It’s been two years since Hermez the God was released from prison after serving a seven-year sentence for gang activity, and he’s already built a sizable following for his brand of Latino street culture-influenced rap. Working from his studio on Hemphill Street on the South Side, the 34-year-old Diamond Hill native pumps out songs/collaborations and music videos with fury. Though he has only 325 YouTube subscribers, his YT vids for “Hated by Most” and “Just Watch” have been viewed 16K and 8.8K times, respectively, and they’re just a snapshot of his total visual output. And overall reach. With 10.2K Instagram followers, Hermez is more than just a street icon.
“Hermez the God is your average man coming up from poverty doing music,” he said. “That’s always been a dream. … As an artist, I have a passion for music, and that’s where I’m at right now in the industry. To be honest, I rap about things I’ve witnessed and the things that the culture and others can relate to in everyday life scenarios. The lifestyle I was living involved shootings and gangbanging. I’m not so big on trying to glorify my past negativities and criminal activities. I’m not ashamed of it, but it helped me grow, and at the same time, I’m not proud of it, but it made me the man I am today.”
Hermez the God said he was recently arrested for “being in the wrong place with someone else at the wrong time after we hosted a back-to-school event handing out backpacks and school supplies to the homeless. … I’m out here trying to pursue a dream. It sucks that they’re not recognizing those things, and they didn’t come raid the back-to-school event. It’s like they set you up for failure.”
Hermez said his personal growth actually started while behind bars. “I took certain trades and classes that teach you how to speak and think while fundamentally carrying yourself. You can’t talk to the same people in an industry or in a higher-class neighborhood or lower-class neighborhood the same way or say things in certain neighborhoods.”
On his new, seven-track trap-style album FORSAKEN, Hermez the God brings Latino street culture directly into your earphones through detailed descriptions and storytelling. From the spirited flow of “Laundry Freestyle” to the forceful staccato lines in tracks like “Standing on Bidness” and “Run It,” Hermez stresses the people, places, and things that make his world spin despite — or because of — his criminal past.
Each song features a different collaborator. Fort Worth icons Go Yayo, Twisted Black, and Denero, plus Dallas’ BigXthaPlug, Atlanta’s Kap G, Houston’s DeeBaby, and more make appearances on FORSAKEN.
From his Hemphill studio, Hermez also runs ATMM Studios, a full-service production company with credits on records by Twisted Black, Solo Lucci, and Tajaee, among others.
“We record music, do video shoots and photography out of the studio,” Hermez said. “I’m all-around, you know, a real entrepreneur.”
As his popularity booms, Hermez the God tries to keep a low profile.
“As a city, we are more into banging in crews and life beefs that end up in violence,” he said. “That’s rap in general for Latinos, and at this moment, we are known by that, but that’s our crutch when we could become a bigger thing for the city.”
Hermez the God
9pm Sat, Aug 31, w/Peso Peso and Gt Garza at The Hideout, 8236 Bedford-Euless Rd, NRH. $30. 817-630-5393.
