Omar Camacho was 18 years old when he asked his parents for permission to leave high school. It wasn’t a whim: his musical career was already taking off. Now, at 19, he presents his debut album I will never die, a fusion of regional Mexican music with hip hop that includes collaborations with Víctor Mendivil, Óscar Maydon and Santa Fe Klan.
Born in Chula Vista, California, and raised between Tijuana and Sinaloa, Camacho grew up listening to corridos and American rap. His rise to fame came through the Internet, where he uploaded singing videos. Óscar Maydon signed it for his Rico o Muerto label.
“I went straight to making music,” he explained in an interview. “My parents didn’t let me leave high school. I always told them ‘hey, let me leave because I’m fine now, I don’t want to wake up early’, but they wouldn’t let me, until it became a little more real.”
Now he gets up early for concerts, composition or video recording. His parents’ doubts were logical: there was no history of professional musicians in his family, although there were amateurs like his father and his aunts.
Collaborations that marked the album
The first song that opened the way for him was “2+2” with Víctor Mendivil. Then came “4×4”, with the same guest plus Angel Almaguer and $HUPE. Santa Fe Klan joined in for “Atrévete” and “Biggie di Bong.”
“Collaborating with Víctor Mendivil was a dream for me, thank God it came true,” said Camacho. “The beautiful song ‘2+2’ came out and I showed it to him and he liked it and decided to record it on his own.”
Regarding Santa Fe Klan, he added: “He invited us to his house in Guadalajara. He has a very different way of recording and he is very up to date. I mean, you can see that he really loves music.”
Oscar Maydon, in addition to being a mentor, appears in “The City of the Sun.” Camacho says that he called him when he was sleeping: “He told me ‘here I have a song that would be good for you, I imagined it with your voice’. I was very excited.”
The bonus track “3AM” features Jimmy Guzmán, Alemán and Gera MX. Camacho feels proud to belong to the new generation of Mexican rappers.
“I want my music to never die,” he said. “May my music always be there and be heard, even if there is one person in the world listening to me.”
Camacho will perform at the end of November at the Coca-Cola Flow Fest, where he has already been a guest of Mendivil. Now he hopes to be the headliner. He also plans a concert tour for his album.
