Gerardo

Gerardo Mejía (born April 16, 1965^[1]), better known as simply Gerardo, is a Latin rapper and singer who later became a recording industry executive. Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador,^[2] he has based his career in Los Angeles, California since his family moved to Glendale, California, when he was 12 years old. He became known for his bandana, skintight jeans and shirtless torso. He sometimes refers to himself as the "Latin Elvis" or the "Latin Frank Sinatra".^[3]

As a performer

Gerardo's first major appearance in show business was as Ricky in the 1987 feature film Can't Buy Me Love.^[2] He was later cast as the character Bird in the 1988 film Colors, about South Central Los Angeles gang violence. This was also the first time his dance skills were showcased, in one of the party scenes; however, he did not sing at any point in the film.

His hit single "Rico Suave" appeared on his 1991 debut album, Mo' Ritmo. The album peaked at #36 on the Billboard 200 chart in June 1991; the single had peaked at #7 in April. This song, as well as some others of Gerardo's, include verses with lines in both English and Spanish. Although his following single "We Want the Funk" (a semi-remake of Parliament's "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker") peaked at #16,^[4] the popularity of "Rico Suave" has incorrectly made Gerardo known as a one-hit wonder via sources including MTV, VH1,^[5] Synthesis^[6] and even Gerardo himself.^[5]

Recent times

Now an A&R executive at Interscope Records, Gerardo was responsible for bringing Enrique Iglesias to the attention of Interscope Label Executives in early 1999. He also signed rapper Bubba Sparxxx.^[3]

Discography

Albums

Singles

• "Rico Suave" (1991)
• "We Want the Funk" (1991)
• "When the Lights Go Out" (1991)
• "Love" (1992)
• "Maria Elisa" (1994)
• "Ae-Ah" (The Outhere Brothers featuring Ricardo) (1998)
• "Americana" (2004)

References

External links

• Interview
• Gerardo Mejía respondió preguntas de los lectores, El Universo, 12 July 2007 (Spanish)