Baltimore, Maryland emcee Los is trying to bring the Chesapeake to the mainstream. The After Platinum hopeful has his upcoming Shooter mixtape with DJ Ill Will and DJ Rockstar, and he hopes the nation listens. Speaking with HipHopDX recently, Los spoke about his surroundings, and how they make influence sharpshooter lyrics.

“Baltimore is a rough place, and its depiction is reality,” rapper Los told DX. “In my opinion, it hasn’t been displayed totally, it could be a lot worse. People who live in Baltimore learn to survive, because everyday your fighting for your life and well being.”

Asked how he reacts to the life around him with his art, Los said, “It forces me to remain the same me, stay true to myself and my story. It inspires me to paint the picture more vividly than any writer or producer on television has. My music comes from my experiences growing up in Baltimore, I represent the struggle. Baltimore City Paper recently named me the ‘Best Male Emcee,’ so I must be doing something right,” he affirmed with a laugh.

One of the ways Los garnered that award is through independently building a fan-base. “I am constantly communicating with [my fans] on my social networks and putting out music that they can give me feedback on before it hits radio, TV or anything else. This makes it easy to create concepts and stay ahead of my competition by customizing songs that the people want to hear.”

Looking forward to Shooter, Los said that he’s really going in for the kill. “I have a record with Rick Ross and my After Platinum labelmate Cory Gunz. I have some other features on the horizon that I want to surprise my fans with. Then next comes the successful album, Billboard-charting singles and sold out stadiums…”

Visit Los’ MySpace page for more information.