José El Rey is Dead

Mourning the loss of José El Rey.

​Sad news kids, José El Rey is gone for good. Finished. Dead. José Flores, AKA El Rey, announced via Twitter that his exaggerated Cuban persona has officially retired.

This has us asking: ¿Pero porque? El Rey was hands down one of the most imaginative characters to come out of Miami's local music scene. So why kill off El Rey when he seemed to be gaining popularity?

"It started to get really confusing, being more the character than myself all the time," Flores explains. "People started expecting me to be El Rey all the time."

But what does this mean for side projects like Miami Bass Warriors?

"I spoke with Otto [Von Shirach], and when he comes back from touring, we'll work on stuff together again."

Just don't expect El Rey to rejoin to Warriors, he'll strictly be performing under his own name. No more characters. Also, Flores is working on his own solo material.

"I've been writing a lot, just nothing great yet."

We can't wait. José El Rey R.I.P.

You can still relive El Rey's greatness by checking out the short-lived column he wrote for us, and after the jump his video for "Offended By My Sex."