2Mex Explained

2Mex
Birth Name:	Alejandro Ocana
Origin:	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genre:	Alternative hip hop Underground hip hop
Occupation:	Rapper
Years Active:	1992–present
Label:	Memo Records Afterlife Records Mean Street Temporary Whatever Paladin Creative Super Co. Strange Famous Records
Current Member Of:	Visionaries Of Mexican Descent The Mind Clouders SonGodSuns $martyr Look Daggers The Returners

Alejandro Ocana (born 1973), better known by his stage name 2Mex, is a rapper from Los Angeles, California, United States.^[1] He is a member of The Visionaries and Of Mexican Descent. He has collaborated with underground hip hop artists such as Jel, Omid, Thavius Beck, Factor Chandelier, Radioinactive, and Isaiah "Ikey" Owens.

History

2Mex attended the Good Life Cafe open mic nights in 1992. In 1998, he released his first album with The Visionaries as well as the first Of Mexican Descent album, and he was featured on the Omid compilation album Beneath the Surface. In 1999, he was featured (with Xololanxinxo as Of Mexican Descent) on the Fat Jack compilation album Cater to the DJ, and he released his first solo album Fake It Till You Make It as The Mind Clouders with producer Mums the Word. In 2000, he was featured (as a member of the Afterlife Crew) on the Afterlife Records compilation Declaration of an Independent.^[2] He then released B-Boys in Occupied Mexico on Mean Street in 2001.^[3] Sweat Lodge Infinite was released on Temporary Whatever in 2003.^[4] ^[5] ^[6] The self-titled album, 2Mex, was released in 2004.^[7] ^[8] He released My Fanbase Will Destroy You on Strange Famous Records in 2010. It features guest appearances from Murs, Prince Po, Busdriver and Nobody.^[9] In 2016, one of his legs was amputated due to complications from diabetes. He addressed the loss and other struggles in the 2017 album Lospital.^[10]

Discography

Solo

Studio albums

B-Boys in Occupied Mexico (Mean Street, 2001)
Sweat Lodge Infinite (Temporary Whatever, 2003)
2Mex (Paladin Creative Super Co., 2004)
Over the Counter Culture (Up Above, 2005) (as SunGodSuns)
My Fanbase Will Destroy You (Strange Famous, 2010)
Lospital (Water the Plants, 2017)
Ghostwriting Songs for God (2021)

Mixtapes and EPs

Unreleased Hits (Memo, 1998) [mixtape]
Words. Knot Music. (Memo / Afterlife, 2000) [mixtape]
The Sweat (2002) [EP]
Knowhawk (Biofidelic / La2TheBay / Invisible Enemy, 2004) [mixtape]
Gloria Was a KROQer (Up Above, 2006) [EP]
Protect and Serve (2010) [mixtape]
Cartoon Boyfriend (2015) [mixtape]
Gentrification EP (2018) [EP]

Compilations

Essential 2Mex Road CD (2005)
New Wave Chola Road Mix (2006)
Singles: Volume One (2007)
Sound Hoarding Vol. 1 (2015)
Sound Hoarding Vol. 2 (2015)
Sound Hoarding Vol. 3 (2020)

Collaborations

Visionaries (2Mex with Dannu, DJ Rhettmatic, Key Kool, LMNO & Lord Zen)

Galleries (Up Above, 1998)
Sophomore Jinx (Up Above, 2000)
Pangaea (Up Above, 2004)
We Are the Ones (We've Been Waiting For) (Up Above, 2006)
Established 1995 (Up Above, 2007) [compilation]
V (2020)

Of Mexican Descent (2Mex with Xololanxinxo)

Exitos y mas exitos EP (1998) [EP]
Exitos y mas exitos (1998)
Of Mexican Descent (Demo 1992) (2020) [EP]

Look Daggers (2Mex with Isaiah Owens)

The Patience EP (2007) [EP]
Suffer in Style (2008)

Other collaborations

Fake It Until You Make It (1999) (with Mum's the Word, as The Mind Clouders)
Money Symbol Martyrs (2006) (with Life Rexall, as $martyr)
Break Up Your Make Up (2009) (with Deeskee, Die Young & Stacey Dee, as The Returners)
Blessing in Disguise (2010) (with Key Kool & LMNO)
Fallin' Angels (2011) (with Nobody, as SonGodSuns)
Like Farther... Like Sun... (2013) (with Maiselph)
Operation: Dark Winter December (2020) (with Anu322)

Guest appearances

Key-Kool & Rhettmatic – "Visionaries (Stop Actin' Scary)" from Kozmonautz (1995)
Nobody – "Shades of Orange" from Soulmates (2000)
Abstract Rude + Tribe Unique – "Frisbee" from P.A.I.N.T. (2001)
Existereo – "Morals" from Dirty Deeds & Dead Flowers (2001)
Jel vs. 2Mex – "D.I.Y. Partisan" (2002)
Busdriver & Radioinactive with Daedelus – "Barely Music" from The Weather (2003)
Dax, Neogen, Dert, Reconcile, Professor Who, Dokument, Chosen1, Griffin, Lazarus, Raphi, Drastic, Propaganda & Macho – "Remember This Day" from (2003)
Omid – "Myth Behind the Man" from Monolith (2003)
Abstract Rude & Tribe Unique – "Flow and Tell" from Showtyme (2003)
Awol One – "Gagbuster" from Self Titled (2004)
Shape Shifters – "American Idle" from Was Here (2004)
Subtitle – "Crew Cut (for Sale)" from Young Dangerous Heart (2005)
Busdriver – "Sphinx's Coonery" from Fear of a Black Tangent (2005)
Ellay Khule – "Fading Rhythms" from Califormula (2006)
Prince Po – "Ask Me" from Prettyblack (2006)
Thavius Beck – "Dedicated to Difficulty" from Thru (2006)
Mestizo – "Back Wash" from Dream State (2007)
The Gigantics – "Don't" from Die Already (2008)
Expedyte feat Louis Logic, Phakt – "Sunny Daze" from Life (2008)
Ceschi – "Same Old Love Song" (2009)
Neila – "Mercy Refused" from Better Late Than Never (2009)
Factor Chandelier – "Mental Illness" from Lawson Graham (2010)
Radioinactive – "Mint Tea" from The Akashic Record (2013)
Self Provoked – "Trophies" from [The Propaganda] (2015)

External links

2Mex on Strange Famous Records

Notes and References

Web site: 2Mex – Sweat Lodge Infinite. Dusted Magazine. Joel. Calahan. March 9, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20050209214252/http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/465. 9 February 2005.
Web site: 2Mex Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More AllM... . 2024-06-29 . AllMusic . en.
2Mex – B Boys in Occupied Mexico. Exclaim!. Thomas. Quinlan. December 2001. August 13, 2012.
Web site: Album Review: 2Mex – Sweat Lodge Infinite. Prefix. Mike. Krolak. October 21, 2003. August 13, 2012. March 3, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184351/http://www.prefixmag.com/reviews/2mex/sweat-lodge-infinite/12965/. dead.
Web site: Sweat Lodge Infinite . XLR8R . Dave . Segal . January 27, 2004 . August 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131027075941/http://www.xlr8r.com/reviews/2mex/sweat-lodge-infinite . October 27, 2013 . dead .
2Mex – Sweat Lodge Infinite. Exclaim!. Thomas. Quinlan. February 2004. August 13, 2012.
Web site: 2Mex . XLR8R . Rachel . Swan . March 23, 2004 . August 13, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131027214924/http://www.xlr8r.com/reviews/2mex/2mex . October 27, 2013 . dead .
2Mex – 2Mex. Exclaim!. Thomas. Quinlan. April 2004. August 13, 2012.
Web site: 2Mex – Dead Hand Control and Track Listing (MP3) . URB . Trav . Glave . September 28, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110101125740/http://www.urb.com/2010/09/28/2mex-dead-hand-control-and-track-listing/ . January 1, 2011 . dead .
News: Gutierrez . Juan . After a Life-Threatening Illness, a Healthy 2Mex Is Back With New Music . LA Weekly . 15 August 2017.