To some,
becoming a hip-hop artist is simply a distant dream that
often gets lost in the unpredictable script of life.
Opportunities to build in the industry are frequently
out of reach and unavailable. However, those with
ambition and drive find a way to overcome the obstacles
standing in their way and somehow manage to make
something out of nothing. Divo is one of these people.
Born Andres Ramirez in the impoverished Central American
country of Guatemala, he grew up with the determination
he needed to make something of himself. At the tender
age of five, Divo and his family were forced to leave
his war-torn country and start a new life in Canada
where he was first introduced to the sounds of hip-hop.
In the early 90s, hip-hop was growing and so was its
influence on Divo. He began to write at the age of
thirteen, but a future in hip-hop was a farfetched
aspiration at the time. Through the years he became a
self-supportive youth, turning to the streets, where he
soon made a name for himself as an aspiring rapper. In
1999 Divo's infatuation with hip-hop intensified and he
began recording for his debut album entitled, "Sparks of
Friction" released in 2000. Among other collaborations,
it contained the "Bad Side Remix" featuring Classified.
The album marked the beginning of his formal career as a
lyricist.
Divo's lyrical and musical skills developed over the
next two years, which led to his 2002 sophomore release,
"The Evolution Theory". The album included a number of
collaborations with noted Canadian independent artists
such as Classified, Dan-e-o, Bishop, and Miranda from
the Juno Award winning duo, Latoya & Miranda.
Divo's focus soon changed from treating music as an
entertaining hobby to a strategic business endeavor. For
this reason Divo appropriately named this album "This iz
Bizness". His desire to work with Canada's most
respected emcees, led him to collaborate with the likes
of DL Incognito, Eternia, Tara Chase, Bishop, May One 9
from Brassmunk, and D-Sisive.
After
successfully finding a quality distributor, Divo signed
a distribution agreement with Urbnet Communications and
is set to independently release "This iz Bizness" in
March 2004.
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