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# A dose of Kemo keeps it eclectic
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/a-dose-of-kemo-keeps-it-eclectic-2/
- Published: 2007-06-21T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T01:14:27.000Z
- Author: Daniel Archuleta
- Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import

The current world of hip hop seems to be more segregated than ever. Sure, the genre has grown from its birth as a predominately black form of music to include Latino and pop influences, but it still falls victim to being labeled in some way or another.

Reggaeton has grown from an underground phenomenon into a mainstream monster that shows no signs of slowing its roll. Dirty South has somehow left behind its stigma as being too grimy to appeal to a mass market to become the genre that is getting the most airtime on major radio stations these days. Even pop artists like Justin Timberlake have recruited some of the biggest producers in hip hop to gain the almighty “street cred” needed to cross over to an urban audience.

Then you have artists like Kemo the Blaxican. He was a founding member of Delinquent Habits, a group many consider to be one of the seminal Latin hip hop acts,yet the fact that his father was black obviously categorizes him on that side of the musical equation.

But, to ask the man himself, he’d rather be considered as just an artist who creates jams anybody can shake it to.

“What am I? That stuff even starts to confuse me. I’m all of that. I’m straight hip hop,” Kemo said Wednesday.“I’m just targeting a hip hop audience. I want cats to know me just for my rhymes. Forget all that other nonsense.”

Kemo, whose record release party for his second solo effort, “Not So Rich & Famous,” is scheduled for June 27 at Zanzibar on Fifth Street, has spent most of his life bouncing back and forth from one type of musical genre to another. It seems it’s in his genes. “(My dad) was the type of dude to learn any instrument he touched,” Kemo said. “He had a rock band back in the day and my mom was a good speaker. She was very articulate. In high school and whatnot, I loved music. I was always rolling with the DJs and the B-Boys.”

Listening to “Not So Rich & Famous,” it’s obvious this is an artist who has taken all of the different things he’s learned in life and combined them into a hybrid style that is both progressive and nostalgic. Having grown up in Los Angeles in the ’80s and ’90s, Kemo was exposed to a wide array of different influences. From his early days listening to the legendary rap AM radio station KDAY to the countless hours sitting in his room listening to soul pioneers like Curtis Mayfield, Kemo has been a mash up of influences.

“I guess,without even thinking about it,that’s the way it emerges. I like soulful stuff,” he said. “Hip hop keeps evolving and keeps changing. I always liked music that has a funky feel about it.”

Kemo the Blaxican’s record release party and performance is set for Wednesday, June 27, at Zanzibar in Santa Monica. Call Zanzibar at (310) 451-2221 for information.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 21, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/062107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)