Hurricane G

Hurricane G: The Creation and Reformation

From the calm before the storm, it was predestined that Gloria Hurricane G Rodriguez would develop into a musician. Foreshadowing such a future is a little known fact, that one of her two most prized possessions as a 4 year old was a beige/brown plastic Fisher Price record player. The other was a brush, more comparable to what other niñas (little girls) would carry. Glory loved performing at all family occasions, she loved the crowd and the crowd loved her. Music is in her blood; her father was a percussionist with roots in Classical, Philharmonic, Meringue and Salsa. A favorite family tradition was passing out his congas, bongos and timbales and jamming out with the entire family. It was the one constant in her life of constant uprooting. Gloria's family took what she calls, The Puerto Rican tour, a whirlwind around NYC to Puerto Rico and back.

By 10, Gloria's mother enrolled her in The Julliard School of Dance, where she was the only Latina enrolled at the time. She attended the highly touted school for about three years until her dancing career was abruptly halted due to two serious knee injuries. Now, Glow was a hard nosed, traveled and cultured 13-year old, ready to let the streets know all about it. Her first big break came when she was defeated in a battle to a boy from her block. She took the loss like a true champ, coming back time after time to dominate that same new jack. A storm was brewing inside this juvenile, the skies darkened and Hurricane G made her presence known for the first time. Due to her proximity to the street violence taking place, it became inevitable that she ran with a crew of gun-toting thugs. This was not a lifestyle G. wanted to lead, so she left the streets and took those heavy rains into the studio.

Soon after, Hurricane G became linked up with the Hit Squad and then the Def Squad. In 1992, Cane reached a milestone in her life and appeared on a track with platinum recording artist Redman, on a song called "Tonights Da Night". The song laid the groundwork for a subsequent collaboration with Redman, called "We Run NY" which had a huge street following. Rapidly pairing her with Reds fellow Def Squad member, Keith Murray on "Bom Bom Zee", that appeared on "The Most Beautifulest Thing in This World" album. The winds were reaching top speed and Hurricane G was making a name for herself in the industry.

If a little female Spanish Hip-Hop touch is what you need, Cane is the girl for the job. Ask Xzibit, who enlisted her for his debut album, "The Speed of Life", on a song called "Just Maintain". G also hooked up with Delinquent Habits, for their 1996 self-titled release, on the track "Underground Connection." Just a year later she added some sweetness, to the Organized Konfusion track, "Shugah Shorty".

Hurricane G continued making music on other peoples albums and decided it was time to release her debut solo album. The EP was released under H.O.L.A. Records and appropriately called "All Woman". The first single from "All Woman" was a track entitled "Somebody Else", where you could listen to Cane laying it down over a soulful sample. The song was major success, receiving Billboard honors in the Pop, R&B and of course Hip-Hop categories. Amidst her solo success, lightening struck and H.O.L.A. records crumbled beneath this pioneer's feet. She hadn't surrounded herself with suitable teammates, something that would be a lesson for the future.

This didn't keep her down, Hurricane G showed her renowned resiliency. G next appeared on the legendary Cocoa Brovaz track, "Spanish Harlem" (later "Spanish Harlem 2"), also featuring the one and only Tony Touch. The song was a synopsis of the streets of East Harlem better known as El Barrio. Keepin it on the political tip, G recorded the song "No More Prisons" for the aforementioned compilation, where she spits:

"Cruel machines use human beings as a textile/For the darkest race, there's no escape/from the marketplace, no grace if you caught a case/It interest me, how one of the most watched indices/of economic growth is prison industries/If Gods ain't locked, no jobs for cops/If blocks ain't hot, stock options drop."

The next highlight in her life was a true lecture in the music industry courtesy of Puff Daddy and the smash-single "Public Enemy 2000", which was released bilingually. From Diddy, Hurricane G learned: performance is key, in order to truly capture an audience one must put on a show. The one and only Sean Combs revealed some secrets of showmanship to G during their numerous days together. She was now being treated like royalty; touring Europe with $10,000/day stylists.

For the next few years Glory decided to suspend her climbing status in the game to raise her daughter. This halt to the powerful storm that was named Hurricane G, demonstrates Gloria's true character. She secured the future by ensuring that her life lessons would not be lost alternatively passing them