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The twin brothers are charismatic, talented and connected in the street.
Reeko and Jorge have been rapping since the 90s. Reeko Hood and Jorge Bravo are twin brothers that make-up t
he rap duo known as "Loyalty & Honor. "They were born in East L.A. and raised in South Central. Exposure to many
cultures opened new avenues of influences and appreciation. In their early years focused on street performing and
hustling their homemade rap tapes. They grew up like most other kids in South Central, losing friends to violence,
seeing drugs destroy people and learning those street smarts to stay out of the cross-hairs. Reeko Hood and Jorge Bravo
still live in South Central, so they know. Two brothers, rough life, real and respectful. During the early days
of rap, they were influenced by early players such as Run-DMC, Eric B. & Rakim, The Beastie Boys, KRS-ONE,
Public Enemy , N.W.A., Ice Cube, Wu-Tang Clan and Redman to name a few.
They formed their first rap group called “Sifah” along with 2 other friends. The four members experimented with hip-hop styles and performed at many venues across California and Arizona. The group released a self-made CD with tracks they had recorded. During the next couple of years, members dropped-off and only the twin brother remained. In the late 90s they started working with a DJ/Producer that went by the name DJ Panic. For several years, they worked together trying to get a record deal. In 2002, Panic got connected with a production company that was called “La Movida Records” which was run by Eric Medina, Jose Lam and Crooked Stilo. On this label were other groups such as Pueblo Café (Brown Town Looters), Imperial Azteka, Kalimen, Uni-K and others. The twins changed their name to Hijos de Mexico. This was a decision that was made purely due to the production company requesting that they would sign them as Latin Rappers. They worked with Pueblo Cafe and were featured on a track titled “El Danzon.” During this time, DJ then contacted J-vibe (composer/producer) for assistance in developing Pueblo Café’s album titled Busca Oro. J-vibe composed and performed 10 of the album’s tracks. DJ made the drum patterns. J-vibe's compositions "Nuevos Tiempos" and "Toda Mi Vida" became known and eventually ended up on the Mike Judge movie titled Idiocracy. Hijos de Mexico were placed on hold since their producer/DJ was busy on another group’s album. After 8 months of waiting, their DJ started production on another group’s album and it became obvious that he was not going to work on their album. At the end of 2003, the twins cancelled their contract and left the label. They also cut ties with DJ. In late 2003, the twins called producer J-vibe and they discussed the unfairness that they both experienced. During the conversation, they came to an agreement to work together. In early 2004, they began recording tracks for what was to become their first album. It was a learning phase where they were rediscovering what direction to take. This album had one goal-in-mind; to express the human emotion in many forms of music. The album is a refreshing sound to all that hear it. It’s a mixture of complex structures, unique sounds and great lyrics. Loyalty and Honor composed the rap lyrics and J-vibe composed the music/sung lyrics and arrangements. They recorded over 25 tracks. In 2005, their white-label track “Como Las Noticias” was licensed to Lake Shore Entertainment for the movie “DIRTY” starring Cuba Gooding Jr. In final, 16 tracks were selected for the album “World Coast.” It took over 18 months to finish the album. The final album was released in March of 2006. The album is not typical and they knew that. This album was not designed to please a specific hip-hop crowd, but designed as a personal journey into expressionism. It is a creative, emotional and intelligent product. It marked the beginning of a new life and direction. They took everything they loved about music and developed an album that one day will be looked back as a classic. It won’t be noticed by those blinded by mainstream bling-bling, but for those who appreciate human emotion and art, will love this album It includes an original artwork painting of Loyalty and Honor created for the cover by artist HSKY. Currently, they have just finished up recording new tracks for their next release. Written by Smax 2007 |