The San Francisco Bay area has been known since the seminal days of Santana and War as the midwife to generations of Latin musicians creating music that pushes genre boundaries while being culturally inclusive and politically potent. Los Mocosos made a big name for themselves back in the early aughts and now they return with a new album, All Grown Up, which brings their conscious party music to a new generation—right on time in this politically and culturally charged moment.
Los Mocosos grew up in the Mission District of San Francisco, steeped in 1970s-era Latin rock and the Chicano civil rights movement. Their first album from 1998, Mocos Locos, became an underground barrio classic that propelled the band into the limelight. In 2001 and 2004, they released two albums on Six Degrees Records and toured with Santana and Los Lobos, lifting the spirits of festers across the country.
Known for their ability to traverse musical and cultural barriers, Los Mocosos, (the “Snotty-Nosed Brats,” loosely translated and used as a term of endearment) creatively weave together rock, reggae, funk, ska, and salsa to deliver their message. The result is subversive, conscious party music—laced with Latin horns, funky bass riffs and hip-hop scratching—that pays homage to an earlier era.
The first single of the new album, “United We Stand,” addresses the blatant authoritarianism plaguing the streets and pushes back against police brutality, immigrant persecution, deportation, and racism. The new video single, “Caminos,” addresses the social issues that Los Mocosos are known for by coming from a new immigrant’s viewpoint. Check it out above.
The whole album is strong with songs in English and Spanish plus some Spanish rapping. The production itself stands out with taut arrangements and a bass heavy beat, perfect for the dance floor. George Clinton said it best, “free your mind and your ass will follow.” Los Mocosos follows that rule to a tee.
