Elcamino

Buffalo, New York-based rapper ElCamino pays heed to his East Coast hip-hop roots, sticking to the boom-bap sound and his association with Griselda Records and Black Soprano Family. Although born in Buffalo, he moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he made his first forays into recorded music. Shortly thereafter, he moved back to Buffalo to pursue music more seriously, originally under the name Meechy Camino and by attaching himself to rap crew Local Residents. His debut solo recordings appeared in 2015, including "Doxa," "The Natural," and "1996." The following year, he met Westside Gunn and became associated with Griselda Records. They planned their first proper tour in the summer of 2017, but ElCamino couldn't join them because he was on probation and wearing an ankle monitor. He used the time to write and begin recording his debut album, 2018's ElCamino, at which point he dropped Meechy from his name. A further nine projects were issued over the next two years, including the standout release Lott & Abraham in 2019. The releases kept on coming, with four full-length projects in 2022, including Let There Be Light and ElCamino 3. 2023 saw the release of They Spit on Jesus, the rapper's debut project as a Black Soprano Family artist. The LP included features from Benny the Butcher, Armani Caesar, Inspektah Deck, Havoc, Fuego Base, and Loveboat Luciano. ~ Liam Martin, Rovi