivate his record label Dead Silence Records, and sell
his own streetwear line Joint Clothing to hip hop and streetwear stores
worldwide.
June 29th will mark the release of Simple Plan,
Kemo's first album as a solo artist. This disc finds the Blaxican taking his
talent for wordplay and ability to draw a vivid picture through rhyme and
attitude to new heights. With songs that are in English, Spanish and bilingual
as well, Kemo touches on several topics that have a lot more to do with real
life than the superficial images saturating hip hop today.
"La Receta," a rapid-fire bilingual joint on which Kemo shines like never
before, blends a Sonora-style horn riff with all the right lyrical ingredients
for what should be a summertime anthem. The title track "Simple Plan" puts Kemo
together with up and coming artist Jehuniko, rapper Most, and the vocal siren
Monica Ortiz on a track filled with unique flows scripted to a theme of mischief
and madness. The infectious 50's radio-sounding hook on "Simple Plan," which is
sung by Monica, brings the song home, making it a crowd pleaser. "Ruido" is a
bilingual onslaught over a funky Latin piano featuring another rising star,
Sicko of the group Dos Rivales.
When
asked about his musical goal, Kemo states, "I wanted to make a hard-hitting
bilingual album for the local Hip Hop community and for people worldwide.
Latinos have been a cornerstone of Hip Hop from day one, and I m proud to be a
part of that lineage." Having recently performed live on the bilingual TV
networks LATV and SITV's "The Drop", as well as completing interviews on
top-rated LA Hip Hop radio station Power 106 and the Nationally Syndicated TV
program "Urban Latino," Kemo is wasting no time making his presence felt with a
simple plan toward success.
The future looks bright for an MC who hasn't yet even premiered his solo
venture, but already has global tour offers, TV programs asking for live
performances, and radio stations asking for visits to grace their airwaves. The
buzz is growing for an MC with the heart of a lion, who repeatedly keeps his ear
to the street and his work ethic to the grindstone.
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