Scweez

Grill-rocking hyphy rapper Scweez is certainly not the first Bay Area MC to bypass major labels and sell CDs out of the trunk of his car but he's probably the first to diversify into plastics: unlike Oakland's Too $hort – famous for his grassroots hustle – the relatively unknown Scweez already has his own bobblehead.

A few years back, the Hayward, California-bred Scweez befriended Houston rapper-entrepreneur Chingo Bling – who sells everything from coloring books to custom boots – and no doubt learned a few tricks from the rapper also known as The Tamale Kingpin. Chingo also makes an appearance on Scweez' Where I'm From, a hyphy-meets-crunk jam from the latter's debut, Da Dummy Retarded Mexican. The self-released debut also includes "Stupid Dumb Hyphy," a pounding track featuring Mistah F.A.B., the synth-drenched "Freaky Thangs," and "Da Yellow Bus," an infectious take on Frankie Smith's funk hit Double Dutch Bus.

The underground popularity of Scweez's collaboration with Chingo Bling prompted the industrious duo to cook up H-Town to the Bay, a mix-tape scheduled for release next month. Asked by mun2 if he has more merchandising tricks up his sleeve, the 26-year-old Scweez replied: "T-Shirts and bobbleheads are working well, but … if I can get my hands on it and my fans want it, I'll bring it."

see: myspace.com/scweez