The D.E.Y.

With Puerto Rican roots and a hip hop R&B style, bilingual trio The D.E.Y. are hoping to become the Black Eyed Peas (or Fugees) of Latin music.

In 1999, Yeyo, then a member of Puerto Rican hip hop crew The Shanghai Assassins, teamed up with Divine, the rapper who co-wrote Guajirawith Nuyorican funk outfit Yerba Buena. Divine, who also penned the theme to the short-lived UPN drama South Beach, next recruited Broadway performer and backup singer Élan Luz Rivera. And they became The D.E.Y.

In 2007, The D.E.Y. made an appearance on Paula DeAnda's flirty single Walk Away (Remember Me), before releasing their debut EP, The D.E.Y. Has Come. The three-track EP neatly shows off each member's strengths. The first track, Give You The World, features Divine's Fabolous-meets-Clipse flow over an interpolation of Earth Wind & Fire's Fantasy. "Bendecida Mi Nación" shows off Yeyo's laid back rap en Español on a Carribean-flavored track held together by congas and horn, while "No Looking Back" gives Élan a chance to shine on a down tempo R&B ballad.

The D.E.Y. are currently putting together tracks for a full-length debut which will feature production from Timbaland, J.R. Rotem (Rihanna, 50 Cent, Sean Kingston) and Stargate (Beyonce, Ne-Yo, Paula DeAnda).

see: myspace.com/thedey