Alliance Forms to Counter Image of Latino Pap Rap

Kid Frost’s original goal in forming the Latin Alliance--a new consortium of Latino hip-hop performers--was to help promote a growing interest among Latino artists in the black-dominated world of rap music.

By the time the Alliance’s first album hit the stores recently, the goal had changed. Now it was to combat a Latino image that had come about in the meantime.

“The Latin Alliance had to be done because of all the phony Latin rap that came after us, like (Gerardo’s) ‘Rico Suave,’ ” Frost (born Arturo Molina) said, while taking a break from recording his second solo album in a Los Angeles studio. Frost’s first album, 1990’s “Hispanic Causing Panic,” established him as a culture-conscious force in rap.

“With (Gerardo) it was like, ‘Dude, this isn’t real,’ ” said Frost, 28. “With the Latin Alliance I wanted to keep the vibe and message strong. I didn’t want to tone it down like the commercial ‘Rico Suave’ (stuff).”

(Gerardo was performing in his native Ecuador and was unavailable for comment.)

From the beginning, Frost’s intent was to represent not just East L.A., but the spectrum of Latin cultures. Among those joining him in the Latin Alliance are rappers ALT, Markski, Rayski Rockswell, the Hip Hop Astronaut and the Lyrical Latin, and scratcher Ralph M., with Tony G., the Baker Boyz and Will Roc joining Frost for the bulk of the production duties.

Collectively, their origins range from Spain to New York to Puerto Rico and Nicaragua as well as Los Angeles. And Cuban-born Mellow Man Ace guested for a hip-hopped, Latin-pride remake of War’s “Low Rider.”

For L.A.-based rapper ALT (Alvin Trivette), the Latin Alliance represents more than just a strong Latino message. “Anytime you show unity in any project it shows that human beings can get along,” said Trivette, 21. “We’re all of Latin descent, but any type of unity is good.”

That, he said, outweighs the potential Catch-22 a project identified as an ethnic-group-based effort like this presents.

“I don’t want people to say, ‘He’s pretty good for a Mexican,’ ” said Trivette, who co-wrote and raps the hard-hitting “What Is an American?” on the album and is currently shopping for a record deal. “I want to be judged as an artist. But Latin people have been doing good music for a long time, and people don’t recognize a lot of music as being Latin-oriented. Now they can.”

Black Rock: There’s another new ethnic-oriented compilation that presents a similar Catch-22: “The History of Our Future,” compiled and produced by the Black Rock Coalition, the New York-based music and cultural organization co-founded five years ago by Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid.

The 10 acts on the album, released by Rykodisk, represent a variety of rock, metal, pop and fusion-based styles. Still, BRC executive director Don Eversly is aware that the participants risk being stereotyped by being on an album that focuses on black musicians.

“There’s not really anything called ‘black rock,’ ” said Eversly, an entertainment lawyer by trade, from his New York office. “There’s just a Black Rock Coalition. We may have a particular perspective in the same way Southern culture may produce Southern rock, but really it’s just rock ‘n’ roll that happens to be played by black musicians.”