Gerardo (musician)

Gerardo Mejía
Gerardo performing at Eleva, a conference founded by Jeff Tolle.
Background information
Birth name	Gerardo Mejía
Also known as	Gerardo; Rico Suave
Born	(1965-04-16) April 16, 1965 Guayaquil, Ecuador
Origin	Glendale, California
Genres	Pop, rap
Occupation(s)	Singer, Rapper, Music executive, Pastor
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Interscope Records (1990-present) Randy's Records (1991-1992)

Gerardo Mejía (born April 16, 1965^[1]), better known by his mononym Gerardo, is an Ecuadorian-American rapper, actor, and singer who later became a recording industry executive, and more recently a pastor. Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, he moved with his family to Glendale, California, when he was 12 years old. His daughter is Miss California USA 2016, Nadia Grace Mejía.

Based in Los Angeles, California, Gerardo became known for his bandana, skintight jeans, locking, and shirtless torso. He sometimes refers to himself as the "Latin Elvis", the "Latin Frank Sinatra" or the Latin "Tony Zuzio".^[2]

Career

Gerardo's first major appearance in show business was as Ricky in the 1987 feature film Can't Buy Me Love.^[3] He was later cast as the character Bird in the 1988 film Colors, about South Central Los Angeles gang violence. This was also the first time his dance skills were showcased, in one of the party scenes; however, he did not sing at any point in the film.

His hit single "Rico Suave" appeared on his 1991 debut album, Mo' Ritmo. The album peaked at #36 on the Billboard 200 chart in June 1991; the single had peaked at #7 in April. This song, as well as some others of Gerardo's, include verses with lines in both English and Spanish. Although his following single "We Want the Funk" (a semi-remake of Parliament's "Give Up the Funk") peaked at #16,^[4] the popularity of "Rico Suave" has made Gerardo known as a one-hit wonder via sources including MTV, VH1,^[5] Synthesis^[6] and even Gerardo himself.^[5]

Now an A&R executive at Interscope Records, Gerardo was responsible for bringing Enrique Iglesias to the attention of Interscope Label Executives in early 1999. He also signed rapper Bubba Sparxxx.^[2] More recently, in a 2013 appearance on Katie Couric's show Katie, Gerardo discussed his newest life focus as a Christian youth pastor. He was recently ordained as a Pastor at Praise Chapel in Kansas City.

Discography

Albums

Singles

• "Rico Suave" (1991; #7 US Billboard Hot 100)^[4]
• "We Want the Funk" (1991; #16 US Billboard Hot 100)^[4]
• "When the Lights Go Out" (1991; #98 US Billboard Hot 100)^[4]
• "Latin Till I Die (Oye Como Va) (1991)
• "Love" (1992)
• "Maria Elisa" (1994)^[7]
• "Ae-Ah" (The Outhere Brothers featuring Ricardo) (1998)
• "Americana" (2004)

Filmography

References

External links

• Gerardo on IMDb
• (in Spanish) Gerardo Mejía respondió preguntas de los lectores Article by El Universo
• Interview
• AKMusic Productions/Andy Kotz