Latin

In the early ‘90s, an unlikely Ecuadorian immigrant blasted into mainstream superstardom with his Latin pop-rap sensation “Rico Suave.” The surprising Spanglish banger by Gerardo — which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 on Hot Rap Songs, and 12 on Dance Singles Sales — catapulted him into unexpected icon (and sex symbol) status, marking a significant moment in the cross-pollination of Latin music and the Billboard U.S. charts.
The then-budding star had already appeared in a plethora of big American films, like Can’t Buy Me Love and Colors, and won a national breakdancing contest. After achieving mainstream recognition, he transitioned to working behind the scenes as an A&R for several big music corporations, playing a pivotal role in Enrique Iglesias’ U.S. breakthrough, and later contributing to the rise of reggaetón in the ’00s.

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Today, Gerardo Mejía, once a dynamic performer who danced his way into the hearts of millions, has shifted rhythms — morphing from a pop sensation into a seasoned music executive for UnitedMasters, a pastor, and even a coffee entrepreneur. 

In an interview with Billboard Español, Gerardo reflects on the fame that the ’90s afforded him, his groundbreaking journey into Christian rap in Spanish, and his role behind the scenes as an A&R, helping to bring FloyyMenor and Cris MJ’s No. 1 Latin Songs hit “Gata Only” to the mainstream. (Moreover, he shares insights into his latest entrepreneurial venture, launching his own coffee brand — aptly titled Rico Suave — as he leverages his legacy to brew up another kind of success.)

Looking back to 1991 when your hit “Rico Suave” reached No. 7 on the Hot 100 — what were your thoughts about achieving such significant success as a then-new artist?

At that time, I was like a kid in a candy store. I didn’t really know what was actually happening. Nowadays, we see a lot of Spanish songs that have crossed over, and you see them on the [all-genres] Billboard [charts]. In those days, there wasn’t what we call the Latin resurgence, it wasn’t worldwide. It was very regional. You had L.A. and the East Coast where you would hear some of the Latin stuff.

I recently went back and looked at when we got to No. 7. If you look at that chart [dated April 13, 1991], all the top songs were rock [or pop]. There was nothing in there that said that I had to compete with other Latinos [except Gloria Estefan]. In those days, I didn’t know that we were breaking into something new. I was just happy to have my record out there. MTV picked it up and was happy that people recognized me. I felt like Forrest Gump in this new world, walking into situations and meeting the big artists that I used to look up to. I was part of that, which I enjoyed very much. 

From the left Peter Lopez, Ted Field, Jimmy Iovine, Gerardo, Sylvia Rhone, Doug Morris at the “Rico Suave” record release party

Courtesy of Gerardo Mejia

Was introducing Spanglish within the mainstream pop landscape a challenge for you? 

At first, “Rico Suave” was all in Spanish. I shot the video myself and sent a big ol’ ¾ tape to MTV International. It was the hot stuff back then. I was doing a movie in Acapulco, and I hired a director to film my video. This is before I got my record deal with Interscope Records. I released that song, it got played on MTV International, and then all the labels were trying to sign me.

When I got to the label, which was an all-American label, talking to Jimmy Iovine, he was like, “Man, this song is a hit. It’s taking off. Can we do an all-English version?” I’m like, “I think you’re going to [lose] a lot of what it is if you that. I please you, you please me. Why don’t we do a Spanglish version?” We called it “the Spanglish version.” That’s the one you heard on the radio.

Prior to “Rico Suave,” as an adolescent you won a breakdancing championship. Did winning that contest kickstart your confidence?

Whenever there was something at school, my mom had me do poetry and recite these long things. Since I was little, I was used to being in front of people. I was very comfortable. Then my dad would throw parties at the house when I was young. He built me this dance studio, and he would bring all his friends, and say, “You gotta see my son [dance].” I’d be break dancing, and popping in front of them. 

Gerardo Mejía

Randee St Nicholas

There was a dance contest in those days called Dance Fever, in which all the states competed. My friend and I from California won $50,000! I was 19. I was studying to be an accountant, and I remember telling my dad, “Dad, I don’t know if I want to do this anymore. I think this is an open door for me.” He said, “OK.” That’s what I love about my father. I had a big dream, and he just told me, “Listen, study. If any reason this doesn’t work out. You got this.” I guess it worked.

You moved to L.A. at roughly 12 years old from Ecuador. How did this cultural shift tune your musical style and personal identity?

In Ecuador we have a thing called pasillos. There’s a big guy named Julio Jaramillo. I grew up with that. My mom had me when she was 15 years old. When I was little, she would come in with her record player and the 45s. She would play Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke” and “I Wish.” She loved American music. Once we came over here [to the U.S.], it wasn’t much of a culture shock, because I was kind of living it over there through my mother. I just totally enjoyed both cultures. Mi país es súper salsero, super duper.

If you hear the “Rico Suave” song, there’s a little sample that goes, “Ahhh, rehh, ari.” That’s from an old song [“Chamo Candela”] from Venezuela by a group called Daiquirí. I used to love that song so much that I [sampled it], which became the part that people chanted. Some people might not know the Spanish lyrics to “Rico Suave,” but they always sing along with that chant.

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You appeared in the 1988 film Colors, about gangster culture in L.A. What memories do you have about being on set or behind the scenes? 

Right after breakdancing, I did a movie called Winners Take All (1987), and then Can’t Buy Me Love (1987). The third was Colors. I wasn’t a gang member. I was a break dancer, but I knew every cholo. My friends always be like, “We got you homie.” I was their homeboy.

When I went in for that role, I remember Dennis Hopper and Sean Penn being right in front of me. There was a guy that used to live in my neighborhood in Pomona. They used to call him Trouble. That was his cholo name. I basically did everything Trouble was: I slicked my hair back with Vaseline and put [on] the hair net. I went to that audition, and they actually asked me what side [gang] I was from. I let them buy into it. I remember there was a scene that I improvised where I do the two, one [gang sign], when I did that, Dennis got up, and he was [like], “We gotta call your agent.” They did and I had the role. 

Gerardo Mejia

Courtesy of Gerardo Mejia

You then delved into Christian rap with your album 180° (2004) and a compilation, La Iglesia de la Calle (2007). Can you walk us through what inspired this shift to Christian music?

[Making Christian music] is happening to a lot of artists right now; Farruko, Daddy Yankee… Rappers, we don’t depend on our vocal skills, we depend on our experiences. There was a time in my life that I felt like I had lost it all, and I was  struggling, trying to maintain the “Rico Suave” persona, but it was just too much, and I couldn’t do it. I gave my life [to God]. I told God that I was going to serve him from then on, and I have never gone back after making that decision. That inspired me to write.

I remember my pastor always telling me, “You gotta do music again.” “Man, I don’t want to get into music again, Pastor,” I said, “They criticized me so much in music. I don’t want to get criticized again. I’m happy being back here.” He was like, “No, you gotta do this.” And out of that, I went 180 degrees. To this day, every day [I get messages from fans] from that video of a song called “Sueña,” which is very inspiring. It’s worth a lot more than these Gold and Platinum records I have in my office. That was a pivotal point of my life. God showed me what was valuable in life and what wasn’t. 

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How did your collaboration with Spanish-language rap pioneer Vico C “Raperito” unfold?

He came out with an album called Aquel Que Había Muerto (1998), which inspired me. I used to cry to certain songs on that album. I used to ask God, “Lord, whatever you did with Vico, can you please do it with me?” I started writing 180° which reached the top 5 in Italy, not even “Rico Suave” did those numbers. After 180°, I wanted to do the first Christian compilation. There were a lot of compilations going on those days, and they hadn’t done anything like that. I called it La Iglesia de la Calle.

I reached out to Baby Rasta, Vico, Noriega, and a lot of other artists, and pioneers. I sent [Vico] the hook to “Raperito,” and told him, “My brother, let’s guide the up-and-coming generation that are going through it like we did.” He loved the concept. I flew up to New York to knock out the song. Then we went to Venezuela to film the video with Venezuelan director Pablo Croce. I also went to promote the video with Vico in Puerto Rico.

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Not a lot of artists have gracefully transitioned into music executive roles. How did that happen for you?

I was broke. I didn’t know how I was going to survive, but I knew music. Even when I knew it was my time to give up that “Rico Suave” persona, I went back to the same people that hired me as an artist, Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field. I said, “Listen, give me the opportunity. I know how this crossover business works.” They did. They gave me the chance. Within a year, I signed Enrique Iglesias to Interscope Records. I worked with him on Enrique (1999), where “Bailamos” appears, and then Escape (2001) with “Hero.” 

Afterwards, I worked for Univision Records — which is not around anymore, it got pulled in by Universal. At Univision, I got to see the strength of what reggaetón was going to be. I got to be in a spot where I was signing artists. The song that I helped Jowell & Randy and Arcánge put together was “Agresivo” [from the compilation La Calle, Vol. 1, 2007]. I also got to work with Ivy Queen, La Caballota. From then on, I knew that reggaetón is going to grow and it’s not going to stop. After that, I leave because Univision gets bought out. 

Jimmy Iovine, Enrique Iglesias and Gerardo Mejía

Courtesy of Gerardo Mejia

Enrique had just put out the song “Bailando” (2014) with Gente de Zona and Descemer Bueno. At that moment, I was going a lot to South America, and I remember Nicky Jam was blowing up in Colombia. I said to Enrique, “Bro, you gotta do something with Nicky.” I talked to Nicky’s management, and Nicky sent me the song “El Perdón” (2017). I said, “Wow, this is a hit.” They were going to put it out, and I said, “No, hold it. Let me call Enrique.” We saw how the [reggaetón] crossover began to happen through Enrique’s pop strength. All the reggeatón started becoming more [mainstream], it wasn’t so street anymore. I got to see that.  

Your biggest recent achievement is FloyyMenor’s hit “Gata Only,” with Cris MJ, which impressively topped the Hot Latin Songs chart for 14 consecutive weeks. How did you discover him?

That is crazy! Listen, I don’t want to take credit for that song. Four or five years ago, you saw online rap battles in Chile, and these amazing lyricists coming out, like this guy El Menor who is an amazing battle rapper. So I was looking at [Chile] and how the music was surfacing. Three years ago, I was early on to sign a kid named Nickoog Clk, and he did great for us. I picked up the moment: I said, “Something is happening in Chile.”

When I saw Floyy, I saw a young, hungry kid who had lyrics. This is what drove me to making the deal. He had put out music that millions were listening to, but nobody knew who the heck he was or what he looked like. If you go back on YouTube to his old songs before “Gata Only,” you’re going to see a song called “pa la europa.” Look at the video. It’s a car! That makes me think, these people are loving his music. There’s something that this kid is doing. It wasn’t because he was this pretty boy or this dude with an amazing personality. It was his music. I said, “I need to go see this guy.” I did and I was sold. 

Nickoog, Gerardo & Floyymenor.

Courtesy Photo

He showed me that song [“Gata Only”]. [He wanted to release it] by Christmas. “I said, Floyy, nobody’s going to listen to the song during Christmas time. They’re going to be listening to Mariah Carey.” He’s like, “No, yo lo quiero sacar.” “We’re going to waste it,” I said. We first released it in January.

Then, boom! I looked at the data and was like, “This can’t be!” It just kept growing. So I fly to Chile to sit down with him. [I told him] “We need to adapt to what’s happening.” He was very street, so I said, “You gotta do a little more turnaround. This is what’s working for you. We go with what works.” The moment when I arrived, Cris MJ calls, and he tells him, “I want to be on that song.” [Floyy] looks at me, and I said, “Bro, get going now!” He went and got the song with Cris. We took the other one down, put the new one out, and the rest is history. 

You launched your own Rico Suave Ecuadorian coffee brand. What inspired that?

I went to Qatar. UnitedMasters distributed songs for FIFA [World Cup Qatar 2022]. When I went, there was a fair. I see all the flags, Mexico, Spain… And I’m looking for Ecuador. Then I smelled coffee and saw the Ecuadorian flag. We have great coffee [in Ecuador]. I sat down with the guy — I’m like, “Bro, this smells amazing. What’s the name of your coffee?” He said, “I don’t [have one]. I sell it by wholesale to brands like Starbucks.” I said, “We gotta talk.” We [eventually] became partners. 

There’s no difference in how I promote an artist and my [coffee] product. I treat it just like an artist. Through Amazon, I see where I get my buyers and start pushing those areas, just like I would do a record. I see how the data dictates consumers. I have 30 years in this business, and one thing I’ve learned is I follow the people. We were in Amazon and in South America, but now we got a big distributor on the East Coast. There’s so much competition for people’s eyes nowadays. You gotta put something that takes it to the branding, un café Rico y Suave. I should have thought of that 30 years ago!

Rico Suave Coffee

Courtesy Photo

It’s a great full circle story! With such a diverse career, from a pop idol to music executive and a coffee entrepreneur, what else can we expect from Gerardo?

More artists and more music. I hope to find those stars that are home right now. Artists, oftentimes, one can see them and say, “I wouldn’t have paid a cent for them.” “Why?” “Because he didn’t look the part.” What does looks have to do with anything? Nowadays, it is about music. I listen to the culture. I love seeing how it’s evolving. I’ve been right about a lot of things pertaining to pop. I see several places that are about to boom. Puerto Rico was once the Mecca of [Latin] urban, then Colombia for a long time. Now you got Chile, Mexico, but those other places, they’re not going to stay dormant. They’re about to do the same thing. You will see.