Who is Fuego bravo

The backdrop is New York City, the man- Fuego Bravo, the plight: ascension in Hip Hop; At first glance, or thought that would seem to be a tall task; However to a person who has already overcome so much in life difficult only takes a day.

Of Dominican descent, and proud of it, Johnny Swagga aka Fuego Bravo is New York to the core. Born in South Jamaica, Queens, Bravo moved around a lot as a youngster with stops in the South Bronx and Brooklyn before migrating to his home, the place he knows and loves- HARLEM. Trials and tribulations have built the man and he now knows that his most important task outside of music is the caring and development of his children- daughter Cayla, and son Julian.

His past he notes perpetuates his ability to be flexible, incorporating many styles to his music and overall demeanor and presentation. His trademark, "Its time to get focused, its time to get noticed" is something that he epitomizes in his approach, his hunger, his drive. With hits like "Now or Never" and club anthems "Gummy Yummy" and "No One else" Bravo plans on applying a choke hold to the scene, and giving his fans what they have been waiting for.

Along with THE GREAT ONES, his family and business partners, Bravo as well as labelmate Frito, are ones to watch for. With their hands in ventures such as modeling and party promoting, TGO is on the rise.

Fuego Bravo is destine to leave his mark on the game- and in life,refusing to be denied; after all, with a life like the one he has led, he feels the only way is up from here.

Fuego Bravo stopped in to kick with Basquiat to share some of whats on his mind and the dynamics behind his lines, and the machine behind the movement.


Explain the TGO movement to the people who don't know?

TGO is not only a movement we're a family first just to clear that up, we grew up in the same neighborhood. Some of us grew up on the same block but our movement is anything we can get our hands on. From models, parties, and music to fashion, and film. I grew up watching dudes like Diddy & Jay-Z start from nothing to something, having their hands in just about everything they could. BAD BOY,ROC-A-FELLA & RUFF RYDERS basically set the blueprints for a success. Their impact was huge. TGO doesn't want to just get in where we fit in, we want to conquer. WE want to make THE GREAT ONES a household name, by doing better than those who came before us.

How has the responsibility of being a parent and your background inspired you to go hard @ ur dreams?

I grew up with out a male figure in my life so I knew I always wanted to be a good father and I honestly think I'm doing a good job. I say that because I grew up poor I grew up on food stamps, the paper stamps at that lol. Not the EBT card they have now,some kids don't even know about that HA! Kids know about triple play cable. I grew up on antenna TV's and the cable being off every other week. When they cut off your cable back then you couldn't plug the cable wire to your tv and get service cause they completely cut off your service. Going through that made me want better for mine. Don't get me wrong we all need a helping hand here and there but you can't be lazy. My struggle hasn't broke me. It has made me stronger and now I'm proud to say I'm raising my kids and providing them with better opportunities.



As a person influenced by the "golden era" of rap aka the 90s; what do u think hip hop is missing?

SHEESH the game is missing a lot the game is missing me, FUEGO lol; the games is missing the fans, the supporters. Everybody wants to rap now and everyones fake beefing so no ones supporting. If everyone is rapping then who's buying the music? To me good music is being made, but creativity is lacking. If one style or sound gets popular everyone wants to run with it. Artists are scared to think outside the box. For example ,auto tunes, everyone raped that wave. The support is definitely missing. I mean come on! Justin bieber is making great music?..Knock to knock anybody but its the pop culture support that pushes him. HIP HOP doesn't have that right now.

I understand u moved around a lot as a youngster which can be a headache; but now u embrace it- What does mobility do for u now?

Moving around alot helped me to accept change; You have to make the best out of anything no matter where you're at. Different doesn't always mean things are bad. Also when I meet new people I don't judge them because of where they're from, rather how they present themselves. I can fit in anywhere and be myself. People will accept me cause people respect real .. I hope that answered the question

Why do u say "you are hip hop"?

I say I am hip hop cause I grew up when hip hop was at it's best. At a young age trying to find myself, I took in hip hop. The hip hop culture was my father. I learned a lot listening to the music I took it in and embraced it. Rap told stories and taught lessons, molding the man I am today. My swagga came from HIP HOP, so I AM HIP HOP #IAM_TGO.


Your trademark is "Its time to get focused, its time to get noticed". Do you remember when and why you came up wit that?

It's funny I remember this like it was yesterday. I've been rapping for awhile and a close friend of mine by the name of Lemar would always tell me to keep practicing my craft. I kept writing and recording, it was a never ending cycle. In life when you don't see progress you start to lose sight of things and I stopped writing. I eventually hooked back up with producer @junevortex and he made me one of the sickest beats. I called the song RISE TO POWER and that line, It's time to get focused it's time to get noticed was born and it stuck with me... It actually goes STAY FOCUS IT'S TIME TO GET NOTICED it flowed better with the beat lol I hope people can use it to motivate themselves

What song of yours you think best depicts the message u wanna get across in ur music?

This is a tough question cause I can't really just say one song so I'm going to choose 2, NOW OR NEVER & LAST ONE ... On the intro of NOW OR NEVER I start off by saying "everybody wants success but it ain't gonna come knocking at your door you gotta get up go out and go get it". I want everyone to want to do better. Theres so many obstacles for us as "minorities". We have to motivate each other to do better. I'm not a hater I wish success for everybody but YOU gotta go get it. with LAST ONE I'm promoting that everyone live each night like it's your last one. You never know when you're gonna go so you should enjoy every minute of your life.

When did u realize music was ur passion?

After I wrote RISE TO POWER I would play that song over and over. I thought it was a good song and when another artist said " yo let me get on the remix" that's when I knew seeing his reaction on something that I created was a great feeling


What are ur other interests outside of music/ other ventures you are working on?

Right now my main focus is my music but I also promote parties with my TGO family helping to brand the name. I love knowing that people enjoy my company. When people wanna be around you it means they sincerely like you, and trust you with out having to say it. I'm an entertainer, I like to entertain people. I'm interested in anything that has to do with entertainment.



What's ur blueprint for longevity?

Consistency, you gotta stay relevant. You have to be willing to change with the times. The game is always evolving you have to be willing to try new things and not just stay in one lane. You also have to teach yourself new things. I know I can't rap forever so hopefully I can maybe crossover to film or even become a radio personality. As long as people hear your name and your involved you will always be relevant and if you teach other people your movement can continue on even after you decide to hang it up. A great example of that is Russell Simmons he also created a blueprint for a successful movement and even tho he left the music world he's still relevant in other things and DEF JAM is still around- THATS LONGEVITY.