Vico C | |
---|---|
![]() Vico C in 2018 | |
Born | Luis Armando Lozada Cruz September 8, 1971 [1] Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1988–present |
Spouse | Sonia Torres (m. 1996) |
Children | 7 |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Labels |
|
Luis Armando Lozada Cruz (born September 8, 1971), known by his stage name Vico C, is an American rapper, singer and record producer. [2] Regarded as the founding father of reggaeton, Vico C has played an influential role in the development of Latin American hip hop and urban music. [3] [4]
He was born in New York and raised in Puerto Rico. Nicknamed El Filósofo del Rap, ("The Philosopher of Rap"), [5] Luis Armando Lozada Cruz adopted the professional name Vico C. Vico C describes reggaeton as "essentially hip-hop but with a flavor more compatible to the Caribbean." [6]
As one of the founders of hip hop in Spanish, [7] Vico C was able to show that it was possible for one to be able to rap entirely and compellingly in Spanish using just occasional English phrases or slang terms. He can be seen in the rap movement as far back as its "underground" days ghostwriting and producing music for other young performers in the Puerto Rican rap scene. [8]
Vico C grew up in the Puerta de Tierra barrio in San Juan. [8] He got enrolled in acting classes by the age of nine and began his professional rapping career in 1985. At first, he used to go to bodegas (grocery stores) or pharmacies, buy home recording tapes, record himself singing his songs and then sell the tapes to friends or family. Vico C was discovered by DJ Negro in 1985 whom immediately saw the great potential of hip hop in Spanish and chose to record Vico's earliest demos. Upon the positive reaction from the barrio, DJ Negro brought Vico to the most successful hip hop promoter in Puerto Rico, Jorge Oquendo (also known as 'El Sexy Boy'). Jorge Oquendo formed the record label 'Prime Records' with Vico C as the lead artist of the label. Prime Records eventually received a distribution deal via Sony BMG Latin. Prime Records is one of the most successful and influential record labels in the history of Spanish rap and reggaeton known for being the home to legendary acts such as DJ Negro, Vico C, El General, Lisa M, Falo, Brewley MC and more. [9] [10]
In May 2019 he suffered seizures resulting from an allergic reaction to medication and was hospitalized but recovered. [2]
In 1988, Spanish rap in Puerto Rico was not at a popular high, [8] and Vico C was the first one to rap in Spanish in Puerto Rico, considered the Godfather of Spanish Hip Hop and the pioneer of this genre, there were others who followed in his footsteps, rapping in the ghettos. Brewley MC, Piro JM, Jimmy MC, Bimbo, (Lisa M, Jelly Dee Franceska, came afterward) Ruben DJ was the first rapper to sound on the radio by releasing "La Escuela" after Vico C fame was already known on the whole island for his underground lyrics. Brewley MC also recorded "El Sida Rap with Green Records". Vico C entered the charts with his song "La Recta Final" which he personally designed the album cover for, with his artistic talents. Vico C was signed to Prime Records and started touring to venues in New York, Chicago, Miami, Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Panama, the Dominican Republic.[ citation needed ]
Vico C, in 1992 released his singles "Saborealo" and "María" which became hits. [11] In 1994, he established his own record company VC Records, released albums for Taino [12] and Lissy Estrella. Also helping promote such spanish rap singers as Francheska, and Lisa M [4] who were originally his back up dancers. In 1990, Vico C was involved in a near-fatal motorcycle accident. His injuries led to his abuse of heroin, cocaine, and alcohol. [13] [14]
Soon after, he became an evangelical Christian and went into a voluntary semi-retirement. In 1998, he resurfaced, with the "rambunctious", Christian rap CD Aquel Que Había Muerto . [15] [16] The new CD went gold and in 1999, he returned to the touring scene with his concert Antes y después. Soon after, he released a sequel to Aquel Que Había Muerto. With that, he earned the Latino Rap of the year award by Billboard.
In 2003, Vico C released an album titled En Honor a la Verdad . While it was not a major hit it still sold well and one of the album's singles "El Bueno, El Malo y El Feo", referring to Eddie Dee, himself and Tego Calderón respectively. The single was widely heard. The single was a great combination of the best "Conscience" subgenre of rap artists.
Vico C's recent albums include Desahogo , in early 2005. The album was a success and born June 3, 2006, he came back with another concert, El Encuentro.
Vico C also known as "el filósofo del rap" [17] [15] has worked alongside artists including Big Boy, Eddie Dee, [18] Héctor & Tito, Tego Calderón en los 12 discipulos He has also worked with producers Baby Ranks, Tony Touch and Luny Tunes.[ citation needed ]
He has sung alongside salsa singer Gilberto Santa Rosa [19] and cumbia group Kumbia Kings on their album titled duetos. [20]
Vico C tries to maintain a Christian theme throughout his music. [3] His brother Jay Lozada is a salsa musician.
In 2020 music by Vico C was part of the annual Banco Popular Christmas songs compilation album. [21]
In 2023, he signed a deal with Nain Music, a subsidiary of the Rimas Entertainment record label, [22] for an unreleased album by Vico C to be released in May 2023. In March, Vico C presents his new single "Pregúntale a Tu Papá por Mí". [23] Vico C also won for the best comeback in Premios Tu Musica Urbano [24]
"Vico C: La vida del filósofo" is a biographical film about the life of Vico C. The movie was inspired by the director Eduardo "Transfor" Ortiz's idea, which he conceived while listening to Vico C's song "La inglesa" on the radio. The film portrays Vico C's journey, including his rise to international fame, his Grammy Latino awards, struggles with drug addiction, imprisonment, and the death of his mother. Vico C's son, Luis Armando "Loupz" Lozada Jr., portrays him in the movie, while Vico C himself contributed to the screenplay and provided coaching to the actors. [25]
The film "Vico C, la vida del filósofo" was available for streaming on the Netflix platform in Latin America. The biographical movie, which was released in theaters in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the United States in 2017, gained popularity and was one of the most-watched films on the streaming platform "Pantaya." [26]
Vico C is renowned as the most influential artist in the history of Spanish hip hop and reggaeton throughout Latin America and Spain. Vico is recognized for having lyrics that were thoughtful, insightful, socially conscious as well as catchy and danceable songs for all kind of audiences. The musical blueprint implemented by DJ Negro and Vico C is the precursor of the genre now known as reggaeton. Many Spanish hip hop/reggaeton journalists and experts consider Vico C as the greatest or one of the greatest artists in the history of the genre. [27] [28]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Vico C | Vanguard Award | Won | [29] |
Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Aquel Que Había Muerto | Latin Rap Album of the Year | Won | [30] |
2002 | Vivo | Latin Rap Album of the Year | Nominated | [31] |
2003 | Emboscada | Latin Rap Album of the Year | Nominated | [32] |
2004 | En Honor a la Verdad | Latin Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year | Nominated | [33] |
2005 | "Los 12 Discípulos" Shared with Eddie Dee, Gallego, Tego Calderón, Daddy Yankee, Julio Voltio, Ivy Queen, Zion & Lennox, Johnny Prez, Nicky Jam and Wiso G | Tropical Airplay Track of the Year, New Artist | Nominated | [34] |
2006 | Desahogo | Latin Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year | Nominated | [35] |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Desahogo | Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album | Nominated | [36] |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Vivo | Best Urban Music Album | Won | [37] |
2003 | Emboscada | Nominated | [38] | |
2004 | En Honor a la Verdad | Won | [39] | |
2005 | Desahogo | Nominated | [40] | |
2010 | Babilla | Nominated | [41] | |
"Sentimiento" | Best Urban Song | Nominated | ||
2017 | "Papá" | Nominated | [42] | |
2023 | "Pregúntale a Tu Papá Por Mi" | Best Rap/Hip Hop Song | Pending |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Vico C | Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame – Performer | Nominated | [43] |
2018 | Pending | [44] |
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Emboscada | Urban Album of the Year | Nominated | [45] |
2006 | Desahogo | Urban Album of the Year | Nominated | [46] |
"Desahogo" | Video of the Year | Nominated |
Reggaeton, is a modern style of popular music that originated in Puerto Rico during the late 1990s. It rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puerto Rican musicians. Reggaeton has been influenced by Panama's Spanish reggae, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puerto Rican musicians. It has been popularized and dominated by artists from Puerto Rico since the early 1990s.
Tegui Calderón Rosario is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actor. He began his musical career in 1996 and was supported by the famous Puerto Rican rapper Eddie Dee, who invited him on his second studio album, El Terrorista de la Lírica, released in 2000. Calderón reached international success in 2003 with his first album, El Abayarde, which sold 300,000 copies worldwide and was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award. His importance in reggaeton music led him to participate in Eddie Dee's 12 Discípulos album in 2004. He released three more studio albums between 2006 and 2015, varying in styles, focusing more in hip hop and African music rather than reggaeton in The Underdog/El Subestimado (2006) and El Abayarde Contraataca (2007). His fourth studio album, El Que Sabe, Sabe, released in 2015, won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Music Album. In the same year, he announced that he is planning a studio album alongside the Puerto Rican singer Yandel titled El Blanco y el Negro.
Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez, known professionally as Ivy Queen, is a Puerto Rican singer, rapper, songwriter, and actress. She is considered one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre, commonly referred to as the Queen of Reggaeton.
Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican former rapper who rose to worldwide prominence in 2004 with the song "Gasolina". Dubbed the "King of Reggaeton", he is often cited as an influence by other Hispanic urban performers. He retired on December 3, 2023, after completing his final stage performance on his "La Meta" tour in Puerto Rico.
William Omar Landrón Rivera, known professionally as Don Omar, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is also known as the "King of Reggaeton" by music critics and fans alike. The artist was recognized by Billboard and Rolling Stone as one reggaeton legend. He is often cited as an influence by other Hispanic urban performers.
Aquel Que Había Muerto is the fourth studio album released by Puerto Rican rapper Vico C released on December 1, 1998. It was his first album to be released under the EMI Latin label. Recorded after a near-fatal overdose in 1997 and later rehabilitation in Orlando in an evangelic-Christian church, strong social conscience lyrics, it contains semi-autobiographical lyrics about his heroin addiction, his recovery, born again-Christianity and spiritual resurrection. With repeated references to Jesus Christ and disses" to his brethren in the gangsta-rap school, exposing the flipside of Puerto Rico's underground rap scene, in terms of the consequences of exposing young listeners to antisocial messages, it is his second Christian oriented album following Con Poder (1996). The album includes new versions of some of Vico C's greatest hits.
En Honor a la Verdad is the sixth studio album by Puerto Rican singer Vico C. It was released on November 4, 2003, in the United States and Puerto Rico and November 18, 2003, by EMI Latin worldwide. The album incorporates aggressive sounds of hardcore rap and reggaeton and explores house, Afro-Cuban son riffs, salsa along with the production of Noriega, Echo, Luny Tunes, D`Mingo, DJ Blass and Menace. Raging diverse topics from drug addiction, rehabilitation, social conscious, prison, tales and storytelling inspired on the streets of Puerto Rico, it contains 15 tracks, including one skit and three remixes. It featured guest appearances Eddie Dee, Tony Touch and Tego Calderon. The album also includes "5 de Septiembre" dedicated to his daughter.
Real is the fourth studio album by Puerto Rican reggaetón recording artist Ivy Queen, released on November 21, 2004, by Universal Music Latino. Initially to be Queen's debut full-length English-language studio album, it featured collaborations with hip hop and fellow Latino artists Hector El Father, Fat Joe, Getto & Gastam, La India, Gran Omar and Mickey Perfecto. The album was primarily produced by Rafi Mercenario, and included guest production by American producer Swizz Beatz, Puerto Rican producers Ecko, Noriega, Monserrate and DJ Nelson. The executive producers were Goguito "Willy" Guadalupe, Gran Omar and Ivy Queen.
Jowell & Randy are a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo composed of Joel Muñoz Martínez and Randy Ortiz Acevedo. The duo have been active since the early-2000s and have become one of the most popular acts in reggaeton. They have released three studio albums, five mixtapes and twenty-three singles as of June 2017. They were also members of the short-lived group Casa de Leones alongside J King & Maximan and Guelo Star. They became the first reggaeton acts to perform in the Principality of Monaco and the first reggaeton duo to do so in Australia.
Paul Frederick Irizarry Suau,, known professionally as Echo, is a Puerto Rican record producer and songwriter.
Babilla is the studio album by Puerto Rican rapper Vico C, released on October 6, 2009 through Caribbean Records under exclusive license to EMI Televisa. The 69% of the album was recorded at Luny Tunes' Más Flow Studios in Carolina, Puerto Rico, while the remaining 31% was recorded at Pichaera Studios, Golden Boy Studios and Rotary Music Studios. Vico C produced almost the entire album, while Hyde, Luis Almonte and Joel Morales worked as recording engineers. Half the album was mixed at KDS Studios, while American producer Mike Fuller mastered it at Fullersound Inc., both studios located in Florida. All tracks feature session musicians for guitars, drums, trumpet, trombone, saxophone and choirs, while Vico C played the electronic keyboard on eight of the thirteen songs that includes the album.
Mary Lisa (Marlisa) Marrero Vázquez better known by her stage name Lisa M, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, composer, dancer, record producer, and global DJ. She is known as the first female rapper artist to debut in Latin America. In 2019, Billboard identified her as one of the leading women performers in the Latin urban genre, along with Glory, Ivy Queen, Natti Natasha, and Karol G.
Vivo is a live album released by Puerto Rican singer Vico C released on June 5, 2001, by EMI Latin. It offers a collection of Vico C's greatest hits recorded entirely live in a concert held at the Luis Muñoz Marín Amphitheater in Hato Rey recorded in 1999. Also, Vivo presents a medley made up of some of Vico C's most popular songs: "El Filósofo", "La Calle", "En Coma", "Sin Pena" and "La Recta Final" and the unreleased song "El Super Heroe" along with a comic book focused on that character was included in the album.
Misión: La Cima is a rap album released by Puerto Rican singer Vico C. The songs "Me acuerdo", "Viernes 13, "She likes my reggae" and "Tony Presidio" are considered standouts. This last track appeared in "Aquel Que Había Muerto" under the guise of being a new version, and was more popular than the original.
Hispanic Soul is the debut album released by Puerto Rican singer Vico C released on 1991 by Prime Records. Recorded at Unicornio Studios, the album is credited, along with his previous EP La Recta Final (1990) and Misión La Cima (1990), to take the Hip Hop moviment in Puerto Rico, known as "Rap en Español", from Underground to international exposure. Eventually, the album reached number ten on US Billboard Tropical/Salsa and was his first album to be officially distributed in Latin America. Following the success of the album, he was nominated for the 1992 Lo Nuestro Awards.
Eddie Alexander Ávila Ortiz, originally known by his stage name Eddie Dee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and dancer of Dominican descent. He began his career in 1990 and launched his debut studio album three years later. His second album became popular in Puerto Rico and was titled Tagwut in 1997. It featured the hit single "Señor Official". His following releases El Terrorista de la Lírica (2000) and Biografía (2001), too enjoyed underground success. The 2004 album 12 Discípulos is regarded as "the greatest reggaetón various artist album of all time". The album features songs by some of the most successful reggaetón artist, including the intro of the album, where they all come together as one to show that "unity is needed for the genre reggaetón to survive and evolve". It was a collaboration between eleven other artist including Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderon, Ivy Queen, and Vico C among others, who were among the most requested at the time. The track, known as "Los 12 Discípulos" or "Quítate Tu Pa' Ponerme Yo" reached number eight on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart, and was nominated for a 2005 Billboard Latin Music Award for "Tropical Airplay Track of the Year, New Artist". The album itself reached number one on the Billboard Tropical Albums chart for three nonconsecutive weeks.
Big Boy is a Puerto Rican reggaeton rapper. He is considered one of the founding fathers of reggaeton in Puerto Rico. He is known for his worldwide success in the 1990s, with songs such as "Mis Ojos Lloran Por Ti", "Maria", "He Chocado Con La Vida", "Que Vayas Con Dios" and "Mi Chica De La Voz Sensual". His album "The Phenomenon" was nominated for the 2003 Latin Grammy Awards for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Album and for the Premios Lo Nuestro 2003 for Urban Album of the Year and Best Urban Performance. His song "Mis Ojos Lloran Por Ti" peaked at 18 in Top Latin Songs.
Latin trap is a subgenre of Latin hip hop music that originated in Puerto Rico. A direct descendant of southern hip hop, and influenced by reggaeton, it gained popularity after 2007, and has since spread throughout Latin America. The trap is slang for a place where drugs are sold. Latin trap is similar to mainstream trap with lyrics about life on la calle, drugs, sex and violence.
Urbano music or Latin urban is a transnational umbrella category including many different genres and styles. As an umbrella term it includes a wide and diverse set of genres and styles such as dancehall, dembow, urban champeta, funk carioca, Latin hip hop and reggaeton. The commercial breakthrough of this music took place in 2017 with artists from Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Puerto Rico, the United States, Venezuela and even non-Spanish-speaking nations, such as Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken.
Con Poder is the third studio album by the Puerto Rican rap and hip hop singer Vico C, released on January 31, 1996 by Sony BMG. Encompassing Latin Hip Hop, conscious hip hop and alternative reggaeton It is his first album with Christian content. It contains social conscious lyrcias and confessions of his personal life; drug addiction and his health following motor vehicle collision. The album was supported by the release of two official singles: "Humolandia" and "Necesitamos de Él" both released in 1995. Also it contains the theme "Plomo", based on the soundtrack of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and the song "Un beso y una flor" by Nino Bravo, played by the band Seguridad Social and Vico C.