Lil Rob

Lil Rob is the stage name of Roberto Flores, a rapper of Chicano (Mexican) heritage from San Diego, California. He is also known to go be the name Mister Twelve Eighteen, after his tag as a graffiti artist, which he devised from his nickname's initials - L is the twelfth letter of the alphabet and R is the eighteenth. These numbers mean a lot to Lil Rob; he has them tattooed prominently on his forearms. Lil Rob is today known as one of the most visible rappers in the Chicano rap scene, though he's no newcomer - Lil' Rob has been rapping for over 15 years.

Roberto began rapping in 1992 while in high school, spitting rhymes and freestyling with his friends. His distinctive relaxed, laid-back flow and prominent usage of Mexican imagery and slang served to differentiate him from the rest of the West Coast rap scene and he soon became a regular on the underground mixtape circuit; from 1996 to 2003 he released 11 regionally successful mixtapes, including 1999's Natural High and 2001's Can't Keep A Good Man Down.

Though Lil' Rob's popularity was initially confined to the Chicano rap scene - a tight-knit Southern California community that revolves around neighborhood record labels, low rider meets, and underground performances - he eventually caught the eye of Upstairs Records, a Houston-Based independent Latin rap label whose roster includes Gemini and Amanda Perez. After signing to Upstairs in late 2003, Lil' Rob quickly released his first album Neighborhood Music in February 2004. A modest success, the album made it to the 94th spot on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, putting the veteran rapper on the map.

Lil' Rob made it into the spotlight in 2005 with the release of his second major album, Twelve Eighteen, Pt. 1. The album - which reached the 16th spot on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop charts, as well as the 31st slot on the mainstream Billboard 200 - produced two singles that became popular outside of the standard Chicano rap audience ("Summer Nights" and "Bring Out the Freak In You"), establishing Lil' Rob as the genre's first crossover artist. Hot on the heels of his first mainstream hit, Lil' Rob plans to release his third major record Twelve Eighteen, Pt. 2 sometime in 2008; the first single has already been confirmed to be "Just One Of Those Days", which was released in 2007.

From Lastfm:

Lil Rob (born Roberto Flores in September 1975) is a Chicano rapper from San Diego, California. Lil Rob debuted as an artist in 1992, prior to the release of his album Twelve Eighteen Part 1, he regularly moved as many as 100,000 units for each independent CD he recorded. The number Twelve Eighteen, which is also tattooed on Lil Rob's arms, represent the numeric value of the letters L and R, respectively, which are Lil Rob's initials. The number was used by Lil Rob during his days as a graffiti tagger.

Read more about Lil Rob on Last.fm.

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