King Vic

Victor ‘King Vic’ Cartagena has been in the underground hip-hop scene since 2005. Much thanks to the growth in popularity of the Internet, Vic has been able to distribute music to a much larger audience outside of his local target. With several demos and mixtapes released since 2005, he now preps his next release, ‘Sire’, due summer of 2011.

With a compiled list of producers who also have credit in mainstream music [Mister KA, Freq Beatz], Vic looks to capture different sounds. “The beats don’t change my lyrics, they only change how they’re delivered,” says Vic. The album’s features both local rappers who have worked with Vic in the past, as well as singers from across the boarder who provide hooks.

Vic loves to recall one of his first experiences with the genre. “My first hip-hop CD was Will Smith’s, ‘Big Willie Style’. My mom gave it to me because she didn’t want me listening to swear words. I love that. It wasn’t long until I was going through my brother’s CDs.” Says Vic. Wu Tang, Big Pun, Snoop Dogg, and many more were core reasons to Vic knowing that rap was for him. “For me it was all about two forms of rap, storytelling and competition. My three key influences in the genre are Eminem, 50 Cent & Tupac. That’s not based on my interpretation of lyrical talent. For me it is overall star quality.” says Vic.

It wasn’t until the age of 12 when he had grown a fascination with one brother’s talent. Vic recalls that, “My older brother Fabio could freestyle nonstop. He couldn’t write music, which I found crazy. It’s all off the top of his head and one day he asked me to spit something. That’s how it all started. I would walk home from school and come up with songs, rush home and write it down.”

When it comes to writing music, Vic doesn’t shy away from any topic, and that has mainly to do with his father leaving the family when he was quite young, thus leading to his strong relationship with his mother. “When my father left, that was messed up. Mentally I was growing up 10 years too fast. So when I started rapping that was evident in my music,” says Vic. He released his first album in 2005 when he was 14. Vic states that, “The music was definitely geared towards people my brother’s age (18+). People didn’t know my experience and mind set. I was a quiet and shy kid.”

“This new album is hands down the story of my life. In previous projects I’ve touched on subjects like my father, welfare, violence, but I never really described the stories to my fans. Struggle can inspire anyone out there to create. That’s music,” says Vic.