Jerry Cena, a.k.a. 'Solar One,' said he didn't find success the first time he released a demo CD while he was in high school.
"I kind of got more accepted in town when I got more accepted out of town," Cena said. "I got introduced to Grieves and Type and those guys are from Seattle so when they came into town they put me on their shows and I ended up doing some big shows that way. Then I started doing shows downtown and it took a while."
His next CD release is on Wednesday at Burt's Tiki Lounge at 8 p.m.
Cena said he was anxious to perform because an artist never knows how an audience will take in the music.
"I definitely have a different style than the typical stuff that is going around here, so it took a while for people to even want to hear it," Cena said. "The best way I could describe my music is independent hip-hop. Most of it is based off typical popular hip-hop because that's what I was raised on. Then I got into Atmosphere and Sage Francis and Aesop Rock. They showed me a sub-genre of hip-hop."
Mike Ledford, a.k.a. 'Mic Raw,' is a hip-hop artist in Albuquerque and has played shows with Cena.
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"Not only musically but outside of the music also we really hit it off," Ledford said. "I'm mad proud of him because it is a culmination of works from the past and present and he was able to converge it all onto one musical masterpiece. Each one of his tracks describes the struggle of the everyday MC."
Cena said he enjoys freestyle rapping against other artists and has found a group of local artists to rap with.
"They are good for laughs even though I always seem to lose early and then I just end up drinking," Cena said.
Cena said he got into hip-hop when a friend let him borrow some music recording software.
"I started messing around with recording a bunch of music," Cena said. "Then I quickly realized I had no singing ability whatsoever. So I started recording music with guitars and drums and playing the instruments myself and then writing the hip-hop lyrics after that."
Cena said writing songs is one of the things he enjoys the most about hip-hop.
"Sometimes it's really easy and there is a lot of stuff on your mind, and then other times you are just forcing it out," Cena said. "This particular album has songs that are two or three years old on it because I never had a CD or album to put them on."
Jeff Tune, a.k.a. 'Type,' said he met Cena in 2006 when he and Grieves booked a show in Albuquerque. Tune is a hip-hop artist in Washington, and he has released three solo albums.
"(Cena) was the opening support and he let us crash at his house and we have pretty much been friends since," Tune said. "After that we have been on every show and he has helped promote and set up. He's a really hard working guy, and when we heard him play we thought 'We want this guy on our bill.'"
Tune said Cena has potential to get signed with a record label and to go on tour.
"He is definitely the most promising up-and-coming independent hip-hop artist in Albuquerque," Tune said.
"Dark Days Pass" CD Release Party
Burt's Tiki Lounge
313 Gold Ave S.W.
Wednesday
8 p.m.
$10 for the CD
