Sporty Loco

• Genre: Latin Rap/Hip-Hop
• Hometown: Los Angeles

About

Born Gonzalo Espinoza in 1978, Latin rap artist Sporty Loco got his nickname thanks to -- can you guess? -- his interest in sports. But sports wasn't the only interest occupying the young Gonzalo: by the age of 12 he was composing poetry in both Spanish and English. After the requisite trouble with drugs and the law, Loco went clean and returned to writing, setting his lyrics to music for the first time and recording the full-length, Profanity, which was released on the independent label Malitia Muzik in 2003. A duet, "Juran, Juran" with Jolanda Perez, followed in 2004, and Warner Bros. snapped him up in time to release his major label debut Rey De Reyes in 2005.

- Sarah Bardeen