Nothing less than big time good enough

“It’s been a very good start to the career that I’ve been working so hard to have,” he says during a recent phone interview. “After each show, I check Twitter and Facebook to see what the fans are saying. I think it’s great that we’ve been able to put together a solid lineup for the show.”

Lopez snagged the opening slot on fellow rapper Big K.R.I.T’s national tour.

	Live From the Underground Tour Featuring Big K.R.I.T., Casey Veggies, Tito Lopez, Big Sant WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4 WHERE: Sunshine Theater, 120 W. Central HOW MUCH: $18 at www.holdmyticket.com or 886-1251

Despite having released only mixtapes, Lopez has been able to make a name for himself in the music industry. He was recently signed by Capitol Records and is working on material for his debut album, which will be released in 2013.

He is touring in support of the mixtape “The Hunger Game,” which was released in June, and his current single, “Mama Proud,” has been a staple on the R&B charts.

“This is all crazy,” he says. “I wrote my first rap song at 5 years old. It was the early ’90s and Kriss Kross was out. I related to them and loved their backwards style. I wanted to be like them.”

As Lopez honed his skills, it wasn’t until junior high that he saw music as a viable career option.

“There was always something about music that moved me,” he says. “If you get a solid beat, that’s the beginning for me. From that point, it’s like God puts the words through my head and it just flows out of me.”

Lopez is fairly new to the music industry, and he knows it. Without a full-length album or radio airplay, Lopez is aware that most people don’t know his music. So he wrote a song, “Mississippi Burning,” which incorporates lyrics and verses from well-known songs from Nas, Notorious B.I.G. and Eminem with his own lyrics.

“This song is sort of an introduction to who I am,” he says. “It’s like I start singing and you know that you’ve heard the lyrics, but it’s delivered in a different way. It’s one song that has been going over really well with audiences.”