Exposed Vocals Interviews SantosThe3rd
I am an MC who was Born and Raised in the city of Long Beach California I was Raised by my grandmother and grandfather My mom and dad got a divorce when i was about 2 months old, That is when i went to stay with my grandparents My grandma preferred oldies and my grandfather always listened to country.i never had much of an influence as far as the Hip-Hop culture i was 6 years old when i heard 2 Pacs album “All Eyes On Me” ever since i heard that album i fell in love with the passion,anger,and expression they had because i always felt the way they did and could relate to there struggles.
What makes me stand out from all other artist is they always had a mentor as for me i had one mentor in my life for one year. He taught me the basics and as i progressed i just started messing with the equipment and got the hang of it. I have the passion and love for the game but i do not worship it to me artist that consider this a job or as a business i see it as a Life Decision a way to save you from the worlds slavery such as idolizing a car,the best clothes,and the finest jewelry.I rather put my money i earn towards people living in poverty,kids education,Struggling countries,etc. My mindset is more advanced and mature than the average 21 year old. While my homies were out getting drunk partying i was in the studio making hits. I hope y’all enjoy my music This is WestCoast Cali Life Long Beach Breed Hip-Hop Lives!!!
Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
SantosThe3rd: Well, it’s funny, you guys sent me a message on Twitter, I normally don’t use Twitter, but you guys requested an interview. I went to your website, seen the work and opportunities you provide for upcoming artists, and I was intrigued. I appreciate and respect any business that decides to give artists that have no exposure or a promotional team, a platform to get started, and giving them a chance to make a name for themselves. So I responded back on Twitter, followed, responded, and decided to do the interview.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
SantosThe3rd: My name is Santos Aguilera aka SantosThe3rd I was born and raised in Long Beach, CA, my parents became divorced when I was 4 months old, so my grandmother and grandfather raised me as their own. My mom was on drugs, and wasn’t living a lifestyle to raise a child in, so my grandparents got full custody of me, and took me in as their own. My father got another wife, has 2 other children, we have our differences, and I really never knew him. I would see him about once a month, so we never were really close. Even though I didn’t have the best parents, my grandparents gave me a great childhood. Their sons, my uncles, were in gangs, and involved with drugs. They tried their best to keep me from being introduced to that lifestyle. The cops used to come and do raids. My uncle Robert got a murder charge in 2004, and was charged with 115 years to life, I don’t really like going into that too much, but he was set up and has currently been in for 10 years, and is currently working on his appeal. When I was 11, my uncle Emilio was arrested for a concealed weapon (deadly firearm), and a couple more charges, and he received 25 to life. And at the time, my grandfather, who was like a real dad to me, was diagnosed with liver cancer. It hit our family really hard. My grandmother quit her job to stay at home and take care of him. We all reacted differently, I was pretty young, and didn’t really know what cancer was. But I remember my grandfather crying in pain because of it, that is the only time I ever seen him cry besides when his father passed. He was my role model, I looked up to him, not only as a dad, but as a hero. In 2008, it was probably one of the most hardest years that me and grandmother faced. He passed away on Feb. 2, 2008, a day I will never forget. We woke up, my grandmother was making breakfast, I went in his room to call him, and he was very disoriented. I went to tell my grandmother, she ran in the room and seen that he was not responding, besides a bunch of mutters. We all knew something was wrong. My mom, cousin, my grandmother and I were all crying, screaming, confused on what to do. We called the paramedics, and it took them 10 minutes to arrive. That seemed like the longest 10 minutes of my life. When we arrived to the hospital, they told us he had went into a coma. They said that he was going to leave us, and it was only a matter of time before he goes. They were going to incubate him, they were all ready to do it, and my grandmother said “No!”, she wanted to take him home and they advised against it. She got into it with a doctor inside the hospital about taking him home, she said she would give it to Jesus, and the doctor didn’t believe in her faith, and in the argument they assigned a different doctor, which then was a blessing because his original doctor was going on vacation and her flight got delayed, and she heard my grandmother in the hallway. So she called my grandmother to her office and said, “We don’t know how long he has, it could be a day, a month, or a year”. So my grandmother decided she wanted to bring him home, and so his doctor signed the release papers for my grandfather to come home. My grandmother had to pay $5,000 for the ambulance to bring him back home, because it was such a liability. We only lived 15 minutes from the hospital. All the doctors and nurses didn’t believe he’d last 3 days on his own, but he lasted a whole week with the support and love from our family. He had hospice, who came every day, but he got sicker and sicker. On the last day, the priest came and did the last rites. As soon as the priest was done speaking, my grandfather raised his hands up like if he had seen Jesus or God, that is when we knew he was going to Heaven. He passed at 1:53 a.m., Feb. 2, 2008. After that, my grandmother and I were lost on what to do. So, I graduated from the 8th grade and went to high school, it was a charter school in Carson, CA. They had music programs, a little studio setup, and they tried to help kids find what they love to do. I had a mentor by the name of John Henry. He taught me a lot about music, I had always loved music, but he expanded my knowledge of it and took me to the studio when I was 14. I recorded my first song ever, I bought the beat from this producer named Darksyde. The title of the song is Never Know What You Got Till Its Gone. Ever since I recorded that first song, I fell in love with making music. 1 year passed by, and our house for 15 years was foreclosed and we had to move. My uncle Nonos found us a place to live in Anza, CA. My Auntie Linda, she lived about 30 minutes from us, she planned on coming all the time. One day, she came over and spent the night. We were all having fun. We woke up the next morning and seen that her eyes were yellow. My grandmother was telling her that she needed to visit the hospital, and when she did, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. They said that she was going to live for about 3 more months, and she lived exactly that. She passed away on Mar. 11, 2011. My cousin Ernie also passed May 3, 2012, from cirrhosis of the liver and Hepatitis C. He died at 33 years old with 3 babies left behind. Also, my uncle Dino passed from the same causes on the same day, but 2 years later in 2014. My cousin Gina, passed away on Aug. 14, 2014, from medical malpractice. A simple gallstone removal had turned into pancreatitis because of that, and she left 3 children behind. Which I help take care of and raise with my grandma. They’re my brothers and sister, even though we are not, we might as well be with how close we’ve gotten. As you can see, I’m no stranger to deaths and losing people I love, so I guess you can say that my major influence would be Family, because not everyone is blessed with one. Sure, I had my rough patches, but they were always there to get me through. I thank God for that. As of becoming an artist, well, I had a picture to paint, so I put my words on the blank canvas and started expressing myself and my feelings towards all I’ve been through and seen.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
SantosThe3rd: I came up with the name because I wanted to keep it original. Every artist now days is using “little” in their name or “young”, and I wanted to stand out from the crowd. My father was Jr., his dad was Sr., and I’m The 3rd so thats where SantosThe3rd came from.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
SantosThe3rd: I think it’s a great chance to communicate with people from different parts of the world. Like, for example, I linked up with this French guy who raps. He’s from Montreal, Quebec, and goes by Diary Vétéran. We put some songs out together and got about over maybe 2,000 plays just from us two promoting. It might not seem like a lot, but when you coming from the bottom it is. As for me putting my music out for free, yes, I always put my music for free. I try to at least put two songs out every week for the people. Music is a way to escape the world, and gives fans a chance to relate and see sides of you they haven’t without having to pay $10.00 or $15.00 a cd.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
SantosThe3rd: Keep your dream alive. Don’t even look at it as a dream, it’s more of a sport; a competition. Every player starts off on the playground and works their way up to that championship. Michael Jordan didn’t make it overnight, and neither will you. It takes time, patience, and also a great amount of love and passion for your profession.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
SantosThe3rd: I’ve only performed once in my life in Hollywood. I was supposed to have an open verse feature and as we were on stage, I noticed the artist didn’t put my verse on. I then realized he just wanted me there as a hype man, nothing more, so I just went with it, finished out the song, and when it finished, walked off. Then after, I spit the verse to everyone that was watching when the performance was over, and they said, “You had a better verse than all his verses together”. Mistakes will happen whether on purpose or accident. You just gotta push it out with your best effort and hope the fans love you, nobody is perfect.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
SantosThe3rd: I have not been able to go on tour as of yet. I will keep working though until I get to that point. Hard work and Determination.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
SantosThe3rd: It all depends on how I feel, or what mood I’m in. I gather inspiration from situations I’ve been through. A Conversation I’ve had with someone or even to something I’ve seen. My song writing process is: I find an instrumental I like the most, freestyle over it for about 30 mins, then I start freestyling the hook, then I do my verses. Thats what makes me different from artist nowadays. Most of them have written whereas I’ve freestyled my lyrics. Writing lyrics just seems too organized to me. I like feeling loose and free to say what I feel.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
SantosThe3rd: I have a SoundCloud you can listen and download my music for free. www.soundcloud.com/SantosThe3rdMusic. You can search me up on Youtube SantosThe3rd. Facebook SantosThe3rdMusic or you can follow me on Twitter @SantosThe3rdMRM
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
SantosThe3rd: Haha there is really no embarrassment. I listen to all kinds of music from 50’s and 60’s Oldies all they way to Country. Music is a big part of my life, and I like to explore all genres.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
SantosThe3rd: With that half million I would make sure that my family is straight. Start a college fund for my younger siblings and give them opportunities I didn’t have. Help my grandmother get a house and a car so she wouldn’t have to worry. Then, I’d invest smart in my music, take it to the right people and hopefully that would help me take off to make more money. Then, I could focus on helping make the world a better place, such as education for kids, recreational centers for kids who live in bad neighborhoods and are exposed to the things I was as a kid. And I’d give people that deserved second chances but didn’t get them because of their mistakes, a chance to change their life and their families as well.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
SantosThe3rd: Yes, I plan to upgrade of course, just money problems holding me back. As of right now, I record with GarageBand. I have Pro Tools 12, but don’t use it because I am not familiar with the software, but I am always ready and willing to learn. The microphone I use isn’t nothing special, its a NT1-A Rode microphone. Also, I use an Audiobox USB on a Macbook Pro 13.3″.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
SantosThe3rd: The Internet works best: Soundcloud,Youtube,Facebook,Twitter etc. www.soundcloud.com/SantosThe3rdMusic
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
SantosThe3rd: Where I would perform would be the Apollo Theater. An artist that’s dead who I would perform with would have to be 2pac. I know that’s a usual answer, but to me, he had the most impacting stories and the most expression in his music. An artist alive I would like to work with would have to be Kendrick Lamar, for the same reason as why I would want to with 2pac. His music is just so real and heart felt.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
SantosThe3rd: Yes, I am currently working on an album. No release date or anything, but i can drop the name. “The Cogent Axiom”. So be on the look out, I am also working on a mixtape titled “The Blue Room Vol.1”. COMING SOON!!!
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
SantosThe3rd: If I wasn’t making music, I’d probably be out on the street gang banging doing dirt. So I’m happy and blessed to quote Lupe Fiasco, “HipHop Saved My Life”.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
SantosThe3rd: I do remember my first album, I was about 6. It was 2Pacs, “Me Against The World”. When I first heard the album, I didn’t know what he was talking about, I was just a youngster. I just knew the way he was expressing himself and the emotion they had was real, and since then, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
SantosThe3rd: Its All Focus. Just got to stay positive and believe in yourself, that you can do it and give it your 110% at all times. Keep all negative people out of your life, I’ve lost plenty of friends because of my music, but sacrifice is a part of the game, just got to be ready for it. Also, my faith in God gets me through, knowing he’s right there in my corner guiding me.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
SantosThe3rd: New Music, an album “The Cogent Axiom” and Mix Tapes “The Blue Room Vol.1”. Keep watch people we’re going to be up there with the best plan on it for sure. Thank You for the opportunity Exposed Vocals to get myself heard, I hope you all enjoy my music. Until next time, it’s ya boy SantosThe3rd Signing out. Check my music out and give any feedback. PEACE. www.Soundcloud.com/SantosThe3rdMusic