"Spotlight Artist, April, Don Dinero"
April 2005
	Don Dinero, one of mpower’s new supporting artists, was born and raised in Washington Heights, NYC. Hip-hop was a way of life for him and it was only a matter of time before he started making CD’s full of a distinctive style of hip-hop that is unique to Dinero alone. Being fluent in both Spanish and English, Don Dinero has the ability to reach a wide audience, and has been featured in several publications such as Billboard, The Source and Cristina. A few of us here at mpower recently had the opportunity to talk with Don Dinero about his career and his reasons for signing on with mpower. mpower: How did you get involved in the music industry? Dinero: Music has been in my life since I was really young. About fifteen years ago I was overseas recording songs, but hip-hop was still evolving. Biggie and Tupac came on the scene and started changing stuff up after that. I started to look at it seriously as a business in 1997 or 1998 and I’ve been doing it ever since. mpower: How has music influenced your life? Dinero: Well, music is my life, you know? I think it influences everyone differently though. Different types of music influence people differently too. It can be a therapy or an outlet for you… it has been for me sometimes. If someone who is working hard can listen to one of my songs and then be able to keep working to put food on the table for their kids, that’s great, that’s what I’m trying to do. Music definitely influences people, and I know it has influenced my life and how I live now. mpower: Which artists have inspired you most? Dinero: Wow, a lot. I mean, first there was Sugarhill Gang. They just had such a different and cool sound. Other people have inspired me too, like Biggie, Pac, Jay-Z and Eminem. I also get inspiration from other places, though. For example, I’ve always been my own guy and I want to tell the world my story. It’s not easy being a Latino in the US all the time, there’s a huge language barrier for one thing. But I’m as Latino as you get, I’m rice and beans. So I guess that inspires me too and makes me want to help break all the barriers out there. mpower: Do you believe that music can have a positive influence on the mental health of a young person? Dinero: Definitely. I know a lot of young people feel pressure to succeed, I know I did. I hope that my music can have a positive influence on these kids so they can look at me and say, “Hey, there’s someone who’s done it.” I think peole can look at me and see that you can be successful without doing something like busting a gun or selling drugs. But like I said before, music can be like therapy. I have my ups and downs like everyone and I know that my music keeps me going. Music can also have a negative influence though, depending on what you listen to. If you’re really angry, some really heavy music probably won’t make you feel any better. mpower: We hear you have a new record coming out. Dinero: Yeah, I do. It’s called “Ahora que sí,” which pretty much means “Now is the Time.” This album is the product of everything I’ve seen and done in the past three years. It’s my sweat, my tears, my family… it’s all in this album. It’s going to be coming out sometime in mid May or early June. For more information about Don Dinero, visit www.fuertegroup.com and click "Artist/Producers."
____________________________ April 2005 - mpoweryouth.org