the full story.

Rarely are today’s rappers raised on classic rock, jazz and Latin soul, yet this describes the background of Bay Area artist and producer Sam Cuervo perfectly.

Born, raised and based in San Francisco, Cuervo began his musical obsession on a broken guitar when he was only 12. Self-taught and quickly picking up skill with the instrument, the Excelsior-born artist learned to use his music to escape the turmoil of a tense and lonely childhood. Influenced by anything and everything from Carlos Santana and Lil Wayne to 2Pac and Metallica, Cuervo tried his hand at making beats shortly after starting high school, eventually releasing music under various names ranging from experimental house to lo-fi hip hop.

It was also around this time that he met his close friend and long-time collaborator Intrinsik, who served as a huge influence on Cuervo’s early sound and development. Forming a group with Intrinsik under the name Devius Minds in 2016, the group released three unofficial singles titled “These Days,” “Go Again,” and “Hip-Hop Ain’t Dead,” which circulated locally by word of mouth and garnered Devius Minds a small following. The group ultimately disbanded before completing their debut mixtape, though Intrinsik and Cuervo remain tightly-knit to this day.

Post-Devius Minds Cuervo (then going by the name Epoch) released his debut single “Blindsided” in November of 2017, and produced Intrinsik’s single “Real” in early 2018. He then went on to produce and release an unofficial mixtape titled “City Soul” and his final single “Frisco Hippie” before retiring the alter-ego of Epoch. Sam Cuervo has since been at work on new music preluding his currently untitled debut studio album.

With production ranging from moody, nocturnal synths/guitar and aggressive 808s to chill drum breaks and jazzy lo-fi samples, Cuervo’s sound stays versatile and even borderline experimental. Learning to balance tone, Sam’s writing can shift from vivid pictures of his youth in gang-influenced parts of the city to the most laid-back stories of rolling up and kicking it with the homies. If there is one thing for certain, its that Sam Cuervo always creates from the soul and never limits where his sound can and will take him.