My boy/fellow writer Isaac recently gave me a CD of his cousin’s music to listen to. I’ve lost all hope in the hip-hop being looped over and over again on the radio, so I was more than happy to immerse myself in some good ol’ homegrown (literally; he records in his bedroom) hip-hop.
His cousin, Virgilio Cordova aka Gigio, 21, is a half-Puerto Rican half-Nicaraguan MC from Fairfield, CA. He creates hip-hop that’s a nice balance of political and mainstream. He samples oldies and talks about issues relating to immigrants, so-called terrorists, and his resemblance to Che. In a town where hyphy hip-hop rules, or is fading (it’s a bit unclear right now), Gigio proves there’s still hope for hip-hop in the underground scene.
2) Meet Me At The Church – Gigio / Dren Doh
3) Sumthin’ 4 The Children – Gigio / Jape
4) Got2BMe – Gigio / Dren Doh
5) Homeland Security – Gigio / Jan / Dren Doh
6) 911 Is A Joke – Gigio / Joey Shellz
7) One Man 4 The Job – Gigio / All-Key
8) Family Affair – Gigio / Leeban / Jape
9) My Getright – Gigio / Jape
10) Threatened – Gigio / Dren Doh / Jan / Stamps
11) Without a Shadow of a Doubt – Gigio / Dren Doh
12) Stay Above – Gigio / Leeban / DJ FLOW
13) Far Away – Gigio / Jan / Obi-One
14) Terrorist – Gigio / Tony Toons
15) Take A Q – Gigio / Dren Doh
16) The Way U Want It Done – Gigio / Dren Doh
Bonus Tracks:
Remote Controlled – Gigio / Tony Toons
Fucka Bomb Threat – Gigio / Joey Shellz / Stamps / Melody Chainz
You can find Gigio at www.myspace.com/gigio.