James Dean Santiago-Gutierrez, better known as A-F-R-O (All Flows Reach Out), is a rap artist, actor, and producer from Los Angeles, California known for his exceptional ability to freestyle. ^[12]

A-F-R-O started rapping at the young age of eleven, but he was first introduced into hip hop culture when he was nine by Rakim's "Microphone Fiend". He grew up listening to 70s, 80s, and 90s hip hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa, KRS-One, RZA, Big Daddy Kane, Sean Price, Kool G Rap, Rakim, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Premier, and so many more. His favorite artist is the legendary R.A. the Rugged Man and he has portraits of Sean Price, Ol' Dirty Bastard, and Guru of Gang Starr tattooed on his body. Outside of hip hop, James has got love for artists like James Brown, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane and other gamechangers. ^[13]

A-F-R-O commented on his musical taste:^[13]

A-F-R-O started making experimental throwaway mixtapes when he was only 13, just to "sharpen his pen." It wasn't until he was 16 years old that his music got widespread exposure. A-F-R-O also loves acting and cites Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman as his favorite actors. In his spare time he likes to write screenplays. He favorite movie is Day of the Dead and he has George A. Romero's name tattooed on his forearm. He is also an avid fan of Robin Williams and most Pixar films. ^[14]

At the age of 16, A-F-R-O blew rap fans away when he won R.A. the Rugged Man's "Definition of a Rap Flow" 2014 competition. He signed with Rugged Man shortly afterwards. He's since received co-signs for his bars from an impressive list of hip-hop artists including: Talib Kweli, Questlove, DJ Premier, Queen Latifah and more. ^[13][15]

On June 16, 2016 A-F-R-O appeared on the The Tonight Show and Jimmy Fallon and dropped a freestyle about random objects as Jimmy Fallon pulled them out of a box. ^[6] He also appeared on The Queen Latifah Show and rapped a freestyle. ^[10]

On July 15, 2016, he released his first original project A-F-R-O POLO, which featured the hip hop producer Marco Polo. A-F-R-O made an appearance on Jedi Mind Tricks' eighth studio album, The Thief and The Fallen, on the eighth track, "And God Said to Cain."

A-F-R-O got his acting debut when he appeared on VH1's television movie The Breaks, as a character named D-Rome. He went on to appear in three more episodes when The Breaks was later picked up as a television show. ^[14]