Hip-hop’s fresh faces


You’d have to go back to the heyday of Cypress Hill to find another local Latin rapper as popular as 30-year-old King Lil G. But don’t reduce the Mexican-American rapper’s appeal to identity politics. The Inglewood and South Gate–raised artist has a gift for articulating the struggle— one reminiscent of 2Pac. See “Hopeless Boy” (15 million YouTube


plays and counting), where King Lil G, born Alex Gonzalez, distills two hardscrabble decades in mere minutes. He traces his youth as a fatherless graffiti writer, gang member and drug dealer, poignantly recalling a scene in which his sobbing mother branded him as a disappointment. But beneath it all lurks an unremitting optimism, one rooted in the fact that if he was able to escape these traps, so are others.


Signed to Latin music powerhouse Del Records, King Lil G has recently gained a foothold far beyond L.A., including in Central and South American nations that usually pay attention to only the most commercial strains of hip-hop. It’s another layer to the apostolic fan base he’s nurtured since his days selling CDs at a swap meet in Compton. Mainstream or underground, few artists can boast as strong a connection to their fans as King Lil G. “I’m speaking for people in the ghetto who


don’t have a voice,” says King Lil G. “I’m trying to bring awareness to people. We have to love each other. The only way we can make a change is to become that change.” à Hear King Lil G’s work at kinglilg.com.


Time Out Los Angeles January–March 2017


“I’m speaking for people in the ghetto who don’t have a voice.” —King Lil G


28


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76