thaFormula.com - How long has it been now that you guys have been working on your album?

Omar Cruz – We’ve been working on it pretty much since the summer man.  We’re taking our time with it and we’re doing what a lot of artists don't really do nowadays. Give something that the people could hold on to and when they listen to the record they are gonna know that a lot of thought was put into it.  A lot of hard work, passion and heart. 

thaFormula.com – How has it been going so far and what was the first track that you actually recorded for the album?

Omar Cruz - Actually the first track I recorded for the album is the first song on the album.  It's crazy and it's a song called "Built for This."  Also I have been to Miami to work with Cool & Dre, I’ve been in Cincinnati working with Hi-Tek.  I worked with Nottz, and with my guys out here like Rome.  I really don't care about the names.  It’s a matter of who can fit my sound and what I'm looking for.  Everything is going fucking crazy and this album is coming together.  We’re almost done with it and we’re looking for a summer release.  When we’re done with it, we’re supposed to go to Dre with it and see if Dre wants to jump on which it looks like he is.  So you know just the fact that he's interested in it is a blessing.  But like I said, it's not a matter of who I wanna work with, it's a matter of who has my sound and who can accommodate me with the sound that I need.  I'm not gonna go and work with Cool & Dre because they are hot.  I worked with Cool & Dre because they actually have that soulful sound that I'm known for.  They have that Latin vibe to them.  I went into this record just trying to really put a masterpiece together so that's been my frame of mind.

thaFormula.com - Have the recent mix tapes you made and putting a theme behind them and all that, helped you in the process of recording your actual album?

Omar Cruz -  I've approached my mix tapes like albums.  This last mix tape actually I was able to do a little more freestylin’ just to fucking clown a little bit, but I also gave away some potential album cuts.  There are a few songs on there that were potential album cuts where we said “fuck it, lets give it to them people now.”  Shit like "Vatos Locos" and a few other ones could have definitely been on the album, but I decided to give them to the people.

thaFormula.com - Now I know your parents weren't feeling you trying to make a career out of Hip-Hop, why do you think that so many Latino parents from our generation could never accept Hip-Hop?

Omar Cruz - It's almost like its unreal to them, especially like trying to build a career out of it.  When you’re in high school, they are all for it and all down for the movement and then realize that only like 1 or 2 of them stick with it for the love of it.  For me moms always supported me but you know I'm a first born child of immigrants so you know right now I am their dream.  I’m a product of their blood, sweat and tears and of everything they worked hard for to get over here.  Just working these jobs and shit and it shows in my music and I’m grateful for that and I’m grateful to all Latino parents that work hard for their kids not just to be fuck ups.  ‘Cause I was on a fucked up road for real. I turned it around and I think eventually you have to just snap out of it and do right.  ‘Cause I was watching the George Lopez special the other day and he was talking about how there is a lot of racism in our culture and it's almost like it is what it is man.  Pops thought that maybe I was trying to be black or some shit you know I used to have Michael Jordan and Magic posters and shit like that when I was a little kid.  But shit, I fucking grew up in the hood in South Central, what do you expect?  We were the only Mexicans on the block at the time.  Now it comes back around and it’s all good. But there was definitely struggles and doubt.  At one point I had lost faith in my friends and my family.  But you know if  you get committed and you believe in yourself, people come around and the real muthafuckas will that are really down for you are gonna support you and that's what it is.

thaFormula.com - Why do you think that in a city like Los Angeles that is dominated by Latinos, we haven't seen another group come along doing it real major like Cypress Hill or Kid Frost did it back then?

Omar Cruz - That's a good question.  There are a lot of reasons why. First of all, there is a lot of fucking garbage out there.  I'm sure you have heard a lot of Latino rappers in the past 5 years here and there but who can you honestly say that you have said, “god damn that muthafucka is crazy” about?  I feel proud that muthafuckas look at me that way because I definitely try to be that dude to raise that bar lyrically, production wise and every other level.  I'm trying to compete with whoever is supposedly hot out there, Latino or Black it don't matter.  I think a lot of it has to do with those artists that you mention who maybe didn't do as much to bring other people up.  I'm not blaming them for not bringing up other artists because I know artists like Cypress and Kid Frost tried to put people on.  But I can’t speak for them and know exactly what they did to try and bring people up, but I know that I'm doing what I can to make sure that I'm not the only one. Like the song "Where My Homies" with Jacken and everyone.  That song is a big deal to me and I feel proud when I hear that because I hear a bunch of muthafuckas just spittin' and doing what they do.  I don't have to do that, I could have just been chilling working on my album just doing me.  But I think that's the problem, muthafuckas need to reach out.  That's the only way we are gonna hear more of them and the only way we are gonna come up.  So I'm just gonna go ahead and be an example for what muthafuckas need to do.  If there is someone who you think is hot, put them on.  Fuck it!  I know I'm comfortable in what I do and that no one can fuck with me in what I do.  No one is gonna come take my spot because there is only one me, I know what I do and I'm comfortable there.  That's why I always collab with Jacken whenever I can cause that's my dude, that's my homeboy.  He's one of the sickest MC's, period and he knows that.  He knows that he is one of my favorite MC's.  He's killing muthafuckas.  So like why not reach out to muthafuckas like him and Sinful and these cats that need more exposure and need to be heard.  That's what I think the problem is, muthafuckas ain't being heard and I'm all for what's hot.  But then again there is a lot of garbage out there.  But that's all it is, muthafuckas need to support each other and really look at what your doing.  Don't just rap because you just wanna rap and go in the studio and record and shit. It's not a game.

thaFormula.com - Do you ever feel that you are gonna be stereotyped as just one of those low rider Latin rappers from L.A. or have you faced that already?

Omar Cruz - Hell yeah dog just by the way I look.  My dad is from Columbia, my mom is from Mexico, and I was born and raised here.  I’m a Westsider but I don't gang bang, I don't claim no fucking gang.  It's funny because the hating that I have gotten comes from my own people.  That crab in a barrel mentality like “oh that muthafucka he ain’t from no hood, he ain't this or that.” I'm like “god damn dog, I got to go kill somebody so you muthafuckas will respect me?”  It's just funny to me dog and what it is a lot of time those muthafuckas that talk that shit, I feel sorry for them because it's jealousy dog.  It's like they wish they were where I'm at so instead of supporting, they are gonna go ahead and just talk shit.  Its frustrating dog but I brush that shit off of my shoulders.  Cartoon told me awhile ago, “what are you gonna do, you gonna pay attention to the 1 percent of muthafuckas who hate or the 99 percent of muthfuckas that show you love?”  So you’ve got to just ignore that shit.  My music is gonna open a lot of eyes and wake a lot of people up.  Hip-Hop needs me right now is how I look at it.  If you’re a Latino in rap, you need me to succeed right now, period.  Like there is more to us then just Baby Bash and Lil’ Rob, no disrespect to them but there are more styles out there and I'm one of them.  That's the only way we are gonna break the stereotype.  That's the problem though that they only wanna pump a couple of dudes and that's it.  Nah dude, there needs to be all kinds of dudes and that's why I went and reached out to these dudes who I feel are doing it like Jacken and them.  That's the only way we’re gonna come up.  There is no hate with me because once you hate, you become part of the problem, not the solution.

thaFormula.com - So you dropped your recent mix tape “B.C.,”  How many tracks deep are you on your actual album dropping on Geffen?

Omar Cruz - Man you don't wanna know homie, a lot.  I've done about 50 songs, maybe more.  Now we are just narrowing shit down and the process of elimination is happening.  We have a real strong team with Rome, Lulu and Geffen.  Jimmy Iovine is going crazy over the album and everything is good right now.

thaFormula.com - So Geffen and Iovine have been behind you real strong?

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