Mixtape Review: Emilio Rojas – The Natural

Emilio Rojas stands out from the growing number of emerging hip hop artists because of his confidence on the mic and witty lyrics.  Also, it doesn’t hurt that his fashion sense has female fans interested, regardless of what his mixtapes sound like.

Emilio’s talent for rhyming convinced him to drop out of the University of Rochester, where he had begun to make a name for himself as an artist.  He left school to pursue his career, performing shows all over the world, and eventually making his way to Brooklyn, where he currently resides.

His most recent project, The Natural was hosted by DJ Green Lantern, and released earlier this month as a follow up to his impressive Recession Proof mixtape.  Since Emilio wanted this project to tell his story, he choose not to feature any rappers to preserve its continuity.

The mixtape’s first single is “Bold & Arrogant,” but to give you a good feel for Emilio’s talent, I’ve broken down a handful of the tape’s other tracks.

Emilio Rojas – “Piano Bounce.”

Emilio expresses his feelings about being abandoned by his father at age ten with:

“I lost my heritage,
The day I saw my parents split,
Abandoning their marriage,
Daddy stayin in the Sheraton
No speaking Spanish anymore,
Cause its embarrassing to carry the tradition of a man who wouldn’t carry his.”

His father is a recurring topic on The Natural, as we hear Emilio rhyming from his father’s perspective on “Sympathy for the Devil.”  The song serves as an apologetic letter written to Emilio’s family.

Emilio speaks for his father with:

“I gave you my name,
I gave you my pain too,
You’re my first son…
Never was a question of whether you like me,
It’s whether you like it or not you’re living at high speeds…
I’m sorry that you had to see me put my hands on your mom,
Then I jetted and made her handle it all.”

He then comments on his father’s actions with the next lines:

“His abandonment was wrong,
A real man would be strong and hold his family down,
Not abandon his home to chase some ass around,
I understand that you’re grown and past it now,
And that my chances of knowing you are shattered now.”

Another strong track, “Tic Toc,” showcases Emilio’s storytelling ability.

Those three verses about an innocent man in jail, a woman being cheated on, and a soldier far away from home are pretty powerful.

Here’s an excerpt from his verse on the soldier’s stressful service:

“He couldn’t handle it, he buried too many friends,
And sent too many folded flags back to they fam and them,
And now he’s having nightmares of clappin kids,
And young boys that’s aiming snipper riffles at the back of heads,
Aint no packages from home, he’s so sick,
Of being home sick and it’s bullshit, but it’s hopeless,
Cause he can die before he finishes tour,
And he can hear that clock ticking for sure.”

Emilio Rojas – “I want it all.”

Here are the opening lines to this motivational track:

“I’m not motivated by greed,
I’m motivated by need,
I only take what I eat, uh,
They only hate cause I know the way to achieve,
Got my city on my back and my shoulder blade on my street,
Momma told me never to give up,
And anyone saying my name is just a hiccup,
Meaning if I hold my breath they’ll be gone,
I wont address them, I don’t even waste my effort with ya’ll,
I’m destined to ball, I’m picked for fame,
Yea you destined to ball, you like a pick up game,
I remember it all, my momma struggling to pay for them church schools,
And she was working late, while I was late for my curfew.”

As you can tell from these featured tracks, the mixtape is full of quotables.  My favorite line off the tape is “I aint eatin in days and shit is gettin real/  But I roll with model hoes, they love skippin meals,” ha!

Another good line that I haven’t quoted yet is “They dull the pain chasin paper like its novocaine/  I don’t know they names, they my Jane Does/  And they only callin when I put my money in them/  Like a pay phone.”

Other standout tracks are “Only Just Begun,” Breaking Me Down,” and “Untouched.”  As you can tell, this is one of the mixtapes you can play from start to finish!