Florentino wants to inspire others to follow their dreams
UP-AND-COMING rapper and music producer Luna Florentino is on a mission to take over the music industry, one verse at a time. The 21-year-old, who was born and raised in Rustenberg, is already creating waves in the industry with a hit debut EP and a hit collaboration with DJ Switch.
Aptly named Florentino Mariachi, the rapper started working on the EP last year. “In order to get to where I want to be, I have had to make hard decisions and still have to make them and so I decided that the EP would have that theme but that’s not what it’s all about.
“In fact, I didn’t even have a specific direction, I just went with the flow with all the songs, keeping in mind what I wanted to communicate,” Luna said.
He said he works with his feelings and never really prepares lyrics, even for his EP.
“I enjoy what I do so much because it comes so easy, I am not having a hard time trying to figure out what to rap about because I always say what I want to say and I mean it too. Its very easy for the listener to know what I am going through because the music is always real,” he said.
For Luna, music was something he always wanted to pursue but did not have his family’s support. “I always loved music but over and above loving music I was a huge lover of noise.
“I remember having a bucket of toys. I never played with the toys, I used the bucket as drums. I would get sticks from outside and walk around hitting the bucket pretending I am making music. When I told my family I want to be a rapper there was no support at all, but now that they have heard my music on radio and seen me on TV, they understand that it’s real and support me,” he said.
He said one of the challenges of being a young and new rapper in the music industry was getting people to take him seriously.
“In the music industry, it is very hard to create trust. People are not very open to the idea of working with someone who is relatively unknown; they don’t want to trust an unknown person either and that is understandable, but it is a huge hurdle.”
Luna said as clichéd as it might sound, his goal is to inspire others.
“I want people to chase their dreams because I know how fulfilling it can be, because I am chasing mine.
“Life is not easy, you have got to put a lot more in than just 100%. We all have amazing talents and things we are good at and we can’t sleep on ourselves.
“It wouldn’t be right if I slept on myself and didn’t use my God-given talent, so I want to be a case study to others,” he said.
The young rapper also hopes to one day win multiple South African Music Awards.