iTemas - Vico C.
Two decades after his commercial debut, Luis Armando Lozada
Cruz, 38, known as El Filósofo del Rap, Vico C, is at it again with the
release of his twelfth studio album, Babilla, via EMI Televisa. Fueled by
the electric single “Sentimiento” featuring Arcángel, ULM caught up
with the Latin Rap and Reggaeton Icon, from a Los Angeles studio, as
he offers a glimpse into the soundtrack to his life. - Raymundo Monell
“Chica Virtual” Arcángel: “When I first heard [Arcángel] on that, that’s when everything started, because his talent really got my attention. Realistically, from all the recent artists who’ve come out, he’s been the strongest - at least in Puerto Rico. He jumped on ‘Sentimiento,’ which impressed me because other cats would’ve felt the pressure. But not him; he walked the walk, and showed me that he does this more out of passion, than for business.”
“El Raton” Fania All-Stars: “I like to listen to
old Salsa, specifically from
the ‘70s. I love Héctor Lavoe,
Willie Colon, Rubén
Blades…the Fania All-
Stars in general. I love El
Gran Combo and La Sonora
Ponceña, too. I could
call myself a collector, and
nearly a historian of Salsa
music. I really listen to
every aspect of the genre,
because these are musicians
who know more than
I do.”
“The Rite of Spring”
Igor Stravinsky: “I also
enjoy classical music. I
bought an album a while
back by composer [Igor]
Stravinsky, and when I
started listening to it, I
realized that a lot of the
score in the film E.T. [by
John Williams] came from
his music. I thought that
the music was new, but a
[vast amount] of what we
hear today comes from the
early 20th century, 19th
century, and further back.
I also enjoy [Wolfgang
Amadeus] Mozart and
[Ludwig van] Beethoven;
it’s incredible music to listen
to.”
“Hey Jude” The Beatles: “When it comes to John McCartney and John Lennon, you always have something to learn about this beautiful art form from them. Those guys are true musical geniuses. Their music, while vastly different from my own, helps me create melodies.”
“Fuego” Yaga y Mackie ft. Tego Calderon: “Yaga y Mackie, those guys are talented, and very fast workers. One day, I ran into them at a studio and I had them listen to a track with a hook on it. They sat down, and without exaggeration, they took [15 minutes] to write their lyrics; to record their verses, [another] 15…only a half-an-hour had gone by and they already had their verses to [‘Se Escapa’] recorded. No bullshit.”
ULM Podcast