Juan Casado Fisac (born December 18, 1998), known professionally as Ralphie Choo, is a Spanish singer-songwriter and producer.

Early life

Fisac was born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. He grew up in

Daimiel Daimiel is a municipality in Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It has a population of 17,342, and a mechanical industry. The football club is Daimiel CF. The Tablas de Daimiel National Park, a well-known but endangered wetland natural res ...

, a small town in the

province of Ciudad Real The province of Ciudad Real () is a province in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Cuenca, Albacete, Jaén, Córdoba, Badajoz, and Toledo. It is partly located ...

, in Castille-La Mancha after moving with his family from an early age. Although it is often cited that he studied a degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

before switching to

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, this is a running myth that he has debunked publicly, citing his mother as the main reason for his decision to study Harmony and Musical Production. His professional career began in 2019 when he started producing beats with friends after an

ACL injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

while playing soccer forced him to rest at home for two months. He began adding his vocals to original compositions in 2021. His stage name is a mix of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' character

Ralph Wiggum Ralph Wiggum is a recurring character in the animated series ''The Simpsons.'' He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Ralph is characterized largely by his frequent non-sequiturs which range from nonsensical and bizarre to profound. His dim-witte ...

and the series' Valentine's Day special " I Choo Choo Choose You”.

Career

Inspired by the experimentalism of Internet-born music collectives such as

Odd Future Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, better known as Odd Future and often abbreviated as OF or OFWGKTA, was an American alternative hip-hop Musical collective, music collective formed in Los Angeles, California in 2007. The group consisted of rap ...

and

PC Music PC Music is a record label and art collective based in London and run by producer A. G. Cook. It was founded in 2013, uploading its first releases to SoundCloud that year. Artists on its roster have included Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Danny L H ...

, Ralphie Choo is a founding member of the artistic collective and label "Rusia-IDK", alongside Rusowsky, TRISTÁN!, DRUMMIE and Mori, who all met each other and grouped together online through their manager, Jubera. "Rusia-IDK" artists have a similar artistic vision, aiming to create a bold sound that combines

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

with

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

and

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

. Ralphie Choo's breakthrough occurred in 2022 with “BULERÍAS DE UN CABALLO MALO,” a track that draws inspiration from the

-electronica fusion popularized by

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish Pop music, pop and flamenco singer. She has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. After being enthral ...

in ''

El Mal Querer ''El mal querer'' () is the second studio album by Spanish singer and songwriter Rosalía. It was released on 2 November 2018 by Columbia Records. The album was written by Rosalía and co-produced with El Guincho on an initial low budget as an i ...

''. The song resonated with critics and attracted attention from labels such as

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...

, True Panther, and ultimately

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, with which he signed. In September 2023, Ralphie Choo launched his debut album, ''Supernova'', which ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' characterized as "bizarre and incongruous—but oddly satisfying." The album blends elements of R&B, hip-hop, reggaeton, and flamenco. It was named one of the best albums of 2023 by ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

.'' In September 2024, Ralphie Choo collaborated with fellow Spanish singer-songwriter

on the single "

Omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...

," released on September 25.

Artistry

An "avant-pop prodigy" and a "musical rebel", Ralphie Choo has cited

Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music journalism, music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a B ...

, and

Yung Lean Jonatan Aron Leandoer Håstad (born 18 July 1996), known professionally as Yung Lean, is a Swedish rapper. Widely cited as one of the most influential figures in the early cloud rap era, Yung Lean rose to prominence in 2013 with his song " Gins ...

as his major musical influences. A loyal consumer of American music, he was captivated by the

bedroom pop Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or music production, production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a delibe ...

scene of the United States. Inspired by artists like

Rex Orange County Alexander James O'Connor (born 4 May 1998), known professionally as Rex Orange County, is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Grayshott, England. '' NPR Music''s Zoë Jones has described O'Connor's music as "a bright b ...

and

Clairo Claire Elizabeth Cottrill (born August 18, 1998), known professionally as Clairo, is an American singer-songwriter. She began posting music on the internet at age 13. Clairo rose to prominence following the viral success of the music video for ...

, he aimed to export the genre to the Spanish scene. He has also stated that his artistry delivers from the more “classical" and "flamenco view” of her mother and "punkier" side of his father, citing

Outkast Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...

OK Go OK Go is an American Rock music, rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar, bass, backing vocalist, v ...

Choker A choker is a close-fitting necklace worn around the neck, typically 14 inch to 16 inch in length. Chokers can be made of a variety of materials, including velvet, plastic, beads, latex, leather, metal, such as silver, gold, or platinum, etc. Th ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

Oklou Marylou Vanina Mayniel (born 23 April 1993), better known by her stage name Oklou (pronounced "Okay Lou"; ˈəʊkeɪ 'luː), is a French musician from Poitiers. Her debut mixtape ''Galore'' was released in 2020, which was followed up by her debu ...

Tyler, the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop during the 2010s. Tyler beca ...

Childish Gambino Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his musical stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. While he studied at New York University and after working in Derrick ...

and

Paco de Lucía Francisco Sánchez Gómez (; 21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flamen ...

as direct musical inspirations.

Discography

Studio albums

As producer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choo, Ralphie 1998 births Living people Singers from Madrid Spanish male singer-songwriters Spanish record producers 21st-century Spanish male singers 21st-century Spanish singer-songwriters