Frost (rapper)

Arturo Molina Jr. (born May 31, 1964 in East Los Angeles, California), better known as Frost (Originally Kid Frost), is a Mexican American hip hop artist, who is regarded as one of the most widely recognized Chicano rappers in the hip hop industry.

Music career

Molina Jr. began his rap music career in 1982 and named himself Kid Frost as a revolutionary tribute to his rival, Ice T, whom he often battled in the music industry. He soon joined Uncle Jamms Army and began a music career. Frost's earliest tracks were part of the electro funk sub genre of hip hop music, he was later influenced by gangsta rap and G-funk, as well pioneering hip hop with Latin music influences. The late 1980s saw Kid Frost moved to Virgin Records. Virgin released his first biggest hit, "La Raza", which is widely regarded as the first mainstream single from a Chicano rapper which focused on Mexican American pride and issues. 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 self-titled album 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, 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 as a cameo in Snoop Dogg's "Vato" music video, as well as B-Real that same year.

Discography

Compilations

Latin Alliance

Singles

External links

• Frost (rapper) at the Internet Movie Database