Dating all the way back to 17th Century Europe, the mythical character known as Don Juan has been the topic of conversation across space and time. Over the ages, he has been known to keep his pockets on swoll with more dough than a bakery, seduce ladies with more mack game than Parker Brothers and feared by men for his ability to quickly crack a skull to the white meat.
Today’s Tampa, Fla.-based real life rapper version of this legendary icon isn’t at all far from his literary namesake. With style and finesse, Don Juan has captured central Florida via his newest Millionaire Bound Records independent single/video “Crazy” featuring much-respected fellow Tampa rapper Fatty Duke. And his newly released OG Ron C-hosted mixtape Nix 2 Bricks 2: No Love Straight Thug is testament to this age-old legacy.
“My music is the documentary of my life and what I’m going through at that time,” explains Don Juan. “I grew up around a bunch of guys who always wanted me to do better. If one cat got a big chain or a Benz, then I got to get a bigger chain and a Benz bigger than his…. My life is like anybody else’s but I got my own perspective.”
Don Juan began penning that perspective and putting his autobiography to music almost two decades ago while still in elementary school. Growing up listening to Michael Jackson and MC Hammer, Don started taking rap seriously when he first heard multi-platinum West Coast rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg’s 1993 debut single “Who Am I (What’s My Name).” But it was the late Tupac Shakur who really put the fire under him to take his career further.
He teamed up with childhood friend Thug Child. And together, they blasted onto the local music scene in 2003 with collaborative mixtape Don Juan and Thug Child’s 15th Street Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. But Thug Child had a stroke of bad luck in 2004 when he was sent to prison on drug charges.
Left with no choice, Don Juan regrouped and released his solo mixtape debut Nix 2 Bricks in 2004. It got to rave reviews in the streets. “I got good feedback from the neighborhood and they wanted me to do more and more and more,” Don remembers.
Unfortunately, at the height of his popularity, Don Juan was caught on the wrong side of the law and sent to prison on trafficking charges in 2007. After three years on the belly of the beast, Don’s feet touched down on free ground in 2010.
Since coming home, he teamed up with much-respected Tampa rapper Fatty Duke to record a couple of tracks. And before they knew it, those few tracks turned into an entire mixtape together called Traffic Kings, set to be released this summer.
But first up on his agenda is the recent release of mixtape Nix 2 Bricks 2: No Love Straight Thug hosted by legendary Houston record spinner OG Ron C. Just a taste of what the street album has to offer, the lead mixtape single “Crazy” featuring Fatty Duke has grown legs across the Southeast on its own. Insinuating he must be insane for parking an expensive foreign car outside of a ghetto corner store, the single showcases Don’s gutter side as well as an appreciation for the finer things in life.
“A lot of rappers make music but you can’t match the lyrics with the visuals,” says Don. “They say they are riding in a Maserati or Bentley but they’re standing in front of a Chevy in their video. My music is different because it’s jamming and it’s the truth.”
