Hip-hop artist Deuce Eclipse is a “certified world-wide traveler.” Deuce Eclipse has performed for crowds in Europe, Japan and all over the United States – and jet lag hasn’t gotten the best of him. “I’m off on a vision quest / what country is next,” raps Deuce Eclipse in “Region to Region,” a song on his 2005 album, “The Radio Plantation.”

Deuce Eclipse is set to play a free show, provided by UNIQUE Programs, at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the University Union Ballroom along with the Bay Area hip-hop acts, Zion I and Crown City Rockers as well as Sacramento band, Bucho.

Following the show, Deuce Eclipse will open for Zion I and The Grouch, kicking off a tour to promote Zion I’s new album in Long Beach, Calif., on Oct. 7.

Performing under the moniker Deuce Eclipse, Jorge Guerrero is used to the travel and long tours. “It’s a grind every night,” he said in a telephone interview. Though it is hard work, it has been more or less enjoyable for the 33-year-old rapper.

“I’ve seen the world through music. I’ve been all over the planet.”

It’s no wonder that Guerrero has come up with the perfect phrase to describe his work ethic as well as his Nicaraguan culture. “Oywalk” is a combination of the “oy” in “Nicoya” (a nickname for Nicaraguans) and “hoy,” Spanish for “today.” Ending in “walk,” the term means, “Every day you gotta walk until you can’t walk no more,” Guerrero said. He also uses “oywalk” to refer to American-born Nicaraguans like himself, similar to the use of Chicano for Mexican-Americans. As a first generation Nicaraguan born in the United States, Guerrero pays tribute to his heritage through his music, often lacing tracks with Spanish in order to reach out to fellow Latinos and let them know they are being represented.

While the hip-hop genre is often tied to African-American ethnicity, a surge of multi-cultural rappers like Guerrero have brought their own unique styles and perspectives to the microphone. “There haven’t been a lot of hip-hop artists from Nicaragua. He’s one of the first,” said Tim House, a friend of Guerrero and a manager for Zion I. House explained on the phone that he is currently looking out for Guerrero while he seeks new management.

Guerrero credits artists like Rico Pabon, a Puerto Rican rapper, and Shingo, a Japanese hip-hop artist, for “bringing a whole new dynamic to the music.” Hip-hop has expanded from being just about the music to becoming a universal culture, Guerrero said. Many of Guerrero’s songs revolve around cultural themes.

“‘First Generation’ talks about the story of a family that comes from another country and takes root in the United States – kind of like my situation,” Guerrero said. The song is also featured on “The Radio Plantation,” his newest album.

Guerrero’s songs also acknowledge socio-political issues.

“I’m always trying to put some kind of substance on issues in the world today, but I don’t try to hammer you with it,” Guerrero said.

This focus has set Deuce Eclipse apart from a pool of hip-hop artists who center their lyrics on wealth, women and power. This is prevalent in “The Radio Plantation,” a title that Guerrero chose to challenge the lifestyles of the rich and famous in the music industry.

“I look at the music industry like a plantation; it takes its artists, makes them look good, gives them a lot of money – but in the end they got nothing,” Guerrero said. “You gotta pay back the label.”

Guerrero also said that the meaning of “The Radio Plantation” stems from his artistry. “I’m planting seeds (and) my music are the flowers that bloom.”

Defining his sound as “indigenous noise,” Guerrero lays down a steady flow of vibrant lyricism to hypnotic and exotic beats generated by producer, Soleil, on “The Radio Plantation.”

Known for producing beats for Bay Area rappers like Equipto and Andre Nickatina, Soleil met Guerrero when he was doing sound design and production for the all-Latino theater group, Teatro Clandestino, based in San Francisco. Guerrero played a graffiti artist, one of the main characters. Soleil was familiar with Guerrero’s MC skills from various groups and the two started working on an album.

“He has a sound developed for all ages,” Soleil said on the phone. “It’s musically complex.” While Guerrero cites Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions and N.W.A. as early influences, hip-hop wasn’t the first dish in his musical diet.

“My dad was the first music I ever heard,” he said.

Guerrero’s father played acoustic guitar and sang folk songs in Spanish. He also performed popular American rock music to audiences in Nicaragua. Growing up in a musical household, Guerrero recalls that he naturally wanted to be a performer because that was what his father did. “I always had a vision of being that way,” he said.

Fueled by hip-hop’s fruition and growing popularity on radio and television, Guerrero has been rapping since he was nine years old. When he was older, he performed in Bay Area groups like K.O.T. and The Full Deck before going solo about six years ago. “It’s more difficult in a sense where everything rests on your shoulders,” said Guerrero of the transition.

Despite the challenges, Guerrero’s solo career is taking flight, thanks to his talent and ambition. “He’s a five-tier b-boy,” said House. “He’s mastered all elements.” This means being able to MC, beat-box, DJ, breakdance and spray graffiti.

Since his solo debut, Deuce Eclipse has put out three albums: “It’s the Hour” in 2001, “The Radio Plantation” and “Where’s the Oywalk,” a compilation of previously unreleased tracks released this year and only available at shows. He has had numerous collaborations with D.U.S.T. and Zion I, regarding MC Zion as one of his best friends. Besides Soleil, he has also worked with producers Amp Live and J-Boogie.

Deuce Eclipse already has three more albums in the works. One of them is again with Soleil. “It’s called ‘The Oywalkout’ ?” [referring to] all the walkouts Latinos were doing in California,” Soleil said. The walkouts were in response to a march for immigrant rights. The album is estimated to be released by the end of this year.

Deuce Eclipse is currently unsigned, preferring to put albums out independently or sell them individually to a label. “The Radio Plantation” was released under Raptivism Records. “I don’t really want to be signed to a label right now where I have to give them something like five albums,” Guerrero said. “As an artist, I have to maintain my freedom.”

Guerrero said he raps under “freedom style,” again adding to his personal lexicon. “I’m big on words,” he said with a laugh. The phrase was coined to mean “The freedom to be able to create openly, freely – to create something from nothing.”

He believes this is important for any artist. “You have the freedom to do any style you want, just look into yourself and cultivate who you are,” he added. His motivation to rap comes from this need.

“Creating music heals me,” Guerrero said. “That’s the no. 1 reason I do it.”

Karen Balmes can be reached at [email protected]