Making Reno Beats With Andy Guerra
Photo by Sam Ray-Johnson.
Rap and hip hop are known as the modern musical artforms, ones that carry the weight of world issues, social commentary and snapshots of life. They’re fluid genres that are difficult to compartmentalize into a single category. Many artists use it as a framework to build off new expressions of song, mixing elements of EDM, funk, or even classical music.
Andy Guerra or Dadswax as he is called, is a beat producer that will humbly say his sound is not unique to the Reno scene. While I may be an outsider to the beat, rap and hip hop communities of this city, I will admit I’ve never heard local tracks quite like Guerra’s previously.
Throwing in soundbites from news clips and street sounds, Guerra’s work reminds me a lot of vaporwave — it feels like a 1980s mixtape meets neon lights and the house underground. While some of his songs like ‘Paradise Drive’ carry a somber tone, tracks like ‘Used To Be’ and ‘Out Of My Way,’ will have you vibing in no time. His music is the marriage of hip hop and EDM, swirling purposefully low quality keys with spoken word and drum and bass.
He says his art has two moods: sitting on your front porch watching the world go by, or “straight up grime, filthiness... from the streets.” His beats are the kind of music you can put on as the background soundtrack, but if you have a desire for something more profound, just listen in and you can hear it. For me, that’s some of the best music, the songs you can go about your day to or get something out of it, if you really wanted.
“Hip hop is a vessel for poetry and real life experiences,” Guerra said. “Growing up as a brown, Hispanic, Latino kid, it's the one genre that's spoken to me the most and is the most relatable to me.”
Some of Guerra’s work is fueled by racial and socioeconomic inequalities, something he says the hip hop scene in Reno has held space for in light of the killing of George Floyd last year. Guerra says his song Grove Street is one of his most powerful pieces, from his beat tape ‘Murda.’ Although it doesn’t talk about the area, it reminds him of where he came from and how much work there’s still to be done in the community.
“My family started there… It’s kind of sad seeing the gentrification happening over there,” Guerra said. “I don’t think that could be good for the immigrant community there, it’s going to push them out and raise prices.”
He says although the pandemic put a stop to his live shows, he plans on coming back stronger than ever once it’s all over. He’s working on another beat tape now and hopes to help develop the Reno rap and hip hop scene more moving forward.
“I’m not resentful for it… it’s just about working around it,” Guerra said. “My goals are to stay authentic, I’m not trying to follow any fads or trends, I just want to keep making music I like.”
To follow Dadswax, visit his Instagram profile here.
