Monteloco of Oxnard interview

Monteloco Putting Oxnard on the Map

12/23/05 - LatinRapper.com exclusive interview

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With over 10 years experience writing, producing, recording and performing under his belt, Left Coast artist Monteloco shows that Fernando Vargas isn't the only heavy hitter to come from Oxnard.

Born in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monteloco now reps the 805, striving to make street music with commercial appeal. Having shared stages with the likes of Rakim, DJ Quick, Cypress Hill, as well as a former deal with Thump Records, Monteloco stays in rotation on West Coast stations.

Monteloco took a few moments away from promoting to speak with LatinRapper about his upcoming album, where he's been, and where he's going in this exclusive interview.

LatinRapper.com How did the name Monteloco come about?

Monteloco derives from my last name, which is Montelongo. I get crazy with the rhymes, that’s where loco comes from. It’s a combination of my last name and the character that I am when it comes down to rhyming and getting crazy with it.

For those unfamiliar with your hometown, what kind of Hip Hop scene does Oxnard have?

Well for one, Oxnard is in Ventura Country, referred to as the 805. The 805 hip hop scene is very big, we got a lot of different artists from different genres. We got Locura Terminal, we got Down, we got the Loot Pack, Mad Lib, Earthquake Institute. It’s a scene that has a variety of different rappers and we all come with our own flavor.

How did you get your start in the music industry?

I got my start back in '92, I started recording. I heard Mellow Man Ace, Lighter Shade of Brown and Kid Frost on the radio, I was in high school, hanging around a bunch of DJs into that. One of them, Mad Lib, he’s a big producer now. I really respected that it was Latinos doing it. I got into recording, putting together demos. My first legitimate deal was with Familia Records in 2000, then Thump Records in 2001, then in 2004 with Silent Giant. That’s how I got into the game, grinding.

Are you still involved with Thump Records?

No, that was a one album deal that I did with them. The new company I'm with, Aztec Pyrimid Recordings is my label, Silent Giant distributes for me.

Who are some of the artists that you’ve recorded with?

Mellow Man Ace, Mister Shadow, Triple C, Fingers, Stocks McGuire, who did some work with Dr Dre, and then just a variety of other musicians. Chico Dateh, Diamonique, the original crew from Detroit, pretty cool cats out there. Of course all the local artists I mentioned of this area.

Who are some of the artists that you’d like to work with in the future?

One of them is definitely Devin the dude, out of Houston, I think he’s got some real talent. Its basically whatever fits the vibe, whatever the style goes. As far as artists, there are some that are higher levels like John Legend, or with Kanye West. In the immediate independent grind that we got, there’s Lil rob, an artist I'd like to work with.

What are you presently working on at the moment?

I am presently working on Playa Papi, the album. I'm in the mixing stages of it, on that we have features from Paul Dateh, Fingazz, and some other collaborations with some of the big artists still pending on that. It’s a full blown album, gonna be out for summer, release date is June 27, single will be hitting first week in March.

Is that your real green card used in your promotion campaign?

Yeah, that’s actually my real green card. I was born in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas. I changed up some of the numbers so they cant go working with my card, but that’s where I come from. Music is music, hip hop is hip hop.

Are you touring to promote your new album?

Yeah, we’ll be doing shows all throughout the Southwest, we’ll be down in Mexico for spring break, all the clubs, 'cause that’s one of the things I really enjoy doing is getting up on stage and rocking a show. The people enjoy that, I get a lot of my energy from that.

Would you describe your music as Chicano Rap?

Um, its funny because I was born in Mexico, so I'm Mexican, 'cause there's differences between Chicanos and Latinos. Certain categories apply and don’t apply. Ultimately I would consider my music hip hop, but Chicano rap is a category, but I do hip hop music.

How does your music differ from that of other artists in Oxnard?

I think the difference that Monteloco has, I've always had, I don’t know if it’s a knack, but its music that was put together in a manner that people would say “that sounds like a song that belongs on the radio.” When you do songs like that, its more commercial, so I would have to say I always had a commercial element to my music.

Any last thoughts?

I want to thank all the people that have supported me and backed me up and have been there for me. I been in this game for a minute, I'm continually doing what I have to do and putting out my style of music. A lot of the beginning of the Chicano rap scene was a lot of samples, that’s what set this whole thing off. I never been in a gang, my rap is different than that, its taken 10 years for my audience to accept what I'm doing, more along the lines of Baby Bash, a little bit edgier than NB Ridaz. Commercial acceptable to make this music for the radio, for all audiences. That’s why I feel that this next record is gonna be a good time for people to sit down and say lets check this Monteloco guy out, I try to give everybody 110%. I'm very excited, trying to do something commercial for everybody and at the same time, I'm Mexican, so that’s not ever gonna change.