Down A.K.A. Kilo

In spite of debuting with the hard, West Coast funk-rap album, California Cowboys, Chicano rapper Down aka Kilo broke through to the national arena with the dance-offering club single "Lean Like a Cholo" in 2007. Down, real name Juan Martinez, was born to undocumented immigrants in Oxnard, CA. Listening to the hardcore hip-hop and stoner-funk of Cypress Hill and the explosive gangsta rap of NWA at a young age, Down strongly identified with their music and style of living. He began rapping at age 13 and made his first recordings in a makeshift studio in the garage of his childh...