Joy Ride Records boss and founder Carlos Munoz has made it his mission to promote Montreal artists from Latin America, as he has done with rappers like Loud, Rymz and Connaisseur Ticaso.
Carlos Munoz calls himself a rap scholar, and for good reason. However, it was his Latin roots that encouraged him to launch Joy Ride Records' sister label in 2021; Joy Ride Latino.
“For me it is a return to my roots, a return to my native language,” explains the man who was born to Chilean parents.
Joy Ride Latino will present the second project from the YNG LGNDZ (pronounced Young Legends) collective titled Leyendas on December 15th at Club Soda in Montreal. Led by Montreal singer Cruzito, previously signed to the same team as Daddy Yankee, this momentum, which involves around twenty Montreal artists from around ten Latin American countries, promises to be one of the most important in the history of Quebec Latin music to become .
“There is a lot of talent that represents us here. The aim of the Leyendas project is to give them a voice, using our experience, our notoriety and our contacts,” emphasizes Cruzito, who plays a mentoring role for the young artists from Leyendas collective. “I want to show that community is important and set a good example of professionalism for younger people so they don’t make the same mistakes I made,” he says.
The Montreal singer of Honduran origin, Cruzito. Photo: Vincent Gravel
To describe YNG LGNDZ's musical style, Cruzito and Carlos Munos like to use the term Montreal sound.
“They are not just Quebec artists, nor just Latin American artists. I believe that the mix of cultures can be heard in their music and that is one of the strengths of the project,” says the big man behind Joy Ride Records and Joy Ride Latino.
Already a viral piece
The song Blues, sung by YNG LGNDZ in collaboration with Mexican artist Mariana Gueza, was not even available on the platforms yet as it was already causing a stir on the singer's Instagram page.
“Mariana only posted a small snippet of the song, but her post quickly racked up millions of views and hundreds of thousands of shares [sur Instagram]so we pushed forward with the publication!” says Cruzito, still a little surprised.
“It’s a good indicator that our project and the artists have potential.”
The Leyendas album will be performed in its entirety during the public listening show on December 15th at Club Soda. Singles will then be routinely available on platforms until the project's official release in April.