Farewell, Floco Torres

I don’t recall the exact circumstances of the first time I met Floco Torres, but I do remember the first show we played together in the space where Envy now sits on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. It was billed as a “Free Floco” show, designed to help raise money for some sort of legal fine he was facing. As a young artist, those things can be debilitating. He’d just moved to Macon, but already he was making connections, digging into whatever semblance of a music scene existed at that point.

At that point, I don’t know that I saw Floco as anything more than a backpack rapper who really liked Jay-Z, but something has happened between then and now. It’s been remarkable to watch Floco grow into the artist that he is today. Through an absolute dedication to his craft, he’s honed in on a constant aesthetic that gets more tightly focused with each release. His lyrics are filled with on-point social commentary and insightful introspection into his daily life. His beats are tighter than ever, pushing boundaries while respecting the past. He’s grown into an artist who’s bigger than Macon, someone whom I don’t hesitate to recommend to friends when they’re looking for something new to listen to.

More than that, Floco is the epitome of the kind of musician that it takes to build a music scene. He actively tries to collaborate with other musicians regardless of genre differences. He learns from each collaboration and pushes his own musical knowledge to the next level. He brings in younger musicians. Floco has mentored countless students as part of the annual Otis Music Camp. Some of those campers have gone on to appear on his records. His work ethic is absolutely insane. Last month, he released four EPs. Each one was better than the last.

I saw Floco in Athens a few weeks ago as part of a hip-hop showcase at the Caledonia Lounge. Each act was given a short set of 15 minutes, and most brought their crew in tow in an attempt to hype the crowd. The night grew slightly competitive as each artist tried to outdo the next, and the focus shifted away from the music in the attempts to wow the crowd. Most of the artists were lip-synching to prepared tracks.

Then Floco steps onstage. Solo. He’s all tightly compressed energy, and within seconds he has the crowd with their hands up. Later in the set, they’re clapping along, they’re singing the lyrics with him. Winning over a new crowd in Athens is not easy, and Floco did it in a quarter hour. I’m certainly a bit biased, but he was far and away the best act of the night. The other acts didn’t come close musically, didn’t come close in terms of relevance to an audience.

It made me realize how far Floco has come not just musically but as an entertainer. It also made me realize more than ever how much the music scene in Macon will miss him as he heads out of town at the end of the year. Despite the gargantuan amount of energy that Floco has contributed to the local scene, there’s never been a network here to truly support him, and he’s making the right choice to head to a bigger city.

Floco Torres is going to make it big. He won’t accept anything less. Those of us that have worked with him over the years in Macon will miss the hell out of him, but we can’t wait to see what the future holds. Good luck, and don’t forget to send us a postcard every now and then.

This story was originally published November 10, 2016 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Farewell, Floco Torres."