Diego Bernal

Diego Bernal is an instrumental hip-hop producer from San Antonio, Texas. Associated with the San Antonio-based Exponential Records label, he cites influences that range from Latin (e.g., Trio los Panchos, Joe Bataan) and jazz (Charles Mingus, McCoy Tyner) to hip-hop (J Dilla) and R&B (Bill Withers). While working as a civil rights attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Bernal made his Exponential Records debut with "Father's Son," an inclusion on the various-artists compilation Wait Til the Ice Melts. In 2009 he released the two-track Bring It on Home single (featuring a remix of the title track by Mexicans with Guns) shortly before unveiling his album debut, For Corners, a collection of left-field hip-hop beats in the mode of J Dilla's Donuts. For Corners was made available for free download on the Internet. Almost exactly a year later, he issued his follow-up, Besides..., a half-hour set in a vein similar to that of his debut. While serving his hometown as a city council member, he collaborated with Ernest Gonzales on the cinematic Atonement, released in 2013. All of the proceeds went to San Antonio Music Production Lab, a non-profit program for the city's youth.