Alyssa Moreno

By: Alyssa Moreno

Hello everyone, long time no see! The last post I made on here consisted of a playlist that contained songs from exclusively Ventura County artists. Well, today I’m back with one of those artists, Young Lord, a rising rapper out of Oxnard.

I took the time to sit down with Young Lord at his studio to get a little insight on what’s next for this career and what he’s planning for the year 2024. And of course I got a tour of the studio!

He was extremely welcoming and felt like a friendly face which made asking questions a little easier on me. “So how are things with your music lately, anything we should keep an eye out for?” I asked the 25-year-old rapper.

“Oh you know, things are good, I’m working on a lot of new stuff that I can’t wait to release hopefully as soon as possible, and start getting to work on some of ideas I have for the future” he replied.

“Sounds like you have the near future planned out, but what’s happening right now in the life of Young Lord, any recent releases we should add to our current music rotations?, I asked.

“Yeah, I actually have a couple of recent releases that should be on everyone’s radar,” he laughed, “No, but seriously I did just drop a few tracks on all streaming platforms called BACK2BACK and Dior Cologne Freestyle, and I even dropped music videos to both songs on Youtube.”

“Oh, I’ll be to link both songs so that all our readers and viewers can watch and listen, so now that those songs are out, what’s next in terms of marketing what’s already released?” I asked Young Lord.

After listening to both songs and watching both music videos, I’ve decided not to link them in this article because they weren’t so family friendly, but I still think everyone who’s interested in checking them out should absolutely do so! I still really like both songs. Both songs feature Young Lords unique melodies and catchy word play with equally as enticing visuals to match.

“Well, that’s what I’m trying to figure out right now, I do what I can on social media you know like Instagram and TikTok, and my label helps me out with the advertisements, but I want it all to be very organic and not too try hard, you know what I mean?”

“Yeah I definitely understand where you’re coming from, it can be hard to want to push your art onto people, but how else will they know if you aren’t constantly telling them?”

We exchanged a back and forth of what’s to come for the Oxnard local rapper, but we’ll save that for another time, he wanted everything to come out when he was ready to put it out, and as an artist I respect that.

After some conversation he took me around the studio to see where he does most of his work, and of course I took pictures.

It’s such a cool and creative space, so much art surrounding you while you create art, I told the young rapper. The space felt inspiring and motivating, Hopefully I’ll be back here soon with more updates on the rising star out of Ventura County, Young Lord.

Be sure to follow him on Instagram @RealYoungLord

Follow me on Instagram @MorenoAlyssa_

And follow the VC Social on Instagram @VCSocialBrand

Local Love

It’s no secret that Ventura County is home to some of the most talented individuals, from the artists that paint our favorite murals in the cities, to that booth that sells your favorite homemade soaps at the local farmer’s market. Our love for Ventura artists runs deep. That’s why I’ve made a playlist of some of my favorite songs from some of my favorite Ventura County locals.

Cola Boyy – Penny Girl

Penny Girl is a love letter to the city of Oxnard, with the music video following Cola Boyy and local citizens around the town just having a good time. This song has a feel good vibe to it that can get anyone dancing. Penny Girl is one of the featured tracks off Cola Boy’s first EP Black Boogie Neon.

2. Los Retros – Amtrak

Much like Cola Boyy’s Penny Girl, Amtrak also feels very reminiscent of the city of Oxnard and the song plays like a love story to a lover and the city. The music video also features Maury of Los Retros walking along Oxnard’s train tracks, hence the song title, as well as him in his own bedroom, giving the song a very intimate feel.

3. Rivers Ventura – Lollygaggin’

This song is a tale of melancholic youth. It has a dark and angsty sound with lyrics that describe just that. With lyrics like “I feel my days are draggin’, plain and simply lollygaggin'” it’s evident that the lyrics aren’t so upbeat and lively, which is in direct contrast to the instrumentals despite still having that dark vibe to it.

4. Alyssa – Ugly

This one is special to me, because this song is me! I was 16 when I released this song and it takes listeners through a story of wanting to be with someone my family doesn’t approve of. I’m from Ventura County so I thought it was fitting to add myself onto this playlist.

5. Lootpack – Crate Diggin’

You simply cannot make a Ventura County artists playlist without mentioning the classic Oxnardian rap group the Lootpack. They were a big part of the underground backpack rap scene in the early 90’s and their influence is still seen and heard today. The Lootpack is also where rapper/producer Madlib got some of his early start from. Crate Diggin’ tells the story of finding that perfect sounding sample to flip into a beat. Crate digging refers to searching though crates of vinyl records in search of that perfect sounding loop or sample.

Some of my favorite talents in the world are made in my home, Ventura County. I love that we as a county encourage art and I love that citizens are inspired to make art that everyone can enjoy. I’m always looking for new local artists to check out and discover and to add to my many playlists. I can make this list go on forever, but instead I’ll leave you all with the playlist that started it all.