Lápiz Conciente

Avelino Junior Figueroa Rodríguez (born January 24, 1983), known musically as El Lápiz Conciente (Lit. "The Conscious Pencil"), is a Dominican rapper. He is described as one of the pioneers of Hip hop in the Dominican Republic. In 2013 he was nominated at Premios Juventud, in the category (Favorite Urban Artist), in 2016 he was awarded at the Latin Music Italian Awards, and in 2017 he was nominated in the Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Song, "Papa" in collaboration with Vico C.

Career
In 2008, Figueroa published through YouTube, including the songs "Las Menores", and in 2009 the mixtape "Ráfaga de Plomo". In 2011 he participated in the single "CAPEA EL DOUGH" in collaboration with Toxic Crow, it was considered representative of Hip hop in the Dominican Republic,  later he released the debut singles "Yo Soy Papa", and "Yo No Te Quiero Perder" audiovisual obtained more of 39 million views on YouTube. In 2014 he received a Gold Record for the debut song "Si No Te Quisiera" in collaboration with Juan Magán and Belinda, and obtained 300 million views on YouTube.

In 2016 he released the album "Latidos", it includes collaborations with Vico C, Natti Natasha, Belinda, J Álvarez, Black Jonas Point, Musicologo The Libro. In 2016 he signed with Sony Music Latin where the second studio album «Cicatrices» was released under the Sony Music Latin record label debuted in record sales in the Dominican Republic and the United States on digital platforms, includes collaborations with Magic Juan, Nacho, Leslie Grace, Xaxo, El B, Negro HP.

In 2020, Figueroa held a rap battle against the Dominican rapper Mozart la Para, where he premiered the singles "El Descanso Eterno", Tú No Tá", "9 Días".  In 2022 he participated in the song "Culpable" by the studio album Formula, Vol. 3, by Romeo Santos.

Early life
Figueroa was born on January 24, 1983, at the Maternity (Hospital Materno Infantil San Lorenzo de Los Mina), Santo Domingo Province. He grew up in a dysfunctional family, where he was raised by his grandmother Paulina Rodríguez de Jesús (Palín), who was a domestic worker and nurse. Figueroa is older than his siblings, and at the age of 21 his mother died. In 1993, Figueroa was inspired by American rapper, Vico C, where he was introduced to hip hop music at the age of 10. He was named Lápiz Conciente after his grandmother's pronunciation, where Figueroa corrected his grandmother's spelling mistakes. Figueroa had 2 children with his romantic partner of more than ten years, Niurka. He studied accounting and is a devout believer in God.