Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Not About Drugs and Rims

Though he injured his knee in Iraq, Marine sergeant Gabriel DeJesus reenlisted for another four years last August. The Camp Pendleton--based motor-transport mechanic is on "light duty" due to his knee tear, but now he wants out of the military so he can rap.

"Even in Iraq I made tracks," says DeJesus (a.k.a. Technique). "I built a recording booth in back of a truck in a war zone in Iraq. My wife would send me blank CDs, and I'd make music I'd pass out. I wrote music every day.... When I got back [to Camp Pendleton] I built a studio in my house."

Sponsored
Sponsored

DeJesus, 23, says he tried to launch a group and record label with fellow Marines, "but it never went like how we wanted it to." Discouraged, he reenlisted. Then, DeJesus met Lil Uno, the local artist who runs Sicko Records and hosts an all-locals radio show on 98.9.

"He was asking hip-hop artists to get in touch with him," says DeJesus. The two met, and Lil Uno offered DeJesus a contract that provides for studio time, CD manufacturing, and distribution.

"As soon as [Lil Uno] presented me with the contract, I took it up the chain [to get permission to leave the Marines].... [My staff sergeant] looked at me and started smiling. He said he was a religious man and that things happen for a reason. He said my orders to get transferred to North Carolina got canceled that day. He told me he was behind me 100 percent and that I should pursue what I had to pursue. Then the higher-ups, like, captains, started talking to me. They said it was better if I just stayed in."

DeJesus says he is researching how to exit the military but that if he is not released he will fulfill his obligation. Regardless of the outcome, he would be happy to represent the Corps in TV ads for recruiting.

"My lyrics are not about drugs and cars and rims.... At work, guys joke around with me.... I say, 'Who said I was a thug? Just because I'm a rapper does not mean I'm a criminal.' "

A Technique track will be included on Heatrocks, a Sicko compilation of local artists' music to be released in August. Sicko has plans to issue DeJesus's own CD on September 26.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?

Though he injured his knee in Iraq, Marine sergeant Gabriel DeJesus reenlisted for another four years last August. The Camp Pendleton--based motor-transport mechanic is on "light duty" due to his knee tear, but now he wants out of the military so he can rap.

"Even in Iraq I made tracks," says DeJesus (a.k.a. Technique). "I built a recording booth in back of a truck in a war zone in Iraq. My wife would send me blank CDs, and I'd make music I'd pass out. I wrote music every day.... When I got back [to Camp Pendleton] I built a studio in my house."

Sponsored
Sponsored

DeJesus, 23, says he tried to launch a group and record label with fellow Marines, "but it never went like how we wanted it to." Discouraged, he reenlisted. Then, DeJesus met Lil Uno, the local artist who runs Sicko Records and hosts an all-locals radio show on 98.9.

"He was asking hip-hop artists to get in touch with him," says DeJesus. The two met, and Lil Uno offered DeJesus a contract that provides for studio time, CD manufacturing, and distribution.

"As soon as [Lil Uno] presented me with the contract, I took it up the chain [to get permission to leave the Marines].... [My staff sergeant] looked at me and started smiling. He said he was a religious man and that things happen for a reason. He said my orders to get transferred to North Carolina got canceled that day. He told me he was behind me 100 percent and that I should pursue what I had to pursue. Then the higher-ups, like, captains, started talking to me. They said it was better if I just stayed in."

DeJesus says he is researching how to exit the military but that if he is not released he will fulfill his obligation. Regardless of the outcome, he would be happy to represent the Corps in TV ads for recruiting.

"My lyrics are not about drugs and cars and rims.... At work, guys joke around with me.... I say, 'Who said I was a thug? Just because I'm a rapper does not mean I'm a criminal.' "

A Technique track will be included on Heatrocks, a Sicko compilation of local artists' music to be released in August. Sicko has plans to issue DeJesus's own CD on September 26.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024’s Best Bitcoin & Crypto Casinos – Play BTC Casino Games Online

Best Bitcoin Casinos (2024): Top 10 Crypto Casino Sites for BIG Payouts
Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.