Carlos Coy (born October 5, 1970), known professionally as SPM (an initialism for South Park Mexican), is an American
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...
and convicted sex offender. His stage name was incorporated from his
Mexican heritage and the
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
neighborhood in
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, where he was raised.
Growing up into a life of crime in the mid-1980s, he later started his rap career in 1994. One year later, in 1995, he and his older brother co-founded independent music label,
Dope House Records, and released his debut studio album, ''Hillwood'', that March.
On May 18, 2002, Coy was convicted of
aggravated sexual assault of a child, sentenced to 45 years in prison, and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. He is currently serving his sentence at the
Ramsey Unit near
Rosharon, Texas; his projected release date is April 8, 2047. While incarcerated, he has continued to record music.
Early life
Carlos Coy was born on October 5, 1970, in
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. His father was a former
United States Marine
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...
from
Falfurrias. Coy's mother dropped out of high school to marry his father; they divorced in 1974.
His mother had worked full-time to support the family and was unable to apply for welfare. Because of this, Coy's older sister, a hairdresser, described herself as his "mother and sister", having to take care of him on most occasions. Coy emotionally felt disturbed by the aftermath of his father's separation from his mother and absence from the family. Taking the divorce of his parents hard, he grew into trouble.
He attended various elementary schools, before entering the music magnet program at Welch Middle School, learning how to play the piano before transitioning to the violin.
His family moved from
Southeast Houston to
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
, where he attended
Woodson Middle School. He later started skateboarding and breakdancing. At the age of 10, he was arrested for
arson
Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...
after he accidentally burned down the living room of the house of his friend's parents as a result of him smoking a cigarette mixed with marijuana.
At the age of 13, he became a
crack cocaine
Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be Smoking, smoked. Crack offers a short, intense Euphoria (emotion), high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Sub ...
dealer during this time. He attended
Milby High School until he was expelled in 1987 while in the ninth grade following a physical altercation with a female student, which provoked him to assault her. He was sent to an alternative school, before dropping out soon after. Coy later obtained a
GED
Ged or GED may refer to:
Places
* Ged, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Ged, a village in Bichiwara Tehsil, Dungarpur District, Rajasthan, India
* Delaware Coastal Airport, in Delaware, US, callsign GED
People
* Ged B ...
and enrolled in
San Jacinto Junior College for a business
associate degree
An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...
, but failed his classes. He did not have enough money to pay off his student loans and dropped out of San Jacinto, returning to Houston's South Park neighborhood. In a 1999 interview with the ''
Houston Press
The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017.
The publication is supported entirely ...
'', he reminisced on being expelled from Milby, saying "One more year in high school, and I would have went to jail for fucking
nderagebitches."
His older brother helped him find a legitimate job, working at a chemical plant for minimum wage, but after experiencing skin problems, including rash development, he was fired. Unemployed again, he worked as a door-to-door perfume salesman, but did not receive the money he expected. He continued dealing drugs.
In 1992, he was invaded by robbers who held him at gunpoint in exchange for cash, jewelry and drugs. That same year, he lost a close friend to gun violence. He relocated to his mother's trailer home for safety and asked God for a sign.
Career
Coy's interest in music resurfaced after watching a television commercial about rap. He initially began his career as a
Christian rapper. After performing a verse at a freestyle event, a competitor who performed afterwards threatened Coy and his mother by calling him a "
wetback", rapping that he would murder his mother, and claiming that he would drag her lifeless body to his car trunk. The impact of the event made him an outcast.
In 1994, Coy bought cassette tapes and resumed rapping. He began recording songs under the alias South Park Mexican (SPM for short), an ode to his Mexican heritage and his origins in Houston's South Park. In 1995, Coy and his older brother co-founded their own record label,
Dope House Records.
He released his debut album, ''
Hillwood'', locally in March 1995. He sold the album from the trunk of his car at
flea markets
A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
and car shows for $5 each. Its title references the Houston neighborhood of the same name. He caught the attention of Southwest Wholesales, an independent music distributor in farwide
Harris County. Throughout the summer of 1997, he started working on his second studio album, ''
Hustle Town'', which was released on March 3, 1998. The album became a hit in the Houston underground rap scene. It was supported by its single, "Mary-Go-Round".
On December 22, 1998, Coy released his third album, ''Power Moves: The Table'', which garnered mainstream attention. On November 23, 1999, he released his fourth album, ''
The 3rd Wish: To Rock the World''; its lead single, "High So High" charted at number fifty on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rap Tracks chart. Its follow-up single, "Wiggy", did not match the same success as "High So High".
In February 2000, he signed Dope House to a distribution deal with
Universal Records
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
, a now-absorbed music division of
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
. It earned him an advance of $500,000 and national distribution.
Universal released two of Coy's studio albums, ''Time is Money'' (2000), and ''Never Change'' (2001). The compilation, ''The Purity Album'' (2000), included the single "You Know My Name", which peaked at number thirty-one on the rap chart. ''
San Antonio Express-News
The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the sta ...
'' writer Ramiro Burr summarized South Park Mexican's lyrical content in a 2001 profile: "SPM delivers raunchy lyrics about growing up in the barrio and living the party life. But he says he also focuses on working hard and having hope for a better life."
His Universal releases did not gain much mainstream attention; Jason Birchmeier of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
suggested, "Coy's
hardcore rapping proved to be too harsh for the masses". He was dropped from Universal after his arrest on child sexual abuse charges. His 2002 album, ''Reveille Park'', a compilation of
freestyles, was released by Dope House shortly before Coy's trial for sexual assault began. Dope House also released two more albums recorded by Coy while he was incarcerated, ''When Devils Strike'', released in 2006, debuted at #46 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and ''The Last Chair Violinist'' followed two years later in 2008. Following a six-year hiatus, he released ''The Son of Norma'' on September 30, 2014.
Criminal and civil matters
2001–02: Child sexual assault cases
On September 25, 2001, Houston police arrested Coy on a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a female child who, at the time, was nine years old. He was released from county jail after posting bail. The incident occurred on a
Labor Day
Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...
weekend, earlier that month.
A Harris County jury indicted Coy on December 10, 2001.
Two more charges followed in March 2002 for the sexual assault of two 14-year-old girls in a hotel room in
New Caney; Coy was held without bail. Coy's trial began on May 8, 2002, when the mother of the nine-year-old girl testified that her daughter left a sleepover because of abuse.
The next day, the girl, who also claimed to have had insomnia, testified that Coy touched her inappropriately when she was sleeping with her friend, who was Coy's daughter. He then proceeded to perform oral sex on the girl.
Driving her back to her mother's house, Coy also complimented her dancing abilities and coerced her to lie to her parents, claiming that her stomach was hurting. He promised to her mother and grandparents that he would plan on building a dance studio to fulfill her dreams. However, after he left, the child explained to the family that he sexually assaulted her. Coy maintains his innocence in this case, claiming that it was an attempt to extort him for money.
On May 18, 2002, following a ten-day trial, the Harris County Courthouse jury found Coy guilty of
aggravated sexual assault of a child. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison on May 30 and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
Coy, whose
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails ...
number is 01110642, is
incarcerated in the
Ramsey Unit in
Rosharon. His projected release date is April 8, 2047.
There had been persistent messages from online posters calling for his release, but also mixed reception, due to Coy's criminal behavior.
2024: Parole hearing
His first
parole
Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...
eligibility hearing started on October 7, 2024.
His parole request was denied on January 13, 2025.
2000–01: Child support lawsuit
In July 2000, Houston police officers appeared at the headquarters of Dope House Records with court orders for Coy, involving a lawsuit filed by a 20-year-old female who claimed that, in 1993, he impregnated her when she was 13. Their son was born months later. At the time of the lawsuit, their child was 6 years old. The plaintiff later demanded
child support
Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is ...
payments from him.
After a DNA paternity test, it was confirmed 99.9% positive that Coy was, in fact, the biological father of the victim's son. He was ordered to pay the victim and their son $28,000 in unpaid child support as well as hospital fees for prenatal and birth expenses.
Following Coy's arrest on charges of aggravated sexual assault in late 2001, the Harris County District Attorney's office announced that the 1993 incident would be pressed as a criminal charge against him.
2005: Lawsuit from victim
In February 2005, the aggravated sexual assault victim, now twelve years old that year, was awarded (on behalf of her parents) $25,000 in damages and liability.
Personal life
Coy is the father of three children. He has remained a close friend to rapper
Baby Bash
Ronald Ray Bryant (born October 18, 1969), better known by his stage name Baby Bash (formerly Baby Beesh), is an American rapper. His first two albums, '' Savage Dreams'' (2001) and '' On Tha Cool'' (2002), were released by the independent Housto ...
throughout the incarceration. He was once married to Carolyn Rodriguez from 2010 to 2019.
Discography
Solo albums
Collaboration albums
*''Wanted''
with Lone Star Ridaz (2001)
*''40 Dayz/40 Nightz''
with Lone Star Ridaz (2002)
Compilation albums
*''Lone Star Ridaz''
with Happy P (2000)
*''
The Purity Album'' (2000)
*''Pocos Pero Locos Presents the SPM Hits'' (2013)
Mixtapes
*''Screwston: The Day Houston Died'' (2001)
*''Screwston Vol. 2: Pink Soda'' (2001)
*''Screwston Vol. 3: Stuck in da Mud'' (2002)
Soundtrack albums
*''Latin Throne'' (1999)
*''Latin Throne 2'' (2000)
Singles
Guest appearances
See also
*
History of the Mexican-Americans in Houston
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Park Mexican
1970 births
21st-century American criminals
Drug dealers
American music industry executives
American prisoners and detainees
American people convicted of child sexual abuse
American rappers of Mexican descent
Living people
Prisoners and detainees of Texas
Rappers from Houston
Underground rappers
Universal Records artists
San Jacinto College alumni
Gangsta rappers
21st-century American rappers