Hot Rod Music

Alibi Picks: Hot Rod Hop

Route 66 has always been synonymous with the culture of cars, and today, the Mother Road gets its vintage groove back with a hefty helping of Rat Fink, rockabilly and pinups during the Hot Rod Hop. Hit up a free classic car show on Central between Fourth and Fifth Streets from 3 to 6 p.m.

Hot Rod Talks 'Dance-Pop' Rap, Working Under 50 Cent - The Boombox

"I didn't know how 50 Cent was going to accept my sound," Hot Rod tells the BoomBox of his move from boom-bap rapper to one more comfortable rhyming over dance-friendly records. "I thought he was gonna say, 'Get the f--- out of here, man.'" However, the G-Unit captain welcomed the new hip-pop ship the California native was sailing on. Signed to Fif's record label since 2006, Hot Rod found himself sitting in musical purgatory after tracks like the Mary J. Blige-assisted 'Be Easy' failed to soar up the charts the way executives would have liked. Hot Rod didn't lose hope though and trekked to Europe, where he earned cold cash for performances and picked up on the Euro-house sound that has soaked many hip-hop songs in recent years. Now the ever-changing rhymer is calling home to 50's G-Note imprint, which gives him more flexibility to play with a myriad of genres like the house music he's been dabbling with lately. His debut album, 'My Life,' will finally rest on store shelves this fall, after flying between the East and West Coasts to shake hands with his boss man to secure a release date. This time around rap enthusiasts may be a bit taken aback by his approach but he's never been one to follow the straight and narrow path. "I'm not gonna be a cookie cutter artist," he states. "Other people try to be safe. I'mma be me and I'mma be the only one like me in this genre." There was most definitely struggles. Just the communication with the label and with 50, that got really, really weak. I had to pretty much fend for myself. In the record business, if your single doesn't do what it's supposed to do, budgets and all that just goes away. It's up to you just to come back strong, whether it's a record or some type of buzz. You know you have to gain the interest of the label back. So the whole time I was in Europe, in Asia. I traveled the world; I was touring for three and a half years. I did countless shows. I was just on the super grind. I'm on my second passport. This was just me grinding -- me, my management and my booking agent when I first got signed and my first time going out to Germany. I pretty much traveled the world, kept money in my pocket and that's where the inspiration and the influence came from, the house, dance, techno world, it came from the European side of it. Well, you know, I'm just West Coast. I can't really pinpoint a super difference. It's really West Coast. But I've been influenced by so many different types of music.