esoulfulstyleandhard-hittingbeatsgrabyoufirst.Thenyouhearthesmooth-yet-powerfulbaritonevocalsdeliverwithadistinctivetone.Yourecognizethevoiceasitcommandsattentionwithprovocativelyricstheflavorfultrack.ThisMCshiftstherhymefromEnglishtoSpanish,andthenbacktoEnglishagainseamlessly.Yourheadnodsthewholewaythroughanditdoesn’tmatterifyoucan’tunderstandtheSpanishparts.Thenithitsyou…thevoiceandtrademarkrhyme-flowbelongstononeotherthan“KemoTheBlaxican,”formermemberurban-Latinhiphoppioneers,“DelinquentHabits,”whosehighly-anticipatedalbum,UpsideofStruggle,releasedworldwideonDeadSilentRecords.HisnewCD,UpsideofStruggle,isseriesofhiphoptracksinspiredbyhisroots;specificallysouthernCaliforniacultureandthemusicthatinfluencedhisyouth—fromwestcoastfunk,soul,andclassichiphop,traditionalLatinmusic.ThealbumalsofeaturesguestappearancesbySenDog(CypressHill)andTetsuyaWeepingWillowNakamura(formerlyofWar)onthetrack“JustWhatYouFeelin,”aswellascontributionsbySickJacken(PsychoRealm)onthealbum.UpsideofStruggleisKemo’sthirdsoloalbumonDeadSilenceRecords,whichdemonstrateshisevolutionasanMCandproducer.This12-trackincarnationburstswithmusicalstylesandcompellingarrangements.Kemo’slyricalskillsstretchbackandforthbetweenL.A.streetslangandbarrioSpanish,neverhesitanttoshowbothsidesofhiscomposite.Hemovesthelistenerthroughmoods,harmoniouslyencapsulaticontradiction,antagonismandtheco-existenceofgood,evenduringbadtimes,allwithmindbendingease.Thetitletrack,“UpsideofStruggle,”tellsastoryoftheartists’challengesgrowingupbiracialinbarrioandthestruggleshismothermadeasasingleparent.KemotheBlaxican,withhissoulfulmusicalmaelstrom,bringsthelistenercontagioushooks,groovesandbeats,withoutcompromisinghissignature,rawstyle.Fromtheopeningbarsofthetitle-track,“UpsideofStruggle,”thelistenerknowshe’sinforsomethingspecial.Yourheadbobsandyou’llfindyourselfexcitedwitheachtrack;whichisremovedfromthesteriledebatesandorthodoxiesofthetime.UpsideofStruggle,withitstechnicallyinterestingbeats,intelligentlyricsandcoaliGstylesmakesitaprogressivealbum,boundfornationalappeal.KemoTheBlaxicanisaformerMCandlyricistforWestCoastLatinhiphoppioneers,“DelinquentHabits.”BeforeKemowent“solo,”hewasmostnotableasthebrainchildofDelinquentHabits(DH),whohappenedtoalsobetheonlySpanish-fluentMCinthegroup.Hespenttwelveyearswiththecollective,withwhomreleasedfouralbums,andtooktheDelinquentsoundaroundtheworld.In1996thegroupstruckgoldwiththeirveryfirstsingle“TresDelinquentes,”asongthatmasterfullyfusedatraditionalmariachisound(courtesyofAlpert’s“LonelyBull“)withtherawhip-hopbackdropofthestreets.Thesoundwasabreathoffreshairinastalerapscene,andopenedanewcreativedoorwayintowhichmanyotherLatinhiphopactswouldfollow.“TresDelinquentes“blewupalmostovernight,receivingairplaynotonlyonhip-hopradiobutrockandTop40stationsaswell.ThetrackeventuallylandedDelinquentHabitsanappearanceontheformer-NBCshow,“LateNightwithConanO’Brien”andtourswithheavyweightslikeKornandIceT.Innotime,“TresDelinquentes“becameaworldwidehit,sellingoveronemillioncopiesaroundtheglobeandpushingthegroup’sself-titledalbumtonearlythesamefigure.Thiswasthepublic’sfirstintroductiontoKemo’slyricalskillsandflawlessbilingualtransitions.Hesteppedintothehip-hopgame,introducedhimselfas“TheBlaxican,”andneverlookedbac