MLK once said that “we must accept our finite circumstances, but we must never lose infinite hope”. This sentiment rings especially true for Ohio-based artist Floco Torres, whose struggles earlier in life have paved the way for the deeply personal, grounded, and motivational lyricism that has evolved into a robust career in hip-hop.

Citing influences from the likes of Jay Z, Biggie, Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi, and St. Vincent, Torres' sound is a collation of the old school boom bap hip-hop sprinkled with pop and indie influences. Both lyrically and emotionally, his music pivots around themes of motivation, faith, and resilience, drawing on his struggles with homelessness in his teens and his upbringing around addiction. With intricate flows and deeply relatable wordplay at the very core of his sound, Floco Torres creates an intimate musical experience that simulates the feeling that Floco is speaking directly to you.

As a child, Torres played the violin, drums, and trumpet. His parents also encouraged him to journal, with this gradually evolving into a love for writing lyrics when he first discovered hip-hop. Now with 24 unique musical projects to his name, including involvement with a hip-hop group called ‘Free Black!’ with producer/drummer HR3 and Akron, Floco Torres is showing no signs of slowing down. Torres' career took flight in 2011 when he received a $25,000 grant to produce the '10,000 Hours EP' w/ Grammy Nominated Producer/Percussionist Steve Moretti. Additionally, his song 'Cherry Street' went on to win 6 ADDY awards and a Mosaic award for diversity.

Since his debut release 'Another World' in 2006, he has played shows with Gym Class Heroes, Chester French, Slick Rick, Raekwon, KRS-One, Black Moon, Black Milk, Desiigner, and Amine.

My name is Adam Ragusea, I'm an American journalist and educator who used to—and sometimes still does—make music.


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Just a fan of good tunes, occasionally trying to make one.

Rhys Darby, Dan Schreiber, and 'Buttons' bring you The Cryptid Factor - a show dedicated to the weird and the wonderful, and in particular, Cryptozoology.

Hear the team passionately (and often awkwardly) discuss animals yet to be proven by science - like the Mongolian Death Worm, Chupacabra, Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster. Though they take the pseudo-science as seriously as they can, they struggle to take themselves seriously at all.

Its hosts are comedian & actor Rhys Darby, host of top rating podcast 'No Such Thing as a Fish' Dan Schreiber - and Pulling it all together is their best friend, 'Buttons'. If anything goes wrong, it is probably his fault.

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