Victor Mariachi

For all the righteous anger and vitriol Victor Mariachi exhibits on “With a Vengeance,” there’s never a moment when he allows his emotions to overshadow his message. What opens as a terse “public announcement” quickly transitions into a scathing indictment of political corruption, racial inequality, and cultural theft. It’s a track that’s as rugged as it is cerebral, one that allows for moments of violent confrontation while also speaking to the empowerment of black and brown communities.

“With a Vengeance” is the second single from Mariachi’s forthcoming first full-length, Weapons of Our Ancestors, a collaborative project with producer [izo] whose gritty, hard-nosed beats help set the stage for the rapper’s confrontational rhymes. Joining Mariachi on the cut is fellow Gwinnett County rapper Blaze who more than lives up to his moniker with an explosive verse aimed at torching every aspect of the American political system. The pair first met as students at Creekland Middle School in Lawrenceville and have long discussed teaming up on a track before finally connecting on this raised-fist protest anthem of resistance and reclamation.

“The central message in ‘With a Vengeance’ is to give a voice to a generation of kids who are tired of seeing their parents work hard and own nothing,” Mariachi says. “It’s about claiming everything back for our ancestors who are black and brown. ‘With a Vengeance’ represents us, the generation of revenge and reparations from those who stole what was rightfully ours. It’s a song to represent that frustration and to deal with that anger.” - Immersive Atlanta

The second single from 'Weapons Of Our Ancestors' promises a dark and confrontational debut album

Victor Mariachi strikes back! "With A Vengeance" ft. Blaze is the second single from Mariachi's debut album, Weapons Of Our Ancestors, due out Sept. 29.

Falling on the heels of "Changes," which arrived in May, producer izo (Colin Lacativa), who worked on Mariachi's Old Children EP, thickens up the sound for a decidedly confrontational return. This latest offering finds the Gwinnett County-based rapper exorcising more than a few demons over the state of race relations in America. When Mariachi delivers lines such as, "Third world baby with a Handgun/ Swinging back the pendulum," there's no mistaking the frustration he's channeling over mistreatment of his ancestors and the maligning of his heritage. "It's a song about reparations for the new generation that came from ancestors that we're robbed of their identity and of the wealth that is rightfully theirs," Mariachi says. "It's some 'we are the generation of revenge' sort of speak."

The cover art, courtesy of FRKO, represents what Mariachi describes: "black and brown kids being born with a target on their back."

Mariachi's voice dovetails the instrumentals' dark sheen, as the song swells with izo's industrial-grade melodies, offering little comfort regarding a peaceful resolution. The song is hard, urgent and a harbinger what Mariachi has in store with Weapons Of Our Ancestors. - Creative Loafing

This episode of Hybrid Atlanta features Chad Radford, the music editor of Creative Loafing, Atlanta’s iconic alternative publication. In this first part of the interview, he talks about covering Atlanta’s music scene for 20 years and its evolution under the tension of being labeled as a “purely hip-hop town or a purely rock town.” Radford also discusses the problem of looking at the South through New York lenses.

In the second part of the interview, Chad Radford talks about Atlanta’s cultural diversity, the impact of Trump’s election on our perception of cultural inclusivity, and how to cover beyond “four white dudes playing indie rock.” He recaps some examples of the Hispanic presence in the local music scene (from Victor Mariachi to Yukons, Kibi James, and Upchuck). - Polivision

5. Hearing The Marshall Mathers LP for the first time. Any millennial who’s into hip-hop knows where they were when they first heard this album. Violence, sex, and drugs put together with poetry and sarcasm — it affected me deeply. I knew I wanted to rhyme with the same impact.

4. Seeing Death Grips play at the Masquerade. Jam-packed in a crowd of crazy kids suffocating me, I witnessed how an artist's presence alone can stir up a reaction. The pandemonium showed me what great music can do. I was terrified and amazed at the same time.

3. Meeting André 3000. Edgewood Ave. is where I met André 3000 walking with his entourage, holding a laptop. Meeting an idol in the flesh makes the dream much more feasible to someone on the come up.

2. Weapons Of Our Ancestors. My debut album, produced by [izo], is my first official project. Releasing it is a surreal experience that I'm still trying to understand. Seeing people purchase my music digitally and physically at a record store (shoutout to Criminal Records and Wax ’N' Facts) was a wonderfully motivating milestone for me.

1. Playing my first live show on August 18, 2016. I was an opener for a show put together by WAKE at 529. As a shy and extremely nervous person I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. The outcome, though, was like a movie. People were cheering at the end of my set. This influenced me to break the fear of expressing myself in public. - Creative Loafing

Victor Mariachi is a 27 year old Rapper from Gwinnett County Georgia and raised in a Mexican family living in the US. Heavily influenced by the genres in the mid to late 90s era of rappers like Nas, Tupac and Eminem, Victor started out with mixtape releases on Datpiff. Now with his latest project 'Weapons of Our Ancestors' Victor has gained some popularity in the city. His music has been described as hard-hitting and thought provoking by media outlets such as 'Creative Loafing Atlanta' and 'Immersive Atlanta'. Victor Mariachi is on a mission to break the stereotypes of race and to keep pushing the legacy of hip-hop music forward to future generations. - Culture on the Cobb