Mr. Criminal

Mr. Criminal, the Chicano rapper who also writes songs and produces tracks, embraces his chosen moniker through gritty accounts of hardship delivered via a mildly coarse monotone that sometimes shifts into a pensive cadence evoking both unhurried calm and street-level menace. These accounts center on his upbringing in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Although the artist has repeatedly clashed with authorities, most prominently through a drug-and-weapons case in Arizona, he remains a skilled performer who has extended his reach by founding the thriving GDUP clothing line and by pursuing acting roles.

Robert Garcia came into the world in 1982. Not long after his release from juvenile detention, he crossed paths with rapper Mr. Capone-E, whose support cleared the path for the 2001 debut album Criminal Mentality on Thump Records.

In the same era he earned notice as a versatile producer, handling sessions for artists across the hip-hop landscape such as Lil' Flip, Bizzy Bone, and MC Eiht.

Mr. Criminal remained highly active throughout the 2000s yet faced an interruption in 2008 when state troopers discovered illegal firearms and marijuana inside a car Garcia was driving in Arizona, a state with stringent penalties for those violations.

He pressed on with recording despite the legal setbacks, issuing among other projects the 2008 album Rise 2 Power, the 2010 release Death Before Dishonor, and the follow-up Criminal Mentality, Vol. 2.

Alongside Mr. Capone-E, the industrious rapper issued a series of mixtapes and full-length projects through Hi-Power Entertainment.

Evolution of a G surfaced in 2015 and featured appearances by Brotha Lynch Hung and Xzibit.

One year later he presented L.W.A. ("Latin with Attitude"), which paid direct tribute to its namesake by including Lil Eazy-E, son of the late N.W.A founder Eazy-E.

In 2017 Garcia delivered the album Don't Get Me Misunderstood and made his acting debut in the film Narco Valley as well as the Will Smith Netflix series Bright.