ProHoeZ SOUL SUR VIVOR
T
ac East Palo Alto, C A
he abundance of rol e models in East Pa lo Alto is about as that light of seaso existent as Marriott nal bliss, for some children, threatens ’s Great America tra of the child who ba to never wake from ffickers during the rely escaped that om month of Decembe winter’s dark slumb nipotent shadow. His r. And er. EPA rapper ProHoeZ en vir on s may have been clo “All a nigga can do ak knows the cours se, but they sure as is be a bookworm e hell ain’t Stanford. and do right and go “I chose the wrong to school and beco road. If it wasn’t for me somebody or jus music, I’d probably t be a nothin’,” the be dead somewhere rapper / producer .” In choosing the pe confesses. rilous side of that twofold equation, Pro, born Simon McKinley, sea so himself in the fine arts of drug peddlin ned g, gangbanging, petty thievery and in the process, refined an inherited pe his father. The latter nchant for pimping from speaks to the uniqu ing of his name. “M e y dad named me Pro spellHoeZak cause he said I ne ed to calm my ass down,” he explains. “But I wa nted to be creative with the shit, so I spelled it with the ‘Hoe’ silen t cause hoes ain’t ‘sposed to speak.” Whether misguided or pimp is quick to de unguided, the former nounce his path as misfortune and circumsta nce. Those circumsta nces slowly began to ch ange each time his cousin and original memb er of Public Enemy, Fla Flav, visited the Ba y. “I was just aroun va d them back stage and wh atnot whenever the y came to town,” ProHoeZak admits. “I got to be with them and check out a dif ferent part of life besides being a knucklehea d.” Taken aback by the bri overall positive res ght lights, big crowds and ponse to PE’s tight kn Pro decided on DJi ng. A natural music it camp, ian even before his love of Hip Hop and the de sire to broaden his horizon s, the young talen t fiddled with the keyboard and other instrume nts at his leisure. But it was Flav’s example tha t took him over the top. “Whe n I saw them doin’ their thing, it made me want a piece of it,” he rem embers. As such, Pro earne d his and relied on his DJi first record deal in 1989 ng production in an ast skills to learn studio onishing two week s. Upon convincing his lab el he set, the talented em ad that he was a vital ascee contributed to up of ten albums – fiv e of his own and fiv wards e of which he produced for other artists. In 1994 the budding producer/ra pper then known as moved on, landing C Funk a deal with Scarfa ce/Pri ity and San Francisc o veteran emcee Pa orris. Over the next decade, he landed production credits for the likes of Dig ital Underground, E-40 Conscious Daughte rs, Rappin’ 4-Tay, Cel , ly Cell, San Quinn, Sugar Ra y and Messy Marv, among others. Since uniting with In Ya Face Records , Pro has all but resurrected his career and his new album Did You Get It Yet?, is living proof. “I got some shit on this album ,” he promises. “Ev erybody gon’ say that abou t they album, but I can say it because I’ma back mine up.” // Words by N. Ali Ea rly Photo courtesy of Top Shelf Ent.
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