David Rolas

Mexican American David Rolas, son of a Durango born mother and a father from Jalisco, worked his way into the upper echelons of Los Angeles hip hop community.

He became a sought after disc jockey at the cities most influential hip hop radio station, Power 106. That led to club gigs, where he was known as Dave Jams and where he met Latino rappers such as Mellow Man Ace, Kid Frost and Tha Mexakinz. Hailing from South Central L.A., David Rolas is a Mexican American whose experience is similar to thousands of young Latinos with Mexican parents (mother from Durango, father from Jalisco), who grow up absorbing several cultures, the Mexican at home and the American in school. While simultaneously absorbing a hybrid culture in the streets of the Angeleno metropolis, in which the new urban sound of hip hop was bred.

While at home we listened to mariachi songs and Banda tunes, in the street we heard, ate and drank hip hop. David assures, as a witness to the birth of the hip hop culture in his surroundings, which, influenced him to get involved in the scene. In high school, I would get together with my boys and we began to break dance, at first we learned by watching other dancers perform, but many times we made up our own steps . After finishing high school, David focused his attention to his other interest of becoming a DJ. At the time there was only one station in L.A. that would play hip hop, so I listened to it religiously, to learn about what was popular, I would also go to parties, talk to rap groups, thus I started increasing my collection, so I could be able to play the newest and the most requested underground jams , says David. For me, hip hop music was an inspiration to do something with my life, helping me avoid 'El Desmadre', of getting in gangs, it helped me do something positive with my life . At the same time, David was studying to obtain his license as a radio DJ. He quickly landed an on the air stint at a local popular station, Power 106.

During his stay at Power 106, they became the most influential hip hop station in Los Angeles and David took a protagonist role during this phase. Being part of the Loose Crew on Frank Lozanos evening show, David pioneered the use of freestyles on the radio, by rapping spontaneously on the air, a then unknown concept on the radio waves. David's visibility was such that he began to receive invitations to DJ at Los Angeles and Hollywood clubs. His skills behind the turntables made him became one of the most important and sought after DJ's in the L.A Club scene. Known as Dave Jams, he displayed an ability to work the crowds and hip hop fans, regardless of their racial origin. As a Latino, he won over some hard to please African American crowds. In my beginnings as a DJ, a promoter hired me for a club whose clientele was mainly African American, it was an interesting experience, since the crowd at the club were known to be very selective of their taste in music, they wanted 100% hip hop, and they would see me, a Latino, they would stare, but when they started listening to the songs and my mix, they would accept me unconditionally .

Thanks to his experience as a DJ, David met many key people inside the world of hip hop. He befriended people like DJ Evil E (Ice T's DJ), Mellow Man Ace, Kid Frost, Proper Dos, Lighter Shade Of Brown, and The Mexicans, among others. During that time, he recorded some demo cuts, just for fun, with several MCs., among them the now members of Delinquent Habits. Parallel to his DJ career, David belonged to various underground hip hop groups, like Brotherhood Movement, which had a single deal with Solar Records in the mid nineties and a song called "Out of The Ashes" that was produced by world renowned producer Johnny "J" who at that time had already started working with artists such as 2PAC. I liked belonging to a group, but I was very involved with my DJ gigs, so we would record mostly for fun, I didnt have the time to commit to a group, 100% of the time and to being an MC. says David, but I was always writing.

However, David's luck was about to change, when some time later, he meets up with, an old friend, Byron Brizuela, producer and founder of Brizz Productions, known for his remixes for Juan Gabriel, Marco Antonio Solis, Paulina Rubio, Kumbia Kings among others. Byron and David had previously collaborated on several rolas (jams) during the nineties. Both David and Byron share an affinity to record and perform hip hop not only in Spanish, but also with an urban Latino flavor. Unfortunately, the record labels were not interested. "At that time, and we are speaking of barely a couple of years back, the labels saw Latino hip hop, as too risky. They told us this is not going to sell, but we knew that hip hop combined with the Latino culture is part of the culture of this city. " The union of David and Byron enticed them to create a new project, called Nuestra Vida (Our Life), an album that promises to be groundbreaking among the evolving Urban Regional genre. The album "TATUAJES" Now David Rolas presents his sophomore release titled Tatuajes (tattoos) an album that he describes as a reflection of his past, present and future. Tatuajes, closely follows a personal approach to his life painting a mosaic of his struggle as an artist and as a person in the quest for survival in the game called life. This album continues to follow his signature style of urban regional drenched in banda, song highlights on this work are: Un Poema a self portrait of the artist, Cada Dia Mas a special song dedicated to his wife and his appreciation towards her unconditional support, on a lighter note David Rolas also features party songs such as Noche De Parranda and La Fiesta are songs that speak of having a good time with friends and enjoying life. The Album " Mi Mundo"

David Rolas musical quest lies in his pursuit for the purist incorporation of Latin and Urban music. His hooks are catchy, yet playful, creative, memorable and most importantly true to their respective roots. His flow is on point and his beats have enough energy and creativity to stand on their own. Throughout his career David Rolas has believed that music is “ not only inspirational but triumphant in the sense that it can touch the hearts of millions of people.” Now on his third album titled “Mi Mundo” David Rolas sets forth with one goal in mind, to showcase the cultural mosaic that lies within the West Coast Hip-Hop music scene by uniting some of the leading recording artists in the industry such as: Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas, Ozomatli, Akwid and Mexiclan amongst others. The album includes 12 songs and three bonus tracks of his previous hit track “La Fiesta Remix”, plus two versions of his current single “Morena” the ‘extended DJ Mix’ and ‘Spanglish’ version, plus a deluxe DVD for the fans with special behind the scenes footage, interviews, photo gallery, biography and the popular videos for “Malagradecida”, “La Fiesta” and “La Fiesta Remix”. The first single off this album is titled “Morena”, a sizzling rhythmic cut and the most representative of his goal, featuring Wil-Dog, Raul, Justin, & Uli of Ozomatli, Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas, and León from Mexiclan. “Mi Mundo” was recorded at Sound About Studios in Van Nuys and was produced by David Rolas and The Beat Machines with the collaboration of I-9 (Wil- Dog of Ozomatli’s production company) and Francisco of Akwid.