ArtistInfo

Capo Cheeze

US

A.k.a. Matthew Pablo Young Lopez

Birth Date: November 12, 1991 Birth Place: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Raised: Santa Cruz, California, United States Matthew Pablo Young Lopez (stage name Capo Cheeze) is a Hispanic-American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, conductor, former death metal musician and technologist. He is of Mexican, Cuban and Honduran descent and is a Jehovah's witness. He was born on November 12, 1991 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His Honduran mother, Janie, who was sixteen at the time of his birth, had a volatile relationship with his Cuban father who left the family when Matthew was only three years old. His aunt, Kelly Monaco, known for her landmark role on the ABC daytime soap story, General Hospital, gave Matthew a chance at the grace of God as a Jehovah's witness to help him escape poverty, crime and street life. During elementary school, he formed a street metal band with the hopes of earning money to save his family, but nothing happened by 2003. At the age of eleven, he cut middle school to deal drugs and became a member of Gregorio Conti's LaRocca crime family, running into a slew of crimes including drug dealing, assault, robbery, gambling, pimping and jaywalking. On February 5, 2004, Matthew was arrested and charged with second-degree aggravated burglary, unlawful possession of a shotgun and second-degree criminal mischief. Later, in March, after failing to hire his lawyer, his mother abandoned him and he was convicted of a felony. Due to age of minority, Matthew, twelve years of age, was sentenced to three years in juvenile detention. On March 8, 2007, he was released after his father's brother helped him pay a $35,000 fine. Matthew accepted a term of four-years of parole. While incarcerated, he started writing lyrics and rapping as a way to escape trouble. He also read the Holy Bible to reconsider his religion. He even formed another death metal band as a lead rapper and four other members, but due to personal differences, the band never took off. In June 2009, his mother sent him to move to Santa Cruz, California to live with his grandfather, who at the time, was diagnosed with arthritis, but unfortunately, he found himself in trouble again after he was arrested in Harbor High School for possessing a firearm on campus. However, after forensic evidence proved that the gun wasn't his, the charges were dropped. His grandfather later sent him to a boarding school (Monarch School) in San Diego. In March 2011, Matthew launched his first record label deal with Ruff Ryders Indy, an independent circuit of the original Ruff Ryders, which first launched success with DMX. However, after Waah Dean left the label, Matthew was dropped from the Ruff Ryders. After receiving a loan from his aunt, Kelly Monaco, Matthew took the stage name, Capo Cheeze, because he dreamed of making his own money from his own empire. He had since been cornered by Atlantic, Columbia and Capitol Records, but did not wanted to sign with these labels. The Source Magazine also wanted to add him on their "Unsigned Hype" column, but he rejected the offer. On July 25, 2012, Matthew's grandfather died after losing his 16-year battle with rheumatoid arthritis. He was 79 years old. Capo Cheeze was nearly late to his funeral. Since then, he hired Cortez Bryant as his manager, who in turn, wanted to sign him to Lil Wayne's label, Young Money Entertainment. The deal never developed. In August 2013, Speaker Knockerz signed Capo to Talibandz Entertainment and he appeared on Knock's mixtape, Finesse Father, under the "development" pseudonym, Big Cheeze. However, when Capo started recording his first project with Talibandz, he found himself in legal trouble once more. In October 2013, Capo was arrested for parole violation after associating with another felon. On January 17, 2014, he was sentenced to 370 days in prison for possession of drug paraphernalia, methamphetamine and firearms. He was later reconsidered for another possible parole term, five years. That March, while he was locked up, his mentor Speaker Knockerz died of a heart attack after he was missing for three days. That October, Talibandz released his single, "She the Truth", which got him attention behind bars, also a video was shot and released prior to him getting locked up. On January 27, 2015, he was released on five years of the possibility of parole. That time, he released a mixtape, Euphoria, marking a big comeback for his career following his jail release. He also recorded a track, "On the Scene", featuring Boss Beezy. The song gained street buzz after getting a co-sign from Chance The Rapper. His song, "Life", also gained attention after it appeared on the soundtrack to the YouTube mini-movie, Rico Story 2 in November 2015. In 2016, Capo Cheeze started having a financial fallout with Talibandz, then in April 2017, he left the label and signed with NuWave Music. In May 2017, his mother was shot and killed following a fight with a mall security officer in Malibu, California. Capo did not attend her funeral, but revived his religion following her death. On March 9, 2018, to commemorate for the twenty-first anniversary of the murder of The Notorious B.I.G., Capo Cheeze released his first digital album, Lawless.

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