LaLa

LaLa and video director Shaolin discuss their next move.

Pop singer LaLa is straight up 'hood. The leggy 26-year-old could become the West Coast's answer to Jenny from the Block on the strength of her breakthrough single Homegurlz, a remember-where-you-from ballad.

LaLa reps Van Nuys, California, where she is also known as Casey Romero aka "Sad Girl". Discovered on MySpace by local radio veteran Julio G, the Mexican-American is earning a following in the Chicano rap scene. Songs like "Sprung On a Thug," featuring chipmunk vocal samples over a Motown-influenced beat, and "Drop It," a club track that generously borrows from Debbie Deb's When I Hear Music cover all the bases, from Chicano oldies to Nuyorican freestyle.

The eldest of five sisters, Lala is putting the finishing touches on her debut album, Love and Respect, and hopes to capitalize on the buzz that "Homegurlz" has generated: "[I]t's like finally people are startin' to feel and relate to what Latinos got to say."

see: myspace.com/lalasadgirl