Luis Angel Rossy also known as Machete Sound was born in Victorville, a city in the High Desert of Southern California in the fall of 1988. His parents welcomed him into a family with two older sisters. Named after his father, a United States Marine who was born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York, Luis was a creative and inquisitive child. He was attentive, interested, and expressive. Luis’ cultural background spans across Latin America and the Caribbean. As an indigenous artist, both of his parents have roots in their respective countries. His mother, a fierce and powerful woman, contributed the majority of his Central American indigenousness while also having roots in Cuba. His Puerto Rican father is of Taino Descent on his maternal side while his paternal side is best known for their political contributions shortly after the United States took over of the island. Luis is a direct descendent of the first ever Speaker of the House in Puerto Rico, a passionate abolitionist who fought for the rights of all people on the island.
As a child, Luis was very precocious and interested in so many creative outlets. He had a fascination with superheroes from a young age, with his elementary school teachers noting his affinity for Batman. As he entered his adolescence, he fell ill with an autoimmune disease that caused him to spend hours isolated, in hospital settings. While he was missing out on the fun that his peers were experiencing, he became deeply interested in the backstories and dichotomies between/ heroes and villains. Eventually, it was evident that his fascination grew beyond Saturday morning cartoons. He found himself writing stories of his own, that stretched the imagination and challenged the status quo. He longed to see himself in the heroes he read about, and more often than not, representation was lacking. When he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he got lost in a world as he created himself.
As a multi-talented individual, his skill did not stop at creative writing and storytelling. Luis is a talented and accomplished musician with a career spanning over a decade. He started making music in his early childhood, and recorded his first song in middle school. In his late teen years, he experimented blending genres, an innovator for his time. He has written, produced, and performed catchy, rhythmic, classics that mixed reggae & hip hop with the hypnotic sounds of hardcore and even pop. His passion for music has endured throughout his adult life. He released his first musical EP in 2011, titled Babylon & I. He followed up with I & I, Scorpio Rising, and Natty Watching You in the years that followed. He performed live across the country, entertaining crowds all throughout California, The Pacific Northwest, and even opened up for billboard charting artists while on tour in Texas.
Music is his first love, and since he was banging on pots and pans as a toddler, it has remained a con stant companion in his life. He is capable in many aspects of the craft including song writing, music production, and sound engineering but his most iconic skill lies in his brilliant live performance. He has played on infamous stages on the West Coast and beyond. He has played the Whiskey in Hollywood and the Columbia City Theatre in Seattle, with his first ever live performance opening up for some of hip hop’s greatest and most iconic acts. He has collaborated with reggae legends like KING KONG & Marlon Asher.
The musical influences of Machete Sound are both vast and diverse. While his earlier music has a more (east coast influence) on his more recent projects you can hear him exploring his latin roots with great success. His first Spanish language single Te Tún made an impact throughout the Caribbean garnering him attention from the streets of Santo Domingo to his live Performances in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
In 2018, Luis became a father to a beautiful baby girl. She was born severely premature, and required all of his love and care to survive her 4 month NICU stay. Luis pivoted, leaving his job that allowed him to travel across the country and experience different things, to instead dedicate his time to raising his child and ensuring she had the attention and support that was required for her to thrive. Fatherhood served as an inspiration to his craft moving forward. When the world locked up and the shows shut down, Luis found himself once again enthralled with the thought of creating a comic of his own. He set forth to once again write stories he could relate to, this time including current political themes as well as his family into the plotline. That is when The Machete Clan was born. It is a comic that depicts the tale of an indigenous man in America, dealing with the plight of oppression and the imminent danger that pervades our existence as minorities. Activism has always been a staple in his life, and continues to be to this day.
After his foray into the acting world with Woman Who Blooms At Night, Luis found himself longing for his own ancestral lands. The film, debuting at the Los Angeles Skins Festival in the fall of 2023 was written by Camaray Davalos, a film tackles the horrifying reality of domestic violence perpetrated against indigenous women. Anything Luis does, he wants it to have a purpose and an impact. He seeks to align himself with his calling of creating art that sends a message, tells a story, and inspires the youth. One long standing goal that Luis has had is to ensure that he remains independent and flexible. He wanted to make it on his own and not be creatively compromised by anyone that sought to censor his voice. He wants to make sure that his daughter experiences the life she deserves. He is committed to authenticity, activism, and representing what is right in this world. Regardless of what the future holds, he will move forward making all of his creative visions into a tangible reality.