Hurricane G

Born and raised in Brooklyn, female rapper Hurricane G is among the Puerto Rican MCs who came out of New York in the '90s. Hurricane, whose real name is Gloria Rodriguez, took a bilingual approach; most of her lyrics are in English, although she has no problem flowing in Spanish. And when Hurricane provides Spanish-language lyrics, she raps in the Newyorican dialect; a type of Spanish (or "Spanglish") that is spoken by Puerto Ricans in and around the Big Apple. (Other Puerto Rican MCs who have rapped in Newyorican-style Spanish have ranged from Mesanjarz of Funk to <a href="spotify:artist:66Gaxp5VelhzB83W4E3VRS">the Mean Machine</a>, whose 1981 hit "Disco Dreams" was the first rap single to include Spanish lyrics.) Those who speak Spanish would have no problem identifying Hurricane as a Puerto Rican New Yorker; her use of Spanish is different from the Cuban-American rapping one hears in Miami or the Mexican-American "vato loco" rhymes one associates with West Coast MCs like <a href="spotify:artist:6OxjXk1y4QXXRUJyldFIIG">Kid Frost</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4P0dddbxPil35MNN9G2MEX">Cypress Hill</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7AyywyUcQP99oit737gZK2">Lighter Shade of Brown</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6oDlyUPSZb2qkvuqN3hGyN">tha Mexakinz</a>.

In the '90s, Hurricane became the first female member of the Def Squad, an East Coast hip-hop clique whose other members have included <a href="spotify:artist:2VX0o9LDIVmKIgpnwdJpOJ">Erick Sermon</a> (of <a href="spotify:artist:3zpKjsMg2gw1St5WcWoUJN">EPMD</a> fame), <a href="spotify:artist:2bwR166mSJEJrYJqfyust3">Keith Murray</a> (best known for his 1994 hit "The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World,"), and <a href="spotify:artist:7xTKLpo7UCzXSnlH7fOIoM">Redman</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:3zpKjsMg2gw1St5WcWoUJN">EPMD</a>, in fact, is among Hurricane's influences; like <a href="spotify:artist:3zpKjsMg2gw1St5WcWoUJN">EPMD</a>, Hurricane favors a deadpan, very direct and straight-forward rapping style and doesn't inundate listeners with technique for the sake of technique. Around 1994, the Brooklyn native signed with Capitol, but she didn't get far with that label; when Capitol did a lot of downsizing, Hurricane was among the victims and found herself without a record deal. It was in early 1997 that she resurfaced on producer <a href="spotify:artist:6JjTnHt1P7gQXlcFDoI4IC">Jellybean Benitez</a>' New York-based H.O.L.A. Recordings, whose name is an acronym for "Home of Latino Artists." (<a href="spotify:artist:6JjTnHt1P7gQXlcFDoI4IC">Benitez</a> is best-known for being among <a href="spotify:artist:6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW">Madonna</a>'s early supporters.) H.O.L.A. released All Woman, Hurricane's debut album, in September 1997; <a href="spotify:artist:6JjTnHt1P7gQXlcFDoI4IC">Benitez</a> was listed as the executive producer. Regrettably, the album wasn't a big seller, and when the 21st century arrived, Hurricane had yet to provide a second LP. Hurricane G died on November 6, 2022; she was 52 years old. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi