Komboa

Komboa is my middle name. It’s a Swahili word that means “redemption”.

I started rapping in 2000 and began recording in 2003.

I’ve grown up listening to an eclectic array of music. Some of the most notable
are Big Pun, Rakim, 2Pac, Wu Tang, Big L, The Roots, Notorious B.I.G., Kid Frost,Cypress Hill, Rage Against the Machine, Sepultura, Thelonious Monk, Metallica,James Brown, Faith No More, Dream Theater, Atahualpa Yupanqui, Vicente Fernandez,Mozart, Bad Religion, Rancid, Black Label Society and Pantera. The list goes on and on.

I’ll summarize it as: sincerity, strength, dignity, anger, hope, empowerment, reality,heartache, struggle, culture and self-awareness.

I don’t care about being the “hardest”, the “sickest” or the most popular. I have managed to open many doors for myself by staying true to who I am and to my art.

First and foremost it represents me. It’s my past, present and future. It communicates my culture, my history and my life. It’s like an excerpt of everything I have endured and everything that crosses my path, both mental and physical.

I’ve been told (for varying reasons) that I remind people of Zach de la Rocha, Planet Asia, Eminem, Big Pun and Mike Shinoda.

Yes. I’m with an independent record label by the name of Audible Mechanix Creative Syndicate.

I’ve had the fortune to share the stage with Afu-Ra, Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, LMNO, 2Mex, Scarub & Afro Classics, Akil-Ammar (Mexico), Intifada (Puerto Rico), La Septima (Venezuela), Malena of Actitud Maria Marta (Argentina), Olmeca, Skool 77 (Mexico), and Detane, among others.

As Redención (Redemption) I released “L.A. Redencion Mixtape Vol.1” in 2003 (mixtape), “Antidepresivo” in 2006 (l.p.), “El Preludio” in 2005 (e.p.) and “Redencion EP” in 2008 (e.p.).

I’m working on a collaborative project with Definition Baroque from Sweden and soon after I will begin working on my first album as Komboa.

I’m a full-time graphic artist.