http://www.ballerstatus.com/article/news/2007/05/2602/

Ex-Mexican Gangmember, RedCloud, Displays Positive Message On Debut Album

Published: Thursday - May 24, 2007
Words by Ronnie Gamble

As rappers continue to compete against each other to prove who is the
hardest around, Mexican rapper RedCloud is focused on bringing a positive
message to the culture.

With the release of his long awaited debut, Hawthrone's Most Wanted (named
after his Los Angeles hometown), RedCloud is determined to connect with the
average person who can't related to topics rappers have made the norm --
diamonds, cars, women and money. Instead, he says he's speaking to the
average person with personal stories everyone can relate to.

"My mom had me when she was 17, I got my first tattoo in the 7th grade, she
pierced my ears in the 6th grade, I jumped in the gangs the next year and,
'boom,' got arrested twice," recalls the rapper of his past. "Hip-hop gave
everybody hope and changed people's lives. It was street poetry that
everybody could relate to. Now, people are rapping about things that your
average person can't relate to -- the cars, the diamonds, the money. I rap
about average person stories, issues that people don't usually deal with. I
want to let them know what's really going on."

Kicking off Hawthrone's Most Wanted, RedCloud has three singles on deck --
the funky "Tapatio," featuring Pigeon John, who trades braggadocio rhymes
with RedCloud; "Guns & Roses," featuring Jayo Felony, Eek-A-Mouse and
Tonex, who all examine spiritual topics; and "405," with Lord Zen and Dannu
of the Visionaries, which gives a salute the famous California highway that
connects several prominent cities, including Los Angeles and San Diego.

Hailing from sunny Los Angeles, RedCloud was brought up in a family
knee-deep in the Chicano gang lifestyle, but after finding hip-hop in high
school, he shunned his rough upbringing and had a spiritual awakening. Then
began to pursue his destiny in the urban genre.

He became the one to beat on Los Angeles' Power 106's freestyle competition
called the Roll Call, and developed a regular Los Angeles club following
that evolved into a non-stop U.S. touring schedule. His first two
underground, self-released albums, 2001's Is This Thing On? and 2003's
Traveling Circus sold more than 40,000 copies collectively, which spawned a
deal with Syntax Records, distributed by Koch, to release the new album.

Currently, RedCloud is currently enduring a grueling touring schedule,
which is packed with 140 shows. However, he not only plays the clubs with
his music, but also does mission outreach to Native American reservations
where he comes face to face with poverty, addiction and other rough
problems.

"We travel from reservation to reservation sharing a message of hope to the
Native American people, the First Nation's people and Indigenous people of
Mexico," explains RedCloud. "Nowadays, 90% of Native American youth are
into hip-hop. They forget what their elders are telling them these days, or
they don't care about tradition or their heritage tells them. They want to
do what they love, which is hip-hop and we speak that language very, very
well."

Hawthrone's Most Wanted is in stores now, and features guest appearances by
Kurupt, Tonex, Eek-A-Mouse, Jayo Felony, Pigeon John, Lord Zen and Dannu of
the Visionaries.