Rob G.

It’s an election year and the votes have been tallied. Rob G has been declared the winner of the streets. So get ready for Rob G’s The Inauguration, his dynamic debut album on Latium Entertainment/Universal. Aided by the sonic muscle of such producers as the Grammy-winning Play N Skillz (Chamillionaire, Lil Wayne) and Mike Dysel (Master P), The Inauguration is one of the best executed albums of the last several years.
The title is a play off of his popular The Rob G Campaign mixtapes, which Rob G used as a way to campaign his way into the game. Now that he’s here, he has a distinct agenda. “I really want to be a voice for young kids in general, and for Latin American kids like myself,” says Rob, who is of Uruguayan descent. “I want to represent for them by being more than a song, more than a gimmick, more than an image. This is my shot at being a leader for my people and for hip-hop.”
One listen to The Inauguration and it’s clear that Rob G is a multi-faceted artist, one ready to lead rap into its next evolution. Indeed, Rob’s ability to examine a wide range of topics is one of the traits that makes his music so appealing. “Addicted” with Pitbull details man’s natural love and lust for women, while “Close Your Eyes” showcases Rob G’s storytelling prowess. On the latter, he details the struggles that consume a young female prostitute, a rich kid from the suburbs and a street hustler. “No matter what walk of life we’re from and how different we are, struggle is something common to everybody,” he explains. “Nobody is exempt from going through it.”
Elsewhere, hardcore anthems “For The Hood” with Rick Ross and “Reppin’ My Block” with Lil Keke and Slim Thug are testaments to Rob G’s allegiance to the streets. Rob G then teams with fellow Texas rapper Trae for the intense “How You Like Me Now” and Paul Wall for the risqué “Private Dancer.”
Working with such a revered roster of H-Town artists holds special significance for Rob. “Being an artist from Houston, I’m proud that I was able to break out of the city,” he says. “It’s almost as though if you weren’t coming from Rap-A-Lot, Screwed Up Click or Swishahouse then the city wouldn’t accept you. I wasn’t known when I started my grind, so I’m extremely proud that I could break on my own.”
Truth be told, Rob G has had to break through on his own for much of his life. His father passed away from cancer when he was 12, leaving his mother to raise him by herself. Fortunately, after making a name for himself in the streets and realizing that that life was literally a dead-end, Rob found solace in rap. He listened to Scarface, Jay-Z, Big Pun, Nas and Eminem and was blown away by their imagination. “What I respected about these guys is their skills and lyricism,” he says, “and how they brought stories with them.”
Rob G planned to make music in the same vain as his musical idols. But, there was a tremendous stigma he had to overcome: that Latinos are not good rappers. With his high energy rhymes, Rob G was able to make a name for himself at rap battles, including high profile ones hosted by MTV and Roc-A-Fella.
“The feeling of seeing a person’s jaw drop when they expect me not being able to hang, that’s priceless,” Rob G says. “I love that. That’s something that motivates me. At the end of the day, you cannot deny talent.”
Rob G’s talent could not be denied, and in 2007 he was making his breakthrough. After the steady release of his acclaimed mixtapes, the Houston rapper’s “Reppin My Block” single with Lil Keke and Slim Thug was a Southern smash, landing Rob a tour slot with Frankie J opening for Black Eyes Peas, Ne-Yo and Nelly Furtado.
But then tragedy struck. Rob G’s wife, long suffering from gastro intestinal cancer, was no longer able to live a normal life. She was in the hospital for two or three months at a time, and Rob, also a father, put the brakes on his musical career in order to take care of his ailing wife and his young son.
“It was overwhelming,” Rob G says. “It was definitely the toughest time in my life. This is my wife, my soulmate, my partner, the one who was there with me from Day One. It was very hard for me to see her wither away to nothing. It tested my character and strength as a man.”
Sadly, on January 17, 2008, Rob G’s wife passed away. Rob knew that he had reached a pivotal point in his life. “Life is hard, but you’ve got to keep it moving,” Rob explains. “You’ve got two options. Either you let tragedies motivate you to go out and do better, or you let it destroy you. Having a little son and a bright future ahead of me, I couldn’t let it destroy me.”
Now that he’s had time to recover from this devastating experience, Rob and his talent, work ethic and ability to create memorable music are once again in sync. Rob G is ready to present The Inauguration and establish himself as rap’s next great artist.
“An album is a body of work,” he says. “It’s like a perfect painting, as perfect as you can get it. You have to try to reach as many people as possible. I kept that in mind when I was making this album. I knew I had to cater to my core audience, but also try to find a common ground to reach everybody.”
Now that he’s done just that, Rob G is ready for your support. He’ll see you at The Inauguration. - By Soren Baker