Artist of the Week: Geo La Locura

Since day one, Latinos have been associated with hip hop and have been influential contributors to the music genre and its cultural scene. Despite that fact, the list of prominent Latino rappers is pretty short. The list of Latino rappers who use the Spanish language in their music is even shorter. Enter Geo La Locura, Jersey City rapper of Puerto Rican descent who is helping pave the way for popular bilingual rap music in America.

Geo La Locura came to the U.S. at age seven and was raised in a section of Jersey City that, at the time, was predominantly African-American. “It was kind of scary being in a new country, not knowing anyone, not knowing the language. Even the other kids in my ESL program seemed to be way ahead of me and were already very Americanized. It was a difficult transition.” But things started to look up when Geo entered the 8th grade and was transferred into English speaking classrooms where he met people who shared his interests–listening to hip hop music, writing and rapping. It was then that he started to take music more seriously.

Since then, Geo has developed into a talented and unique artist, not only because he can rap in English and in Spanish but because he doesn’t fear experimentation and he doesn’t limit himself artistically. From club bangers and radio songs to self-conscious raps and latin melodies, Geo has the ability to jump from style to style and his lyrical expression seems to conform to each style effortlessly. He says “the best part about being a music artist is having the freedom to create whatever comes to your mind, storytelling and being able to make an impact on people and connect with people in ways you never thought possible. I remember performing a song with Spanish lyrics at an open mic once and the crowd started singing the hook with me.. 99% of them didn’t even know what I was saying. It was dope. I didn’t expect that.”

With two self-produced mixtapes (August and Life’s A Chick) under his belt, Geo is on to his next project which will be an EP that encompasses the various styles that represent him as an artist. You can expect Geo to get personal as he sheds light on topics that can sometimes get dark–life, love and relationships. Follow Geo La Locura on SoundCloud to stay up-to-date on his music releases.