Watch the full interview now as a VladTV Youtube Member: Click Here
Part 5: Rico 2 Smoove on Being Locked Up When He Met His Dad for the First Time
Part 1: Rico 2 Smoove on Dad Sentenced to 17 Years Before Birth, Calls Blacks & Mexicans Judgmental
--------
Rico 2 Smoove, a rapper rising from the streets, shares the dynamics behind why Norteños and Sureños avoid collaborations, unlike Crips and Bloods who have overcome past rivalries to work together. Emerging from a backdrop of street politics, Rico recounts how he started rapping not as a career choice, but as a pastime post-incarceration using BandLab, initially releasing tracks independently. Despite working with certain producers and industry figures, the complexities of Norteños-Sureños tensions limited potential collaborations. Rico explains that while he has personally encountered Sureños and maintained respect without conflict, historic rivalries prevent music partnerships. For him, it's about mutual respect rather than hostility, unless provoked. In contrast, he cites how Crips and Bloods, notably through artists like Nipsey Hussle and YG, have transcended past animosities, setting examples of unity in the music industry—a path seemingly inaccessible for Mexican crews like Norteños and Sureños due to entrenched divides in California's gang culture.
