By Martin A. Berrios
Ever think what it would be like growing up in a family engrossed in crime? You might be able to get a small glimpse into the life when you watch a mafia movie or read up on the come up on the most well known mobsters. Well if you ever wanted the real deal then Michael Corleone Blanco is your guy. The son of Griselda Blanco of Cocaine Cowboys 2 fame, he would be literally born into the street life as he was named after the after the fictional character Michael Corleone played by Al Pacino in the movie trilogy The Godfather. Gangster right?
Now almost thirty years later, Michael finally speaks on growing up in the household with “The Godmother” at the helm. In his first interview ever, Michael sheds light on his notorious mother, his precarious childhood, and life beyond the Blanco name.
AllHipHop.com: You’re the son of Griselda Blanco. How was she as a mother?
Michael Corleone Blanco: As far as my mother goes, I’d like to compare my upbringing as far as a family upbringing, you know how the Italians have The Sopranos and it’s a family being a family, that’s how it was growing up in the Blanco household. You would catch my mother with her maids making dinner you know? Besides everything that was obvious to a child’s eye, it was having family order. Just like a regular family’s chain of command, my mother has always been the head of the household. My mother always took care of the boys and from there me and my brothers were the head honchos of the family and we told everyone else what it was. It was a good upbringing. Christmas came around and I got my first Porsche at six years old.
AllHipHop.com: You had a Porsche at six years old?
Michael Corleone Blanco: Don’t get me wrong it was a go-cart (laughs). My father always tried to spoil us when we were young. My mother being the humble person she is, my upbringing wasn’t to be spoiled that much but yeah I was a kid that had a lot of things at my hands.
AllHipHop.com: So going from being young child going into your teenage years I assume you are starting to put two and two together about your mother dealings in the street?
Michael Corleone Blanco: Yeah. Well I mean I was a pretty fast learner when I was growing up. I guess its genetics. They couldn’t hide anything from me, even though everything was hidden from me like I said you can relate our family to the Italian families. And one thing my mother hates is lies. So anything that was cloaked or tried to be hidden from me, it was very easy to understand what was going around. I have witnessed certain events that I can’t really talk about. But it was certain things that maybe shocking to other kids to see and understand but to us, that’s it. That’s the lifestyle kid, it’s real, this is what it is and get over it.
AllHipHop.com: Did you attend regular schooling?
Michael Corleone Blanco: Yeah I grew up in public school in California, Miami, New York. When I went to Colombia, I finished my high school there. As far as that you know the truth is I was raised amongst normal people and the streets raised me too because at the age of six my whole family was incarcerated. My mother was incarcerated, my brothers were incarcerated a year after and my father was killed a year before my mother was incarcerated. I started paying rent by the time I was thirteen years old. I grew up in a regular society just like any kid in the streets that knows what moves the society; that’s how I grew up. I knew money wasn’t a thing, so it was in my nature to grow up how I grew up.
AllHipHop.com: Considering everything your family was involved in, did you ever fear for your life as you got older?
Michael Corleone Blanco: Yeah since I was a kid, I feared for my life. My first kidnapping attempt when they tried to get me I was four years old. When you see things get dropped off, when you seen dead bodies and when you seen some sh*t, you know of course you’ll always fear for your life and the people around you. But when you’re a teenager and you’re young, you think you are immortal. When you high strung, you’re high strung as it is. To top that off, I felt the right to represent my last name, so I never took shorts from anybody. It came to a point where I just grabbed my balls and said I’m not scared of nothing only the Lord’s wrath. I was raised to have that Christian mentality; I’m not scared of nothing but the Lord. I believe in Jesus.
AllHipHop.com: So you were raised Catholic?
Michael Corleone Blanco: I was raised Catholic by some of my legal guardians; at one point of my life I even lived with a minister. I contracted legal guardians like I contract artists now. I would meet someone that my mother would know and I would say I’m coming to you. I’m going to live in your house and I’m going to pay you rent and you’re going to be my legal guardian. This has been since I was twelve years old. At one point the legal guardian happened to be a minister and he taught me a lot about the Lord.
AllHipHop.com: With your family being involved in serious drug trafficking, did you ever get tempted to get into the game yourself?
Michael Corleone Blanco: No comment.
AllHipHop.com: Charles Cosby played a significant role in your mother’s operation while she was incarcerated.
Michael Corleone Blanco: Basically the relationship I had with Charles was how they showed in Cocaine Cowboys 2. He was like a support system; he was around me when I was growing up. He was around my mother around her time in Dublin Correctional Facility. The man was around and if it wasn’t for him certain events wouldn’t had gone on. I just got to respect the fact the man was a support system for my family.
AllHipHop.com: When I spoke Charles, he mentioned that Colombians distrust people of color by nature. Did you hesitate to embrace him?
Michael Corleone Blanco: I would like to correct that. Everybody knows that my brother Chicky [Osvaldo “Chicky” Trujillo-Blanco] dealt with Blacks his whole life. He made his millions with Rayful Edmond. The old guard wouldn’t deal with Blacks but as far as the Colombians from the 80’s it was nothing but love.
AllHipHop.com: What about your mother Griselda Blanco do people misconstrue?
Michael Corleone Blanco: I think they don’t show her as people see a mother. You got to understand, she is my mother. She is the mother of four men and she is the godmother of hundreds of boys. She is the godmother of an entire neighborhood from 1972 on up and that’s why they call her La Madrina. She has always been a mother figure. They only show one side of this lady. They don’t show the side of the lady that had to feed her children or that slept with her boy every night or making sure her boys get a college education. They never show the lady who would wake up every morning and make breakfast with her maid. It’s really easy to make her the villain. She’s a good old lady, she’s a Christian now.
AllHipHop.com: How do you feel about the reputation that follows the Blanco family name and mainly Griselda?
Michael Corleone Blanco: As far as the street sh*t is concerned, I mean it is what it is. I don’t want to touch that subject. Everybody in Miami knows about The Blanco Group and my label Xtorxion Records. We’re a legit organization, everything is on paper. I had to put my past as a person from the streets of Miami behind me. Now the bad guys are the good guys. What we are trying to do is retire everyone from the street mind frame, because to be a survivor and survive, you have to evolve as men. It’s the evolution of street minded people that should have been legitimized years ago.
AllHipHop.com: You grew up with her and currently you are the only link the public has to your mother. From what you saw, were the numbers dealing with her earnings and the beef she had exaggerated? Or where they pretty much right on?
Michael Corleone Blanco: No it is not right on. It’s not right on at all, but was it blown up, I don’t know. If it is right then only God can judge it. Maybe they are under exaggerating, maybe they are over exaggerating. It goes vice versa because all that movie stuff and all that on the blue screen can only exaggerate so much but when you are physically present in that scene in real life just boils down it is what it is.
AllHipHop.com: Detail your efforts with your company The Blanco Group and Xtorxion Records.
Michael Corleone Blanco: Yeah it’s a branch of The Blanco Group but it’s the brother label of an organization called La Familia Click Underground. We started Hip-Hop in Colombia in the mid 80’s and early 90’s. We are the fathers of Hip-Hop. Xtorxion is my label and it is based out of Miami but it is much bigger than that. We are dropping the Cocaine Nowboys Mixtape. It’s nothing but real motherf***ers on it, real individuals that are relating to certain individuals with last names whether it be anyone from Harlem up north or down south in Miami. That will be coming in one to two weeks. I got a jewelry line called Blanco Diamonds as well. It’s all about the business.