On melodic rap phenomenon Cico P’s breakout single “Tampa,” he smoothly glides from verses to hook with a confidence and swagger that few possess in the current hip-hop landscape. The Jacksonville, Texas native is rising up the ranks as a promising new upstart with a mission to add his own charismatic flavor to hip-hop. It was through his father that he learned about Texas artists like UGK and the Swisha House roster, mixed with 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, DMX, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, while his mom introduced him to R&B acts like Omarion, Tyrese, and 112. That combination of hard raps and melodies inspired him to make his own music. He dropped his first project Sweet Union in 2019, fueled by the song “Tampa,” which has nothing to do with Florida, despite his hometown of Jacksonville, TX sharing the same name as the Floridian geotag. Eventually, “Tampa” found its way to TikTok at the top of 2021, peaking at #91 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on Spotify’s U.S. Viral list and catapulting him to #3 on Rollingstone’s exclusive Top Breakthrough 25 list. He’s now setting the stage for the release of his upcoming project Nawf Jaxx.