THE KID RATED R

Parental guidance suggests that this San Francisco rapper's career began when he was still in his original crib. Robert Quintana, a.k.a. the Kid Rated R, can't remember a time when his parents weren't exposing him to soul, funk or salsa music. Practically before learning to speak, the Kid sang verses on a Fisher-Price tape recorder. He earned his nickname in junior high in Daly City, when a rap contest judge said, "Yo, I can't even rate this kid. He's on his own level." After high school, the Kid Rated R headed off to New York City, studying hip-hop in the boroughs before coming back to California. When doing interviews, the Kid Rated R likes to let his lyrics do the talking, like these from his cut "Music 2 My ...," where he says: "My mama played Willie Colon every Saturday morning. I'd hear Hector Lavoe while I was still yawning" and "Yeah and I'm an '80s baby, and right now I'm reminiscing on the sounds that made me." - San Francisco Chronicle