Mal Hablado

It's an old story with new players. Omar Gonzalez, aka Mal Hablado, could have chosen a life of crime on the streets of SoCal. Instead, he became a rapper. While working at swap meets, a teen-aged Gonzalez started DJ'ing and MC'ing at house parties. After high school, he enrolled in the Marine Corps, hoping to earn money for college. Stationed near his hometown of Norwalk, Gonzalez was later discharged for a back injury. Rather than going back to school, he recorded and started pushing a mix tape of English-language raps. That tape eventually landed in the hands of Kid Decoy – the producer who not only convinced Gonzalez to rap in Spanish but eventually signed him up to his Urban Kings management and label.

As Mal Hablado, Gonzalez has already released a hot club single, Shake That Ass and the album Las Calles, a mellower record with the call to arms anthem Las Calles De Los Angeles. Featuring west coast rappers Abusivo, Ms Krazie, La Sinfonía and Mr. Vic, Las Calles is gangsta rap with a conscience:

Serví tres años en la marina
mire en mi tiempo mucha raza Latina.
Los oficiales, ninguno Latino moreno,
nos tratan como si fueramos perros.
Aun así listos para morir pa nuestro país,
el mismo país que mató a nuestra raiz

See: myspace.com/malhablado