Last year, New York duo Xtreme rode their hit track “Shorty, Shorty” to the top of the Latin charts. This year, Steve Styles and Danny D are set to drop more bilingual bachata jams with their follow-up, Chapter Dos.

We got a hold of the cornrowed crooners before they got on a plane and talked to them about their new album, their influences and their love for the shorties.

What's up with your new album?

Steve Styles: We are proud that we’re about to release Chapter Dos. We worked really hard on this album to give it our feeling and sound, ese sonido urbano de Xtreme. We feel it’s the next chapter of many more Xtreme albums to come.

Danny D: En este disco tenemos muchas canciones para las “shorties” que siempre nos apoyan cuando estamos sobre la tarima en los conciertos, comprando nuestros discos o con sus mensajes en MySpace y en Facebook.

What will we hear on Chapter Dos?

Danny: We've got thirteen songs on Chapter Dos and a bonus track that you can get if you the album buy online. Son canciones con batacha, sentimiento y mucho amor.

Steve: En nuestras canciones hablamos de como nos sentimos, de lo que nos pasa en nuestras vidas y también en nuestra carrera como cantantes. Hasta tenemos una canción dedicada a nuestras fans, se llama “Súper Fanática.” Lyrically, we mix our languages – Spanish and English – more this time around. Desde el titulo que es Chapter Dos y también lo van a escuchar en muchas caniones. Somos Dominicanos that grew up in the Bronx so what we sing is a reflection of our upbringing.

Growing up in The Bronx, why did you choose bachata instead of hip-hop or R&B?

Steve: Nosotros crecimos con la bachata y música Latina en nuestras casas con nuestras familias, esas son nuestras raíces musicales que nos conectan con lo que somos Latinos del Caribe. But we also grew up listening to R&B and hip hop so there’s that urban flavor in our sound and lyrics as well.

Danny: Nos encanta lo que hacen nuestros hermanos Aventura, Toby Love and Óptimo. We've got mad respect and love for them, we are all taking bachata to another level. Plus, we also look up to what Usher and Justin Timberlake do on their albums and onstage.

What's the difference between Chapter Dos and your last album, Haciendo Historia?

Danny: We are more mature as singers and performers. So when we went into the studio, Steve and I were more precise in what we wanted. We've had the opportunity to perform a ton since Haciendo Historia, so we know what our fans want. Así que grabamos canciones con nuestras fans en mente. Les queremos dar lo mejor de Xtreme.

Haciendo Historia went platinum. Do you feel any pressure to match that success?

Steve: At first we felt a little pressure, we can’t deny that. But as we kept working on the album, we realized how much fun is to be doing what we do: writing songs, recording them and performing them live for our fans, las shorties.

Danny: Para nosotros grabar un disco es como ir la escuela, es hacer la tarea para tener la recompensa después que es el recreo, el subir a la tarima a cantar y poder compartir nuestra música con nuestras fans.

Speaking of “the shorties,” there are videos on the Internet of you surprising your fans with phone calls. How did the idea come about?

Steve: Yeah! We try to stay in touch with las shorties, the girls, as much as we can. We check out MySpace messages and comments they send us. They can still do it the old-fashioned way, too, by calling our hotline. So one day, we decided to get their digits and call them. Those calls are for real, the fans didn’t know were calling them, it’s a way to show our love to them. We are going to keep calling them by surprise to watch out!

With so much screaming coming from the phone, do you ears hurt after those calls?

Danny: [Laughs.] Nah, the girls are super sweet. Besides, ellas necesitan guardar algunos gritos para los conciertos! [Laughter.]

Which song do you like performing most for your shorties?

Steve: That song would definitely be “Shorty, Shorty.” Esa fue la canción que nos dio a conocer. Con “Shorty, Shorty” hicimos historia. [Laughter.] It’s the song that gave us the opportunity to share our music with people all over the world.

Danny: We always sing it like it’s the first time we perform it. The girls all over know it’s their song and we can’t help but to try to make them happy, por las shorties hablamos hasta Francés.

Steve: We are already performing our next single, “Through That Window (Enamorado Estoy),” live, and we get the chills when we realize the girls already know the lyrics and the album isn’t even out yet!

When does the album drop?

Danny D: Chapter Dos comes out on November 25, 2008. So go buy it as soon as it drops!

Los Pikadientes de Caborca is a young band from Caborca, Sonora, Mexico that is tearing up the charts with the infectious old-style Cumbia Del Río (The River Cumbia), a surprise hit that has sent their debut album, Vámonos Pa'l Río (Let's Go To The River), to the top of the Billboard charts. Los Pikadientes was started by Pancho, El Chino, Látigo, Chalomo and El Flaco in 2006 after they left their previous band, La Banda Auténtica Tierra Nueva.

We hooked up with band leader Pancho and asked him to explain Los Pikadientes' brand of party music.

Are you at home in Caborca?

Right now we are in Hermosillo. We are currently promoting our new album before we head to Mexico City to start promoting it big time.

How did you get into music?

Well, my father was a musician. I come from a background where all of my family on my father's side are musicians. That is where my love of music started. I am now 25 years old and I started playing when I was 15.

Did you see music as a hobby when you first started out?

No, we were always serious about music as a profession and because of my Dad's work I always saw it as a real job, not as a hobby. I had regular studies, but I was studying music at the same time.

How did you meet the rest of the band?

We met in Caborca while we were playing in a Sinaloense-style band. One of the guys was in a Norteño band and the other was in a Sierreño band. We got together one day, jammed and even though we were coming from different types of music, we clicked musically.

What is Caborca like?

It's a small city with a lot of pretty women. I guess Caborca is like any small town but it has a good vibe, especially at night. On the weekends, we go to an area called Pueblo Viejo. Next to the church in Pueblo Viejo there is a river, but it looks more like a pond that's almost dried out. There's live music, a couple of clubs, bars and not much else to do but drink with friends. Most families go to Pueblo Viejo to eat carnitas and enjoy the rides, while the heavy drinkers prefer to go to the river.

Is there any advantage to living in a place where the temperature reaches the upper 100's?

Oh the heat. There is a lot of heat. The only advantage is that there's a beach close by. We always take off to the beach when it gets hot. There are also water parks close by and we take advantage of those to have fun and make some noise. We live in a desert but there's water everywhere.

What is Cumbia Del Rio all about?

This song is all about what happens in towns all over Sonora. It's about how people have fun. After work people go to the river to have fun. It's a common experience. In the early evening, you can see how many people come together at those rivers to have fun, have carne asada, drink or bathe their kids in the river.

That song has made quite an impact on U.S. Latin radio. Why do you think it's become a surprise hit?

I think people identify a lot with the song because we made it really simple and rootsy, for the people. We did not set out to make a fancy track, even though we have great musicians in the band. I also play the clarinet and I may not be the best musician, but I do the best I can. We didn't set out to do a polished song - we wanted it to be as "raza" as possible. And I think that is why people identify with it. It's a simple, fun song. People enjoy its groove and it is what it is. We are a party band, good times. We're a family-oriented party band. We would never sing narco-corridos and get into trouble. We want people to throw parties, not bullets.

What's up with the way you guys dress. How did you came up with this concept?

Well, it's just crazy stuff. We are a party band and we thought it would be fun to dress that way. Let's dress this way, let's identify Mexico with this look, but in a very crass sort of way. We are representing Mexico but in a fun way - an Indian, a cowboy. I dress similar to a Chicano. It's in a very fun kind of way, because that is the type of band we are - very fun, lots of good times, just messing around and stuff.

You guys remind us of the Village People. Do you know who they are?

Yes. And I swear that we did not intend it to be that way, but we ended up being similar to them. But a mexican regional version. [Laughs]

Reppin' Latin rap since the early 2000's, Brown Boy is one of the most successful independent rappers to come out of California since Kid Frost and Lighter Shade of Brown. Combining alternative hip-hop with Chicano rap, Brown Boy had a massive hit with Superman off his Livin' Shady album, a romantic jam that cracked Billboard's Top Rhythmic 40 in 2006. He followed with the album Chicano Rap Riderz and most recently released So Radio.

We hit up Brown Boy to talk about how his music fits into Latin Hip Hop.

What music are you most influenced by?

I'm most influenced by R&B. Artists such as Keith Sweat and groups Like 112 and Jagged Edge have influenced me greatly. I love records that deal with emotions and feelings. What can I say? I'm a lover not a fighter.

Your music is filled with club bangers and love slow jams. Which represents you the best?

I would definitely say the slow jams. I love to cater to my beautiful Latina women. I guess you can say I'm just a romantic type of guy. Another reason why the slow jams best represent me is because so much music out there is so negative towards women. I have to give my Latinas music they can relate to so they can see there are artists like me who make good, clean, positive music for them.

You've got classic Chicano artists in your new album, "So Radio." How did you decide who you wanted to team up with?

It was easy. I had always been a fan of their music. Lighter Shade of Brown and MC Magic are pioneers of the game so I knew I wanted to team up with them the moment I got in the business. Nino Brown was a no-brainer. He's got that tight OG flow so I knew I had to get him on a verse. Everyone else on the record that I teamed up with had talent and were friends of mine such as: Big Gemini, Zig Zag, and more. I knew we would make good music together.

How are you able to rep brown pride without alienating your more mainstream fans?

I guess I just stay me. I stay humble and keep doing what I do. I love all my fans because they're the ones that make me. I guess when I rep for the raza during my show I don't exclude any of my fans on my shout-outs.

We know that for you, family is the biggest source of inspiration as an artist. What other type of inspiration do you find in everyday life?

My main type of inspiration would be just Life itself. It helps me write music from the heart on everyday life experiences. Whether it be losing someone to loving someone.

Do you consider yourself a Latino/Chicano rapper or just a rapper? Do you think there's a difference?

Neither. I consider myself an entertainer. That's what I do. I entertain people while I'm on stage. As far as my music goes, I guess you can say it's rap but to classify myself as a Chicano/Latino rapper, I would be just be separating myself from music, period. Just because I'm Mexican I can't classify myself as a Chicano rapper because music is music. The type of music I make is for everybody to enjoy and relate to whether you're white, black, purple or Asian. I support all positive music no matter what they call it.

Don't mistake The White Tie Affair for a boy band. Clean-cut and good looking, the Chicago dance-rockers may not have tattoos or mop-tops, but they insist they can rock any party. We swapped emails with the up-and-coming band and chatted about video games, girls and their favorite subject: parties.

There are more and more rock bands getting exposure these days thanks to MySpace and the Internet. How do you distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack?

The Internet and MySpace have been great tools to get us a lot of exposure early on. We took advantage and used all the free marketing tools around us to get the music out there. But, at the end of the day, no matter how a band originally gets exposed, it still takes great music and hard work to separate from the "pack."

Who are your influences?
Guns N' Roses, Prince, Fall Out Boy, Stevie Wonder, Queen and Journey.

Which song from Walk This Way do you think represents your band the most?

"Candle (Sick and Tired)," because it captures all of our influences like lightning in a bottle.

You've mentioned that you wanted to bring some fun back to music. Is being a party band the only way to rock in a world full of problems?

We just want to make music that provides people an escape. Being a party band is definitely not the only way to rock in a world full of problems, but it's definitely a start.

Your sound was once described as "music for the PlayStation generation." What does that mean to you? What do you think about music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero?

That's kind of an interesting concept. To me, the PlayStation gen is the generation of kids who are very into technology. I think the ways to get a band's music exposed are constantly changing based on technology, in my opinion, for the better. I love the fact that games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero are getting kids more interested in "playing" music. I definitely wish those games were available when we were kids.

You mix pop, punk and R&B. What kind of audiences do you get at your shows?

As our audience continues to grow, we're seeing lots of different age groups and listeners. It's mostly the kids who are into bands like Fall Out Boy and pop-punk, but we're also starting to get lots of college students coming to shows. Our live shows tend to be very high energy so most of the time the crowds are dancing, singing and screaming along.

Your videos feature you dancing and rocking alongside models in big mansions. Is this a fantasy that has become a reality?

When we shot the video for "Mr. Right," we just wanted to get some people together and have a party. Actually, most of the girls in the video are friends – or friends of friends – so we definitely hang out regularly. As far as that fantasy becoming a reality goes, we definitely try to bring the party wherever we go.

Earlier this year, Baby Boy scored a hit with Ya No Llores (Let Me Love You), a romantic style reggae track that propelled the 27-year-old near the ranks of Flex, Eddy Lover and fellow Boricua MJ.

We recently caught up with Baby Boy, aka Roberto Borrero, to talk about his days in a bachata group, his new record company and what he's got in store for the future.

There are lots of romantic reggae artists these days. How do you distinguish yourself from the pack?

Well, my first solo album doesn't have any reggaetón in it, which definitely makes me 100 percent different than the new talent reggaetón has. Reggaetón is still very popular within the Latin urban scene and hopefully will only become more popular as time passes, as it is truly awesome music. But as I have always said, my personality is to always be ahead of the curve in all I do. So I consider my first album to be not only the newest sound of Latin music, but one with no true "Latin" classification in terms of a genre. I lean more towards the urban pop style, but I'll let my fans classify me, lol!

How has American music influenced your current style?

Well, it has not only influenced me but it has created who I am today. My music is 100 percent American in terms of musical production. It follows all the patterns of today's American music, just with the artist being 100 percent Latin American! I feel that with my Puerto Rican roots and love for my traditional Latin music – combining it with the musical knowledge I have from the Anglo world – is what allowed me to put together this unique Latin American sound! If you truly listen to it carefully, its resembled throughout the album in one way or another.

How do you do it without sacrificing your "Latino-ness"?

I'll never sacrifice my true identity for anything in this world! It would make me fake and people don't want to love someone fake! The album is 100 percent bilingual and that's who we are as Latin Americans in this country, dominating both languages and inheriting both traditions and heritages to make us one person, a proud Latin American. I feel I did a great job expressing that in my album and hope to see millions of followers soon. It's truly a privilege to share both heritages and to be able to be identified as such.

You were a successful entrepreneur with a chain of cell phone stores and restaurants. Which one is harder, juggling various businesses or juggling your music career?

They are both full-time jobs and truly difficult! I think that owning my stores and restaurants was probably a little harder since I had to make every executive decision in our day-to-day operations. But I have a record label to handle my music and the best manager in the world to guide them in case they are caught slipping, lol. But I must say I stay on top everything, so it's still time consuming. It's good to relax a little from behind the scenes day to day operations though my vacation will end soon as I plan to launch my record label within the next year.

You were in a Bachata-tropical boy band before bachata was popular, right?

Well, Afixiao was my creation at that time and as I mentioned previously, it was really me being me. I knew that it could work if done correctly and if the right team backed it up. So I was just trying to be ahead of the curve. If I had to do it today, I'm sure I would be creative enough to do something that hasn't been done yet. With the creation of [my own label] Chanteo Music Records – I'll leave the details out, so no one steals them – I'll give the fans a new version of Afixiao soon.

Would you have changed anything?

At that time, yes. I would have never signed to the label I did. They destroyed my album with out my consent and five years of my career. Music changes day to day and a successful artist must adapt quickly or he and/or she will be left behind!

What are your working on for the future?

I'm releasing my clothing line soon and opening a full production company within the next year. I've just opened my own publishing company, Chanteo Music Publishing, and have signed a few writers to further develop my company in the entertainment industry! I'm currently laying the foundation for Chanteo Music entertainment, which should be releasing its first artist in less then a year with the partnership of Pietro Carlos, president and CEO of 786 Music, my current and last record label! Without his mentoring and direction I wouldn't have done so much in music. He is truly the best at what he does and I owe much of my success to his faith in me as a person, artist and business man.

I'm also working on a TV series and a music reality show. I'm engaged in conversations with very important people in the acting field and I hope to be on several upcoming projects. So to all my fans, Baby Boy will soon be at a theater near you! With the amazing support from all my fans I'm sure it will all be accomplished! Much love to all and always remember, Baby Boy es tuyo! Baby Boy is yours!

The second of a two-part series.

Real-life action star Rudy Reyes from the best-selling book and HBO series Generation Kill talks to us about his experience as a soldier in Iraq and the difficulties of becoming an actor.

Why did you join the Marines?

I thought it would be the next expression of the warrior mindset. Naively speaking, at the time, I remember I was younger and I thought I could fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. At the time, if you recall, there was a war going on in Croatia. There was ethnic cleansing of the Muslims there. And I knew people were being murdered. I knew there were snipers killing women and children and the word, politically, was that [the U.S. was] going there to fight. So I joined, because there had been reports and I had seen documentary footage of children who were killed and many children who were left alone after their parents were murdered, and there was no one there to care for them. So I wanted to sign up because I thought we were going to go there and fight [for them].

You've said you didn't feel you were making a difference in Iraq. Why?

Well, you know, I was one of the very first ones in 2001 to Afghanistan and Pakistan. I was one of the very first ones to invade Iraq in 2003. Then I went back again in 2004 and 2005, so I've seen the war on terror develop over three of four years. And, by the time I left Iraq the last time, by the time I left for my final tour, everything was coming apart at the seams in the area I was in. I was in Fallujah and Ramadi and we were doing a lot of damage to the countryside and to the infrastructure – and to the enemy – but we were losing their hearts and minds.

We were ill-equipped to police and provide security – remember, I'm not a policeman, I'm a freakin' shock troop. And I saw women, children and elderly men suffering. One family in particular had given me their home and protected me at night while I used a water tower of theirs for sniper position. They were finally found out by some faction and their home was bombed. The water tower was destroyed. It destroyed the water [supply] for the entire village. It also destroyed their electricity. When I made a patrol to their residence to help them, I was told to stand down and return to base because, quite frankly, we didn't have anything in position to help them with. You start seeing the cracks through everything. So I wasn't making a difference for the better anymore, if anything, I was just protecting the status quo.

The difference I was made – being as violent, creative, intelligent and aggressive as possible – was that I was able to bring back my men alive, because not everybody did that. Outside of that, I didn't do anything for Iraq. It's not something you can walk away from when you look in the mirror.

What did you learn while you were there?

There was no such thing as democracy, those elections and all that, they're just P.R. movements. A lot of people don't know that there are tens of different tribes just in one city, much less in the country. There are different subsets of the Muslim religion. Each fiefdom is based upon a mosque or a sheik. These people have been living in their clans for thousands of years, and only in the last 80 years has "Iraq" existed as a country. After WWI, the English arbitrarily drew it up because they were going to use it as a territory in which they could leverage the Middle East and trade. So in a sense, these different villages and tribes and clans have been smashed together and are supposedly "Iraqi." Well, they don't see it like that. So they don't just get along so easily. They're not just one people. And we didn't know that. We didn't know how deeply divided some of their political, economic and religious lines were when we went in there.

Now, we're just trying to do damage control and keep the thing from completely falling apart so eventually we can get out of there.

Why do you think the U.S. invaded Iraq?

In my opinion, we've always been in Iraq – from day one – to gain control and leverage the region in relations to energy. In relations to the business of energy worldwide. Leveraging the oil business and energy business worldwide for American interests and American business partners.

When I say this, I'm not talking about Americans like myself. Guess what kind of ties I have to oil and big business? Zero. So don't misunderstand that's it's all Americans. The [U.S.] is there to leverage and control the region for energy business, construction business and security business. For American big business and their partners, that's what we're there for.

Our higher ups just imagined that the Iraqis would embrace democracy and embrace everything and then turn right over and in a sense, become kind of like Puerto Rico for us. But it didn't work out that way because we didn't fully understand the culture. We didn't understand it and we're paying for it now.

Was it easy to play yourself in the HBO series Generation Kill?

It's kind of hard, man, even if you're playing yourself. Because guess what happens when that camera comes on? You get self conscious, you don't know if you have mocos coming out of your nose, you're trying to remember your dialogue and make it sound natural. So, no, it's still challenging. What I learned to do is become an actor out there. I was out there for seven months and I learned how to do it.

In my opinion, every actor or actress... the best ones are themselves. No matter what character they're playing, it's the intangibles of the individual's experience that comes through: the dialogue, the eye connection, the action. The masters of the craft are themselves, but most people in the business think they gotta put on devices and make up things and somehow "act." Well, the real acting is when you pull away all those barriers, and that's the hard stuff. That same kind of vulnerability reminded me very much of fighting, where you're able to win it all or lose it all right there, right then.

What do you hope people will take away after watching "Generation Kill"?

Iraq is a very dynamic and confusing place. There is no right and wrong and there is no good guy and bad guy. What it is... is young men doing their best to fight hard to protect their unit, to protect themselves and somehow come home alive. You can't deal with the horrors of combat if you don't first kill everybody you have to, until you survive combat. It's a lot harder to deal with the horrors of combat in the aftermath if you live, because you know what, you don't have to deal with anything if you die. Anybody who criticizes the United States Marine Corps. and recon Marines for being too violent and being so aggressive – well that's what we have to do.

What I want people to take away from Generation Kill is for people to say, "OK, these guys are smart young men who are the best of America's Marine Corps, but they are in an impossible mission." They are to be storm troopers, reapers and cut their way all the way through Iraq but at the same time be humanitarians. And be gentle with civilians. It's almost impossible.

In my heart, I've always been more gentle than I have been hard. No matter how tough my background was as a kid, I never quite became hard. And I used to think that was a weakness in me, but I realized it was my biggest strength.

The first of a two-part series.

Rudy Reyes is a real-life action star. The former Marine sergeant served three tours of duty in Iraq and was also deployed to Pakistan and Afghanistan. His bravado and bravery was captured first in the best-selling book Generation Kill and, this past summer, in the HBO series by the same name for which he was both an adviser and one of the lead actors. The TV version was produced David Simon of "The Wire."

We asked Rudy how a shy kid from San Diego ended up in the middle of a bloody war and how he's repping for his Marines brothers.

You've said Bruce Lee movies inspired you. How?

Well, you know, it was the '70s and my father, Rudy Sr., he had been out of the Marine Corps. for a just a little bit. He took me to the drive-in and I got to see a double feature, Enter the Dragon and Return of the Dragon with Chuck Norris.

And it's very interesting that you mention it. I was at the gym ... one of the guys who works at the desk, he's a big fan of mine. He put on screen saver, a photograph of me with my hands up in a fighting posture and a then next to it, a photograph of Bruce Lee. He has his shirt torn and his hands up, it was like a "compare and contrast," and it was really cool.

That's what inspired you to get into martial arts?

Something like that, yeah, I wanted to fight for people that were weaker and couldn't fight for themselves. I wanted to protect people against bullies. I wanted to stand for something and I wanted to be very strong. To me, that's what I thought being a man was about. I was very young, and you see things in ideals when you're young, so I thought that was the ultimate expression of being a warrior and being a protector. And that's what I wanted to do.

Did you know how tough the road was going to be?

I did. I did, even then. I was about five years old. In my mind I had an imagination about what Zen Buddhism would be and what enlightenment looked like. In my mind, enlightenment looked like a form of yourself in energy rising up to the skies. To me, at four or five years old, I imagined that's what nirvana was, that's what enlightenment was. Because you know, they express and talk about those terms in Chinese martial arts films. And, that's what I imagined as a small boy and I decided to pursue it.

What challenges did you overcome growing up?

The hardest was that you learn very quickly when you grow up in poor neighborhoods and rough neighborhoods, that being a good guy is not exalted by any means. Actually, you're encouraged not to be a good guy. You're encouraged to be loyal, you're encouraged to keep quiet when you're supposed to keep quiet. Being a good guy? No, that's not encouraged. Stand up for what's right? Not encouraged.

When you grow up in the inner city, what's encouraged is being stronger than the other guy so you can prey on the weak and protect yourself from those who are stronger than you. You search for the easiest way out and get as much as you can when you can get it, and that's a little bit different than the warrior ethos. The warrior ethos is about discipline, it's about sacrifice, it's about a lot hard work that you may never get credit for. It's about those kind of ideals.

So there was a discrepancy. I didn't want to be a cholo, I didn't want to be in gangs. My dad was gone by the time I was about five years old. I was the oldest kid [in our family] and I realized real quick – because there's nobody protecting me – that I didn't want to be like the kids who were kicking my ass and stomping me down and taking my lunch money. I remember what that was like, and I had two little brothers to raise. I didn't want that happening to them, so I had to prepare them and strengthen them and strengthen myself. I didn't want to be exactly what was going on in my environment. It just didn't sit right with me.

What kept you on that path?

Well, you know, my little brothers Michael and Cesar. Also, I was a voracious reader and I still am. I studied history and was voracious with it.

Well, I guess maybe because in real life there is no fairness. There is no such thing as fair play or fairness. I was seeking to create it in my life. By creating it in my life through competition and training, by pursuing the ideal of the warrior spirit, it gave me a purpose and it gave me hope. I wasn't gonna go to college because I could barely make it through school. I was working all of the time, trying to survive. I was always tired [from work]. When I was younger, I was in a boys home and it was really hard place. Before that, I was on the street; my brothers and I were on the street. Often times, we had no electricity or running water in our home because it was turned off. My father wouldn't come home for months at a time.

I was trying to create something, and it started with myself, so that's why I [started] martial arts, bodybuilding, competition, that's why it meant something to me.

End of part one. Tomorrow: Reyes on joining the Marines and the Iraq war.

Los Angeles rap veteran Murs, member of the Living Legends collective and founder of the Paid Dues Festival, has one of the most recognizable names – and styles – in underground hip hop. His recent work with producer 9th Wonder on two albums, Murs 3:16 and Murray's Revenge, has earned him critical acclaim and die-hard fans. As he prepares to drop his latest, Murs for President, the dreadlocked MC talks to us about being a nerd, his love for skateboarding and how he met Chingo Bling.

You call your style "sitcom rap." You've also said you're a "nerd from the hood." Can you explain what makes your style so unique?

I don't know, that's just my life. I was fortunate enough to have my mom marry a not-so-good guy in order to get us out of the neighborhood where I grew up. Then we moved to a place where it was all white kids. That's when I really got into comic books.

But she divorced him 'cause he was an asshole and then we had to move back to the black neighborhood. So when I got there, I was into different things.

But I was also just happy to be around black people. But I didn't want to fight black people about being in gangs or whatever else – it's like, we're all black! I used to get in fights [in the white neighborhood] because I was black, and now you want to fight me, too? I didn't understand it. So, I got more into music because I didn't share the same experience that everybody else shared.

I can only be honest, so that's how it translates into my music, because I was never "cool," I was never "hardcore." The kids I went to elementary school with, when I moved back to the neighborhood, they didn't want to be my friend anymore because I was "weird" and they were "cool." But now, they all want to give me beats and they want me to work with their artists. The times I was getting chased and getting shot at, they never had my back. Now they're like "I have this new artist, you should come and do 16 bars with them." I'm like, "Fuck that."

How do you feel about artists like Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell, who are the ones mainly associated with skateboard culture, when you were one of the first rappers to show your love for skateboarding?

I was a little, what's the word, "perturbed" at first – you know what I mean? But you know, I wasn't really mad, because if I get mad, that means I have to punch you in the face, and I don't want to punch anybody in the face. And they don't know who I am, they're too busy, like, being rich and stuff like that. When I go to places like skateshops, the kids know, the skaters know. I know pro skaters and they don't respect [Lupe and Pharrell]. There are guys who make shirts dissin' them. They think those guys are jokes.

I think it's cool because they're influencing more black kids to skate. Like when I'm in South Central, I see all the kids with skateboards. Before, they didn't have em, because it was just "nerds" and "weirdos." They didn't want to be like me, but they'll be like Pharrell, because Pharrell doesn't get made fun of. I got made fun of, so no one wants to skate because of me. I think it's cool, it doesn't matter who does it first, skateboarding is a great sport and the more people that get directed to it, the better.

So you don't think they're taking advantage of its popularity?

I mean, yeah, they're trying to take advantage of it, but the truth will shine through, you know what I mean? The real kids know who's real and everyone knows I made [a skateboarding] song first, so there's no need for me to get mad about it. And it made it in Tony Hawk's Underground, that's all I care about. They can have all the money and the diamonds.

You've also spent time in Oakland – you've said it's where you learned to really hustle, can you talk about your days in the Bay Area?

I learned in Oakland that everyone is black. Even the Mexicans are black! Even the guys with the Sinaloa hats or the Oaxaca hats with the Mexican flag would be like "Ey, blood." You dress how you dress, but everyone sounds the same: white people, Phillipino people, Chinese people. That's the first thing I learned about Oakland.

Then I realized the difference in weed prices and I realized I should really focus on my rap career, because selling weed was not as easy. I was selling weed and tapes on the streets. I was selling more weed than tapes at first, but the more shows I did, the more tapes I sold, which is good, because you could buy a hundred [blank cassette] tapes for $100.

L.A. is really divided, but in the Bay Area, everybody is just about making money and having fun, so it's a lot easier whether you're in the dope game or the rap game or going to school. It's just easier when people are unified and respect each other as humans.

When you wrote the song "L.A.," you said everyone who has made songs about Los Angeles aren't really from L.A.

Yeah, Xzibit isn't from L.A., 2Pac isn't from L.A.

So what was your mindset when you wrote "L.A."?

There's a beat that 9th Wonder – he picks all the beats – made me rap to, and he kept saying, "This has to go on Murray's Revenge." And I was like, "I don't know what to rap to this shit," because it was a slow reggae sample. The sample says "No matter what the future may bring." So whenever I go to North Carolina (9th Wonder's hometown), we sit up for hours and they'll tell us gang stories they hear about L.A. Wherever I go, people are always like "You're just so L.A." So I was like, wherever I end up, if I move to North Carolina, I'm always gonna be from L.A. I'll always stand out.

I've lived all over. I've had hella Latino friends, hella white friends, Phillipino friends, I've had the most complete L.A. experience and I don't think anyone's ever translated that into anything decent. So I felt like I owed it to my city to make a song – even though [Los Angeles radio DJ] Julio G dissed me by saying "My friends made songs about L.A. that are even better." I'd like him to show me. Most of his friends probably made songs about gang banging, and L.A. is way more than that. We have porn stars, we have palm trees, we have beaches, it's not all about gang banging and bloods and crips. So I think I've made the most complete L.A. song, except for maybe "How To Survive South Central" by Ice Cube. That's pretty great. But it's just about South Central.

You've worked with Chingo Bling a few times, he's appeared in the Paid Dues festival and your "Hustle" remix with E-40 and John Cena. How'd you meet?

I lived in South Tucson, Arizona for a while, where's it's all Mexican people. So all my friends were Mexican. My Spanish is a little bit better than most black people's. So I was listening to Chingo Bling, and if you don't speak Spanglish, you won't understand it. Like he said, "My rhymes are like a female illegal, they're mo hotta (mojada)." And I was like, "Oh, that's funny, you're hilarious, dude."

So somebody called him and he called me and then we talked. He's a dynamic businessman, he's really smart and really into hip hop. And he's a really good rapper. So I paid him to be on the "Hustle" remix and he did his verse, so I was just honored to be on the song with him. Because I had all [his] mixtapes and Chingo Bling for President and all that other stuff. I was waiting on Tamale Kingpin and everything, like it was a big deal to me.

Then he called me one day and he was just like: "Man, I didn't know you had so many fans. I'm out here in Puerto Rico and kids are like 'You did a song with Murs, that's dope.'" He told them, "I didn't even know who Murs is, I just did the song." So then he was like, "Man, if I could, I would just give you your money back." I was like, "It's cool, just come down to the Paid Dues festival and I'll pay you to come out and do the show."

The Latino fan base is a majority of my fan base, but it's so rare that they're represented on stage, so I try to be conscious of that. So anyone I can incorporate – whether [the fans] like it or not – I'm gonna try to have Psycho Realm, 2Mex and F.I.L.T.H.E.E. IMMIGRANTS, somebody that represents what's in the crowd. For [Latinos] to just be looking at a bunch of black people all day, it's OK, but I'm sure you feel there's something missing. Anytime I find anyone who's dope and speaks Spanish, I try to expose my fan base to them, 'cause most of my fans, at least in L.A., are Mexican and Salvadoran. Latino kids, you know.

So Chingo performed, he got booed. They didn't get it. So he started battling fools outside. He still walked around and was like: "Thank you Murs, I'll come back next year, thank you for having me." Then I went to one of his shows in South Gate, which was way different. And you know, with the whole brown and black thing in L.A., I stuck really close to him. I was like "I'm not trying to get caught up in here by myself."

It was dope working with him and I hope to work with him again, but he's so famous, it's hard to catch him. He has all those chains and all those chickens. He still owes me some boots, though.

Chingo, I want my boots, fool!

So as you prepare to release Murs For President, what's your take on the current state of hip hop?

It's really sad. It's just sad. It's fun but it's sad at the same time. There's just a lot of negativity, people promoting the wrong things. People promoting misogyny – I'm all about promoting sex, that's how we make more humans, you know what I mean? But there's proper ways to promote it. You don't always have to degrade women and stuff like that. You don't have to talk about killing people and selling drugs, I think it's wrong. And it's lame and stupid. And if you say any different, then you're a liar.

All these rappers who say they know better should be ashamed of themselves. All these rappers j**k off a lot, you know, I'm sure they do. But they don't get on stage and talk about that. That would be "keeping it real," that's telling what's really going on in your life, but you're kind of ashamed of that, that's something you keep it to yourself. And so should you selling crack and going to jail, keep that to yourself.

American people have no shame. That's why we're not respected around the world, because we come out and do the most ludicrous things on television, and we look like idiots. Our clothes are too big and too gaudy. There's people starving and you're gonna wear diamonds? We don't have any perspective. American people have lost perspective and I'm here to provide a little perspective for the hip hop generation or anyone else who's willing to listen. We can still have fun, just keep things in perspective. We're out of control.

Why should people vote Murs for president?

I'm more fun that the other rappers. Period. More fun. More positive. When you're positive you can have more fun. When everybody's not fighting and shooting each other, you tend to have more fun. That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Watching this video [points to TV displaying Lil Wayne's "Lollipop"] is slightly disturbing, though. Why does everybody have to have their shirt off? Why does everyone have to have a chain?

It's time for a change, we've had 10 years of some real bullshit. It's been fun, everybody likes to dance, but it's my turn now. Because it's my turn, that's why you should vote Murs for president. You know if somebody's been on the playground swings for hella long? Now it's my turn, like, "You can't be on the swings forever! Let me try." [Points at Lil Wayne on TV] He smiled!

New Mexico quartet Brokencyde (aka BC 13) combines the club-ready beats of crunk with the blood-curdling screams of screamo and hardcore. The result? A high energy hybrid that makes the Fight For Your Right to Party-era Beastie Boys look tame. We chatted with the self-described "scene" boys – Se7en, Mikl, Phat J, Antz – and asked: WTF?

What's "scene"?

"Scene" is a state of mind. It's a lifestyle that revolves around music. It's a fashion sense. It contains the modern day punk rock rebelliousness. It is a standard of living that uses emotion an music to express each individual.

Why screamo and hip hop?

I've always thought that the type of music you make has a lot to do with where you come from and what you grew up around. We're four poor kids from Albuquerque, so I think that has a lot to do with what we do and what music we make. We grew up in the "scene" and always listened to that type of music, but we also love hip hop and rap. I feel it's pretty hard to compromise our sound.

It's no real secret as to what we are about. We are all about a good time, getting messed up and hangin' out with our homies. That's exactly what our music is about.

You're doing a great job of promoting yourselves on the Internet. Do you think the old school way of doing things, like having a record label, would have been easier?

It's crazy to think how much the Internet has changed the face of the music industry. We can make a lot of money making music now on our own than we would have ever been able to before.

It's a tricky situation, though. Because, even with all the stuff we do on our own, there are still things that we couldn't do without a label, like get our CDs into stores and getting us the type of mainstream publicity and promotion to get noticed by millions of people. We could stick this whole DIY (do it yourself) thing out, but I feel there's a limit and a ceiling you hit when you try and do that for the rest of your career.

So how is this new school way helping you?

I feel that the new way of doing things has actually helped our band thrive even more. It would have been pretty crazy and unheard of to try and release the kind of music we make 10 years ago. I don't know if it would have received the same kind of reaction we are getting today.

The great thing about what we do is that it's relatively cheap for us to do our jobs. For example, it used to take a band to record a song at least a couple days and a bunch of money for studio time. Now we can write, record on our laptops and throw a song on our MySpace within a few hours. I think our ability to use technology to our advantage is only going to help our career in the future.

You mix hip hop and screamo with glitzy electro fashion. What inspires your style?

I feel the music we listen to as well as the music we make has a huge effect on our fashion sense. It's all very high energy, "in your face" type stuff. Our music is loud, so the clothes we wear have to be loud as well. Bright and flashy. We are the Lil' Jons of "scene."

Which do you guys prefer, online life or real life?

Real life will always be better than a virtual experience. There's too many things you just can't do virtually. We will always go with the real thing.

Rapper-producer Sick Jacken (Jack Gonzalez) is one half of Psycho Realm, the Los Angeles hip hop duo he formed with his brother Duke (Gustavo Gonzalez) in the early '90s. The two built a cult following with dark beats and distinctive flows before going into a forced hiatus when Duke was shot in 1999 and became paralyzed from the neck down. In 2005, Sick Jacken returned to the music scene with Sickside Stories. Last year, he teamed up with DJ Muggs to release Legend of The Mask & The Assassin.

We recently chatted with Sick Jacken about Chicano rap, Latino unity and the future of Psycho Realm.

Psycho Realm and Cypress Hill have a long history together. Why did it take so long for you to work with DJ Muggs?

I met DJ Muggs in '93 when I hooked up with B-Real [of Cypress Hill]. I was busy developing my group while Muggs was dominating the hip hop game. I think we got together to do this record when it was time for it to happen. We just let it happen organically.

Legend of The Mask & The Assassin touches on politics, religion and money. Is there one track that is a must-listen?

I like the album as a whole. I don't really like to break it down into individual songs because they play off each other. The concepts of the songs were well thought out and researched. We added a bibliography in the CD booklet so the listener can look into the subjects we wrote about. I don't want to give it away because it's part of the trip. Look up "God's Banker" and then go back and listen to the song. You'll know what I'm talking about.

Is hip hop really dead?

The Psycho Realm never fit into the hip hop scene and that's the way we wanted it. We created our own niche and built on that foundation. No matter what state hip hop is in, it's never going to affect us.

Do you consider yourself a Chicano rap artist?

I just consider it music. If I had to put it in a box, it would be raw hip hop. Chicano rap is a completely different style of music from what we do.

What do you think of the Chicano rap scene?

I don't have an opinion on what other people are doing. I'm too caught up doing my own thing.

Your song "El Barrio" is about Latin unity. Do you think
Latinos in the U.S. are divided?

I think there are definitely some issues between the different groups in the Latin community, but I don't think we're as divided as it seems.

You're on tour right now. What's it like?

Touring is one of the perks of this job. It's also our best form of promotion since we don't have the support from major media outlets. Our shows usually have the same feel of high energy and ritualistic chaos, so I can't say there's a difference wherever we go. Whether it's Budapest, Santiago, Estonia, it's all Psycho.

How did the shooting of Duke affect you?

Duke is my brother before anything else, so the shooting affected me on a personal level. I lost it for about three or four years. When I got back into this, it wasn't under the Psycho Realm name. The dynamic of Psycho Realm doesn't function without the dysfunction of Duke's style. He's still involved behind the scenes and on the production side, but he's hoping to make a comeback on the vocal side. A new Psycho Realm album depends on the outcome of that right there.

What projects do you have in store for the future?

When I get off tour, I plan on recording The Terror Tapes 2 with Cynic. I also want to get started on my solo record soon, I've been wanting to see where I can go on a record by myself. I recently went into the studio with Muggs and Necro to see if anything would happen and we knocked out a few bangers, so you never know where that might lead. You can always see what I'm doing if you check me out on myspace.com/sickjacken or rebelmusic.la/blog.