Lighter Shade of Brown

Years before Lil' Rob was cruising on summer nights, Lighter Shade of Brown showed homies how to party on a Sunday afternoon.

Lighter Shade of Brown was formed in 1989 by Robert "ODM" Gutierrez (One Dope Mexican) and Bobby "DTTX" Ramirez (Don't Try To Xerox), two up-and-coming solo MCs who came together at the suggestion of their manager. By 1990, the two Riverside, California natives were signed to an independent record deal – just as major-label acts Mellow Man Ace and Kid Frost attacked mainstream radio with their spanglish hits "Mentirosa" and "La Raza." Marketed as the "first Chicano rap group," Lighter Shade of Brown debuted with Brown and Proud. The breezy breakthrough single On a Sunday Afternoon and party-starter "Latin Active" landed on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, ushering in a new wave of Latino hip hop that would include acts like Cypress Hill, Funkdoobiest, Delinquent Habits and Proper Dos.

Lighter Shade Of Brown followed up with a string of catchy singles, including "Homies," from 1992's Hip Hop Locos and club anthem Hey D.J., from 1994's Layin' In The Cut. The group released two more LPs, eventually selling one million albums worldwide over the course of their career. By the end of their first decade, the duo's hard-partying lifestyle, personal conflicts and management disputes drove a wedge between the two, resulting in an indefinite hiatus that continues to this day.

ODM and DTTX still hustle as solo artists, appearing on compilations with newer-school Chicano rap acts Lil' Rob, Mr. Capone-E and Brown Boy. Last month, DTTX released the solo record Stuck N' Da Game. ODM is all over SoCal radio: he's the music director for KGGI in Riverside and a deejay at Los Angeles' KIIS-FM.