advertisement

TOCA is an unpredictable, brilliant jazz, hip-hop, reggae, punk, Latin inspired gem. This is project that brings together different musical backgrounds and personalities to create a conflicting yet always enjoyable experience that embraces musical diversity rather than emphasizing that something unnatural is taking place. Danny “Xoloanxinxo” Rodriguez (songwriter/vocalist), Ceschi Ramos (the band’s musical mastermind), David Ramos (drummer, vocalist), Tommy Valencia (Vocalist, multi-instrumentalist), Danny Levin (horns), and Max Heath (piano) are joined by some of LA’s finest MCs (Pigeon John, Busdriver, Ellay Khule, Existero, 2Mex, LuckyIam PSC, Lord Zen, Riddlore, Aceyalone, and Life Rexall). Rather than organizing their songs by genre, TOCA streams together multiple genres within a single song. The diversity of this album is as much a composite of LA’s music scene as the direction music is heading with cross-genre collaborations becoming more and more the norm. It is rare that a group can produce an album that is successful in one genre let alone five; TOCA’s vibrant 16 track debut, will have listeners forging their way to the legendary Good Life in LA to be apart of the magic that served as a key ingredient in the success of this album. What came out of series of jam sessions in 2001 is a debut that hits on all levels no matter what genre the group may inexplicitly transition into.

JIVE Magazine Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Track Listing:

1) Seven Seeds

2) Toca Can’t Dance

3) Caon Rudio

4) Liar feat. Pigeon John

5) Vanished

6) Not Too Many People Like You

7) Hearts and Gold feat. Busdriver, Pigeon John and Ellay Khule

8) Frutero

9) Joyfool Misery

10) Don’t Look Back

11) Nice Try

12) What I Don’t Say

13) All About The Music feat. Existereo, 2Mex, LuckyIam PSC, Lord Zen, Riddlore, Aceyalone and Life Rexall

14) Ship Sinking

15) Nothing Remains The Same

16) Irreplaceable