[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap] came across Eddie Zuko somehow via Sublime and Lighter Shade of Brown, and in a way, this emerging Southern California voice is a creative mutant of both. His sound is what you might call neo-Chicano soul, a blend of oldies-style rock, hip-hop, SoCal ska, and something ... else, a little cinnamon from the streets, if you will.
Zuko's signature anthem "Made" is a gratifying trip down memory lane for anyone who remembers a childhood being brown and mixed up, upon Chicano lands and freeways, amid dad's oldies and primos' quinceñeras. His voice has punch. Listen close and catch Zuko dig into his gut for emphasis on a note like Bradley Nowell did, or power through a chorus like Post Malone does.
The artist eases between Spanish and English. In the snip below, he's "chillin at my Nanas" eating fideo soup, and for a moment he throws in a Mexican grandmother's scolding noises, as a lyric.
Via Genius:
Chillin at my Nanas eatin a lil sopita,
'Andale come come, caliento mas tortillas,
Ay ay ch ch — mijo no te olvides,
Siempre dale gracias a diosito pa este día', yeah yeah.
It's very funny. As with a lot of the tracks on his 2017 EP, "Made" is filled with inside hood humor that keeps on giving. He makes references to watching caricaturas on Saturday mornings (a SoCal brown social ritual from the 1980s through today) and "Hot Cheetos with the chile."
Zuko made his name on the high school football field, playing half-time shows in Imperial Valley, with crowds in bleachers singing right along with him. Here he is with Central Union High School in El Centro:
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