Frost (rapper)
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| Frost | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Arturo Molina Jr. |
| Also known as | Kid Frost The Frost |
| Born | May 17, 1965 [1] |
| Origin | East Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | Hip Hop |
| Years active | 1984-present |
| Labels | Virgin, Ruthless, Koch, Low Profile |
| Website | Official |
Arturo Molina Jr. (born May 31, 1965), better known as Frost (Originally Kid Frost), is a Mexican American hip hop artist.
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[edit] Music career
Molina was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California and occasionally lived with his family in military bases in Guam and Germany. He began his rap music career in 1982 as Kid Frost as a tribute to his rival, Ice-T, whom he often battled in the music industry. He soon became a breakdancer for Uncle Jamms Army.[1]
In the late 1988s, Kid Frost moved to Virgin Records. Virgin released his first and biggest hit, "La Raza". His debut album, Hispanic Causing Panic was released in 1990 featuring A.L.T.. He also established a Latin rap supergroup called Latin Alliance, which released their only album, Latin Alliance, in 1991. His second album, East Side Story was released in 1992, which featured MC Eiht, A.L.T. and Ganxta Ridd from the Boo-Yaa TRIBE.
In 1995, Frost dropped the "Kid" from his nickname and signed with Ruthless Records, Eazy E's label (distributed by Relativity). Smile Now Die Later was released that year. Above The Law were featured as guest rappers, alongside A.L.T., O. Genius and Kokane. Rick James also appeared on Frost's version of "Mary Jane". His second album for Ruthless, When Hell.A.Freezes Over, was released in 1997. Ice T, Scoop, O. Genius and Domino also appeared as guest rappers.
In 1999, Frost moved to a small independent label called Celeb-entertainment records. His first album for Celeb-entertainment titled This Was Then This Is Now Vol. I was released in 1999. Kurupt, King T, Baby Bash, Jay Tee, Jayo Felony, Xzibit, B-Legit, and Cameosis were featured on the CD. That Was Then This Is Now Vol. II was released in 2000. Frank V., Clika One, Jay Tee, Baby Bash and other guest rappers were also featured on the CD.
2002's Still Up In This Shit!, released by Hit-A-Lick / Koch Records, featured more Latin rap style and G-Funk tracks as well as a hidden bonus rock track titled "Cannabis". Mellow Man Ace, Daz Dillinger, Baby Bash, A.L.T., Nino Brown, Don Cisco and other guest rappers appeared, and one track featured the group Tierra. Somethin' 4 The Ridaz was released in 2003 on 40 Ounce Records and featured various hip hop artist from Texas.
In 2005 Welcome To Frost Angeles was released on Thump Records, which was produced almost entirely by Frost and his son, Scoop De'Ville. Only the Intro is produced by Binky Womack, and Philly Blunt co-produced one track. Guest rappers included Cameosis, Genovese and Jay Tee. Frost again signed to Low Profile Records and released his album Till The Wheels Fall Off in 2006. It had various guest appearances which included Baby Bash, Scoop De'Ville and Mr. Sancho.
Frost also performed music for films including "Bite the Bullet (Theme from Gunmen)" in the 1993 film Gunmen and "Tears Of A Mother" in the film No Mothers Crying, No Babies Dying, which featured Ice T. Frost is also an accomplished actor appearing in several films, as well as doing voice roles for fictional characters such as T-Bone Mendez from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and contributing his song "La Raza".
He was named Vice President of the Music Division of Goldmark Industries on August 30, 2006. Frost also appeared in a cameo role in Snoop Dogg's "Vato" music video, as well as B-Real that same year. He adopted the name Kid Frost in tribute to Ice-T, whom he often battled at parties and clubs as the West Coast hip-hop scene was first taking shape. During this era, he released several 12" singles, including "Rough Cut" (with Wreckin Cru´s DJ Yella) and "Terminator".
He subsequently left rap for a time, but returned in the late '80s, when he hooked up with producer/DJ Tony G (born Gonzales). Their collaboration on the 1990 single "La Raza" broke Kid Frost to a wide audience, and became a much-loved anthem for Chicano hip-hop fans. Paced by his smooth, laid-back flow, his good-time debut album, Hispanic Causing Panic, was released on Virgin that year, and was one of the first full-lengths in Latin hip-hop history, along with Mellow Man Ace's Escape From Havana the preceding year.
In the wake of "La Raza," Kid Frost assembled a collective of bilingual rappers dubbed Latin Alliance, which also featured A.L.T., Lyrical Engineer, and Markski; the group released its lone album in 1991. The following year, Kid Frost issued his second album, East Side Story, a loose concept record that spun off the singles "No Sunshine" and "Thin Line." Virgin subsequently dropped him, however, and after shortening his name to the more mature Frost, he signed with Eazy-E's Ruthless label shortly before the rapper's death from AIDS.
1995's Smile Now, Die Later reinvented Frost as a hardcore urban rapper rhyming over Latin-inflected G-funk beats. It became his first album to reach the Top 40 of the R&B charts, and the single "East Side Rendezvous" was a minor success. Frost followed it up in 1997 with When HELL.A. Freezes Over, but subsequently parted ways with Ruthless. He resurfaced on the smaller independent labeCeleb, where he released two albums, That Was Then, This Is Now, Vols. 1 & 2, over 1999-2000.
Still active over a decade after his debut album, Frost released the aptly titled Still Up in This S#*+! on the indie label Hit-a-Lick in 2002; it was later picked up by Koch for distribution. The same year, he masterminded a compilation of Latino rappers for 40 Ounce Records titled Raza Radio.
[edit] Discography
| Album Information |
|---|
Hispanic Causing Panic
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East Side Story
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Smile Now, Die Later
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When Hell.A. Freezes Over
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That Was Then, This Is Now, Vol. 1
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That Was Then, This Is Now, Vol. 2
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Still Up In This Shit
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Somethin' 4 the Riderz
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Welcome to Frost Angeles
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Till the Wheels Fall Off
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Blunts N Ballerz
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[edit] Compilations
| Album Information |
|---|
Frost's Greatest Joints
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Raza Radio
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Greatest Joints Dos
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The Best of Frost: The Remix Album
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[edit] Latin Alliance
| Album Information |
|---|
Latin Alliance
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[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop | U.S. Rap | Hot Latin Tracks | |||
| 1990 | "La Raza" | #42 | #59 | #14 | #33 | Hispanic Causing Panic |
| 1992 | "No Sunshine" | - | #79 | #40 | - | East Side Story |
| 1992 | "Thin Line" | - | #82 | #45 | - | East Side Story |
| 1995 | "East Side Rendezvous" | #73 | #74 | #23 | - | Smile Now, Die Later |
| 1996 | "La Raza II" | #72 | #70 | #45 | - | Smile Now, Die Later |
| 1996 | "La Familia" | #77 | - | #39 | - | Smile Now, Die Later |
| 1997 | "What's Your Name (Time Of The Season)" | - | - | #32 | - | When Hell .A. Freezes Over |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Huey, Steve (2006). "Frost > Biography". allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:j9fexqy5ldde~T1. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
[edit] External links
- Interview with Kid Frost & Dave Storrs & Biography on westcoastpioneers
- Kid Frost The Raza
- Frost (rapper) at the Internet Movie Database
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