99. 2Mex, B Boys in Occupied Mexico
Mean Street Records
Released October 9, 2001

Alex “2Mex” Ocana’s career dates back to the mid 90s, and sprawls over dozens of tour-only CD-Rs, side projects (including now-defunct supergroup the Visionaries) and poorly-distributed albums, including his best album, B Boys in Occupied Mexico. As one song goes, it’s “Humble is the Style of the Day.” It’s modest yet warmly human: 2Mex rues “I didn’t mean to touch your hand/I didn’t realize I was so grotesque,” then a few numbers later offers “The Believe in Yourself Song.” Not quite emo-rap (though Spin would claim 2Mex as part of that tribe in an infamous article), it gives a vivid portrait of a Latin B-boy in Los Angeles that rips punchy lyrics and “percussion precaution” over Omid’s break beats. “I am the stone in the sun,” he says on “Offering.” “I am the poem in your lungs.”

2Mex (pictured right) is on the road again. This time, he’s not doing one of his stealth “house” tours, but playing small and mid-size clubs throughout the country. Now all we need is that Strange Famous album…maybe this year?

Here are the dates:

• 3/02: The Glass House, Pomona, CA
• 3/03: Red Owl, Tempe, AZ
• 3/04: Boomers, Las Vegas, NV
• 3/05: Warehouse 508, Albuquerque, NM
• 3/06: Hideaway Lounge, El Paso, TX
• 3/07: Flamingo Cantina, Austin, TX
• 3/08: Triple Crown, San Marcos, TX
• 3/09: The Reggae Bar, San Antonio, TX
• 3/10: Ridglea Theatre, Fort Worth, TX
• 3/11: The Gramophone, St. Louis, MO
• 3/13: Nomad World Pub, Minneapolis, MN
• 3/15: Rapture, Charlottesville, VA
• 3/16: Bohemian Caverns, Washington, DC
• 3/17: The Big Easy, Portland, ME
• 3/18: KC’s Tap, Pawtucket, RI
• 3/19: Southpaw, Brooklyn, NYC
• 3/20: TBA, Fairfax, VA
• 3/22: Shadow Lounge, Pittsburgh, PA
• 3/23: Peabody’s Concert Club, Cleveland, OH
• 3/24: Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL
• 3/25: Record Bar, Kansas City, MO
• 3/26: The Walnut Room, Denver, CO
• 3/27: Smitty’s Greenlight Tavern, Pueblo, CO
• 3/28: Black Sheep, Colorado Springs, CO
• 3/30: The Royal Lounge, Olympia, WA
• 3/31: Club Motor, Seattle, WA
• 4/01: Ash Street Saloon, Portland, OR
• 4/02: Old Princeton Landing, Half Moon Bay, CA
• 4/03: Paid Dues Festival, San Bernardino, CA
• 4/04: Se7ens West Street Market, Reno, NV
• 4/05: Cypress Lounge, Santa Cruz, CA
• 4/06: Blue Lamp, Sacramento, CA
• 4/07: Club 6ix, San Francisco, CA
• 4/08: Empire Theatre, Stockton, CA
• 4/09: Self Help Graphics, East Los Angeles, CA
• 4/10: Portugalia, San Diego, CA

(all dates) w/Liferexall

This video is seven minutes long…too long. But it has some impressive shots of the Los Alamitos Race Course, and hey, it’s 2Mex (with beats by Deeskee). Hopefully it’s a teaser for his forthcoming Strange Famous album.

Directed by Ryan Spencer.

Last night, 2Mex sent out a MySpace message announcing the end of Visionaries. This may not come as a surprise to those who haven’t followed the group in a while (like myself); its last album, We Are The Ones (We Have Been Waiting For), dropped in 2006. Still, it’s unwelcome news.

The full text of 2Mex’s MySpace message is below.

my take on the breaking up of the VISIONARIES CREW.
Body: so i just talked to LMNO and he told me that he was on MIKE nardone show lastnight and that he finally said what needed to be said , that the VISIONARIES at this point are no longer an active group…im glad the truth came out…

i would like to take this opportunity to thank ALL THE FANS THAT HAVE SUPPORTED US SO MUCH SINCE 1997 TIL TODAY!
your loyalty and love have made my life so full of joy that i cant thank you enough..
your love has allowed us to travel all OVER THE WORLD for the past 12 years and see and absorb the beauty that this blessed life has to offer…
for me i must say that the group actually saved my life as the group gave me the love ,confidence,friendship,energy to understand that dispite the negative forces of a sometimes uncaring world ,that its the relashionships and friendships and even the blind love of strangers ,those encounters those embraces that exchange of energy and ideas and kindness are what really make life worth living..weather you came to rock the bells or soldout shows in hollywood or were really there in the trenches at every lil hole in the wall.every lil college show.i thank you…
key
dannu
james
tez
rhett
pap doug kato
trevor
jeff
nancy
and everyone that EVERworked at upabove records
and ever fan and friend that i met around world thank u..
4 great albums, hundreds of songs and shows.and so many wonderful moments…
i thought it was quite ironic that our last show was at an indiginous
hip hop conference with an native dance ceremony before us and a very small crowd of loyal fans there sharing the moment…
im sure the time will come in the future that well play again i hope ,but for for now well continue with our daily creative ways…
i wish things were different i wish we were on our 5th 6th 7th album and we were all as tight as we were ,i would rather us be friends and brothers in the end as we are and will allways be linked to magical moments in los angeles hiphop history..thank u…alex

Last month, 2Mex signed with Strange Famous, the independent label (and growing online store) run by iconoclast Sage Francis. One of the great L.A. rappers, 2Mex hasn’t released a nationally distributed solo project since Mean Street Records issued his 2004 self-titled album. However, he has continued to drop collaborative effors at the drop of a dime, most recently with the Mars Volta’s Ikey Owens (the Look Daggers’ Suffer In Style).

In an informative bio posted on the Strange Famous website, Sage Francis breaks down 2Mex’s untapped potential:

This “golden boy of hip-hop” is possibly the most prolific underground rapper ever, with at least 35 CD releases and too many guest appearances to count. Through hard work and determination, while touring the globe many times over, he has built a cult-like following that tries to keep up with his massive output. Therein lies an anxiety problem and it’s one we’re determined to remedy.

My first exposure to 2Mex was in 1996 when my radio station was serviced with the Visionaries 12″s. I played that material almost every show. Since then we have shared many stages together and every single time we crossed paths he would hand over a new homemade CDR. Every…time. I became overwhelmed at one point and said, “Man…this is too much! You have a lot of great stuff but you’re spreading yourself thin (not literally.)”

I’m not one to quell productivity, but the truth of the matter is I felt lost in his catalog. At a certain point an artist’s body of work can lose tangibility and become intimidating to newcomers if people don’t know where to start or end. …

Over the years we’ve had many discussions about the industry, life on the road, and the non-stop grind that indie artists shoulder through in order to reach the “next level” while maintaining their integrity. In this case, the “next level” is raising one’s status, exposure, and access to the public. Breaking the ceiling when you need a sun roof.

The topic of having 2Mex on SFR was raised and I thought it was perfect. He’s a road dog, he has a penchant for girl trouble, he’s a husky man with a beard, and he’s a freestyling fool.

There was one unique condition that we tossed into the agreement:

“This has to be the quintessential 2Mex album. The best of the best. It will be the next level record. The ceiling breaker. It will be the only 2Mex album that you release in the year that it comes out.”

He agreed. We celebrated. We’re plugging away at that project right now.

Two months ago, L.A. veteran 2Mex sent out a MySpace post announcing “We Book Our Own Tour,” a DIY adventure across the United States. “In true D.I.Y. fashion, these artists are taking control of their own destinies,” he wrote. ” ‘We Book Our Own Tour’ is going to be a monumental 50-60 city tour completely booked by the artists. Be a part of this event and help make ghetto history for underground Hip-Hop.”

Well, 2Mex is finally about to head out on the road. While the schedule isn’t as impressively long as 60 dates — although dates are still being added — it is a two-month journey that will course through towns big (New York City) and relatively small (Manzanita, Oregon). Joining him will be Life Rexall, 2Mex’s collaborator in last year’s $martyr project; Shapeshifters member Existereo; and DJ Pickster One.

As an underrated rap vocalist, 2Mex will bring the freestyle gospel throughout the tour/road trip. Normally a prolific artist, he doesn’t have any product on the market, since he’s working on a major label-distributed album for 2008. Curious heads are advised to purchase a copy of his 2001 underground classic, B Boys in Occupied Mexico.

The tour dates are below.

• 8/07: Voodoo Lounge, San Jose, CA
• 8/10: Blue Lamp, Sacramento, CA
• 8/11: The Past Time, Truckee, CA
• 8/12: The Junk Yard at Dee’s, Reno, NV
• 8/14: Bruno’s, San Francisco, CA
• 8/15: Red Fox Tavern, Eureka, CA
• 8/17: John Henry’s, Eugene, OR
• 8/18: Berbati’s Pan, Portland, OR
• 8/19: Hoffman Center Annex Building, Manzanita, OR
• 8/20: The Clipper, Olympia, WA
• 8/21: Nectar, Seattle, WA
• 8/22: Nightlight Lounge, Bellingham, WA
• 8/23: The Zombie Room, Spokane, WA
• 8/24: Zebra Cocktail Lounge, Bozeman, MT
• 8/25: The Badlander, Missoula, MT
• 8/27: Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
• 8/31: The Summit, Durango, CO
• 9/03: Mooch and Burn, Tulsa, OK
• 9/06: Dinkytowner, Minneapolis, MN
• 9/09: The Picador, Iowa City, IO
• 9/10: Sapphire Lounge, Columbia, MS
• 9/15: McGanns, Boston, MA
• 9/18: The Knitting Factory : Tap Bar, New York, NY
• 9/22: Laundry Bar, Miami Beach, FL
• 9/23: Shantytown Pub, Jacksonville, FL
• 9/27: Tantra House, San Marcos, TN
• 9/28: Rock Bottom Tattoo Bar, San Antonio, TX
• 10/02: Solar Culture, Tucson, AZ
• 10/04: Hollywood Alley, Mesa, AZ

www.myspace.com/2mex