COAST

The year is 1990. Ruben Reyes is 8 years old and in the 3rd grade at Mendel Elementary, a small school in a northeast Houston neighborhood named Epsom Downs. The class was assigned to read a book titled 'Super Fudge'. Once finished with the book, the students were instructed to gather in groups of three to write a song about the story. "I can still remember to this day the niggas in my group. It was me, my boy Jason, and my boy Jesus. I had never written a song before so I didn't really know about bars, hooks, bridges or any kind of sequence. Needless 2 say, the shit was trash...but at least it all rhymed" (laughs). Ruben continued writing raps on his own time. "Man I remeber being in recess hangin' out with my classmates. We was talkin' about what we wanted to be when we grew up. I heard a police officer, a fireman, a vetenarian, a teacher... I said I wanted to be a rapper. One of my homeboys told me 'Man by the time you're old enough to do that, nobodys gonna even be listening to rap anymore.'" Ruben stayed practicing throughout junior high and high school. "I bought myself a karaoke machine when I was in the 9th grade. I hooked it up ghetto style to my cd player and recorded myself in my room. I would put like 10 songs together on some instrumentals and dubbed them on a shit load of tapes. I started slangin' them in the MacArthur High parking lot. I was the only one doing that type of hustlin'. After a while, I got niggas helpin' me hustle at school. My boy David had a cousin who was try'na start his own label, Richie Rich Records. They offered me a chance to record in a real studio just so long as I provided the label with beats that I made on a drum machine that I had recently bought." By this time, Ruben had already aquired the name "Coast" because of a necklace that he wore that said '3rd COAST'. "My first time in the studio, I felt like I had already blew up. I felt at home. I was 17 years old feelin' like I was already a veteran." A three song demo was recorded under the Richie Rich imprint. "Richie Rich Records was very short-lived but I'm happy that I got that pportunity to be there. Richie Rich Records is where I first met my boy Nelson. He and I were the only two rappers at the label that weren't related to the ceo. We had no choice but to stick together. Nelson had known a few guys from Dope House Records and invited me to meet them at their studio." By this time, Coast had just graduated high school and was ready to begin a career in music. Jaime "Pain" Ortiz was engineering at the D.H.R. studio that night. "Me and Nelson walked in and Pains got a beat playin'. I asked who was gonna be rappin' on it and he told us that whoever wanted to get on it could. I pulled out my notebook and started writing. I guess I impressed Pain cause he invited me back after it was all over. I started jumpin' on more and more songs and eventually, SPM heard my shit. After a couple of years of proving my loyalty to the company, I was offered a deal." Coast had done some recording with Quotakey, another artist who was trying to get recognition from the company. Coast and Quota became inseperable inside and outside of the studio. "Quota and I shared a common goal. We saw each other eye to eye. So when I was offered my deal, I requested that Quota be signed along with me. Dope House accepted my request and Twin Beredaz became the newest group under SPM's wing. I've spent my entire life training myself to rap. Rappin' is all I know how to do. I'm lost without this shit. When I was a kid, they told me that no one would still listen to rap by the time I grew up. I thank God that they were wrong and I thank my 3rd grade teacher for creating a monster." (laughs) Times have changed and Coast's career undergoes constant progression. After five years as a loyal Dope House artist, Coast respectfully left the label to explore the music industry as a solo artist. Houston artist, Chingo Bling, took an interest in Coast. "Chingo and I are fans of each other. We touring the country together right now. I got love for Chingo and everyone affiliated with his company. I feel like I have a purpose right now. I feel like things were meant to fall into place like this. My life thus far has been a learning experience and none of its been for nothing. Stay tuned... big things are sure to come"