After paying his dues, Lil Rob (Roberto Flores) enjoyed his first radio hit in 2005 with Summer Nights, a SoCal love letter to lowriders, ladies and weekend barbecues. The San Diego rapper recently dropped his follow-up, 1218 Pt. II, featuring songs like Let Me Come Back and Slow It Down with Frankie J.

We caught up with Lil Rob to reminisce about his youth, the San Diego Chargers, and his love for Nike Cortez shoes.

Where in San Diego did you grow up?

I was brought up in a small neighborhood called La Colonia Eden Gardens, San Diego (North County). It was cool. I was born in 1975 and I'm the youngest of three.

What was it like?

I'd like to say I had a normal childhood: riding bikes, skateboarding, poppin' and break dancing. It wasn't the best neighborhood. It was an area known to score drugs in.

What did you remember about those days? Is it different from what you've seen in other cities?

We used to ride our bikes around the town following the sounds of sirens. That happened a lot. Finding discarded drug waste by the curb and in and around the bathrooms in the park was nothing new. La migra was always strolling through and I would see all my border brothers making a break for it. Some would get caught, while others got away. All that was just normal to us, and I don't know how its
different from anywhere else. Home is home, ya know?

What music did you listen to back then?

My pops used to sing in an oldies band back in the day and my mom would always be playing the blues at the pad. My brother used to DJ at all the local house parties, so I would pretty much listen to oldies, blues, mariachi, funk, hip-hop, electric funk, old school and freestyle. Things were really good back then in "the good ol' days." I think there's a little side in all of us that wants to go back.

What do you bump now?

Now I listen to all that and then some: pop, alternative rock, rock. There's a lot of good music out there.

You're always rocking San Diego Chargers jersey. Are you a big football fan?

I'm just reppin' my city.

Your latest album, 1218 Pt. II, features a song about Nike Cortez shoes. What do you like about them?

Yeah I wrote a song about my Cortez shoes, talking about growing up and walking in my shoes, seeing the things that I've been through. I've been sporting Cortez shoes for as long as I can remember. Before those, it used to be the game breakers. I don't know why that style of shoe has lasted so long, maybe it's because all the homeboys are sporting them.

I recently went on a retail tour and if I wasn't signing my CDs or posters I was signing Cortez shoes. I just think they look clean. A brand new pair with my Ben Davis pants or some cut offs, with my socks pulled up to my knees, is what I like.

You've been around for over 10 years. Do you think your sound style has changed since you first started?

Actually my first tape came out in 1992 and I don't know if my style has changed or evolved. I do know that I have grown up a lot through various producers, different times and the changes going on in my life.

So what's the difference between Lil Rob in 1992 and Lil Rob in 2008?

I'm not worried about the things I used to worry about back then. Now I'm worried about Uncle Sam.

Although rapper-producer Mr. Criminal reps the Los Angeles hipster haven of Silverlake, California, he contends there's only one way to describe his style: "West Coast Southside G-funk Latino gangster shit."

Since hooking up with Hi Power Entertainment eight years ago – when it was still run by Chicano rap star Mr. Capone-E – Roberto Garcia, aka Mr. Criminal, has been nothing short of prolific. He's released an album every year since 2003, beginning with Criminal Mentality and followed by Organized Crime (2004), Sounds of Crime (2005) and Stay On The Streets (2006). Last year's Ryder Muzic spawned the underground banger Side to Side and the L.A. radio hit Mami Mira, a breezy party jam featuring the earworm vocals of West Coast veteran Nate Dogg. Music blog Idolator says Criminal's beats are "custom-made for riding low, and serve as evidence that he loves the sound of breaking glass."

On his latest release, Rise to Power, Mr. Criminal teams up with East Coast gangster Fat Joe on Drop It N Rock It, a club-ready track that could just as easily be found on an album by T-Pain or Akon. But make no mistake, there are enough of Mr. Criminal's Zapp & Roger-influenced beats on on Mr. Criminal’s latest tracks to keep lowriders bumping and heads nodding until he drops his next album.

See: myspace.com/wwwmrcriminalcom

Diamonique throws a mean mug but the California rapper insists she's not trying to be "one of the guys."

The self-proclaimed "Queen of the West Coast" says it's a good time to be a female in Latin hip hop: "I have a pretty good chance right now to represent, I just got to keep grinding." The grind began nearly a decade ago, when the Whittier-born, San Bernardino-bred Diamonique began channeling her love of 2Pac, Lauryn Hill and R&B singer Teena Marie into rapping and singing.

Diamonique now rolls with a "who's who" of Chicano rap – Mr. Capone-E, Down, Frost, Lil Rob – but you'll be hard pressed to find breezy oldies backdrops or chipmunk vocal samples on her 2004 debut, Diamond in the Ruff. Pounding tracks like Boom Bap, "Get it On," and "Nanana" suggest Diamonique leans closer to Missy Elliott than Mz. Krazie.

After touring in Hawaii and Japan in support of her debut, Diamonique is dropping a mix-tape, The Countdown, next month. Produced by Fingazz (Down AKA Kilo, LaLa, Melissa Lujan), the album should whet the appetites of those anticipating her forthcoming sophomore album, Queen of Da West.

See: myspace.com/niquemondia

There's no question Los Angeles rap veteran Mr. Capone-E is down for la raza: "I was raised with homies and the culture… I'm down to do whatever it takes to have better opportunities for the gente." Whether he's of Pakistani descent is less clear.

Mr. Capone-E spent the '90s in and out of prison before transitioning into Chicano rap in 2000. The self-described "Sureño rapper" has released over 10 albums, most of them on the label he founded, Hi Power Entertainment and has also collaborated with artists like MC Magic, ODM and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, among others. Smoothed-out tracks like Don't Get It Twisted featuring Twista and I Like It featuring Nate Dogg have helped Mr. Capone-E get mainstream radio play in LA, including Chicano rap shows like Pocos Peros Locos on Power 106.

An entrepreneur as well as a performer, Mr. Capone-E recently sold Hi Power Entertainment, home to acts like Mr. Silent, Scrappy Loco and Bizzy Bone. But he's promised to launch a new label, with his first signing to be partner-in-rhyme Mr. Criminal while his own solo album, Diary of a G is scheduled for release later this year. For his haters, Mr. Capone-E offers a humble comeback: "I am doing what I can to keep bringing up the movement."

See: myspace.com/MRCAPONEETHEREAL COM

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

R&B singer Melissa Lujan is bringing a bit of West Coast heat to the Rockies. The 22-year-old is making a name for herself with the steamy single Falling In Love, a tear-jerker that borrows from the Lowrider classic Computer Love.

Lujan began singing at age six, inspired by the early '90s R&B of girl group En Vogue and the "new jack swing" of BLACKstreet. The five-foot tall Denver-native has built a loyal fan base in the same Chicano rap scene that has nurtured Amanda Perez and Houston's Natalie. Lujan's collaboration with Golden State rapper Brown Boy, Please Don't Go, is tailor-made for Sunday night dedications.

Cute and curvy, she's already turned heads playing shows in Texas and Southern California and has even opened for Omarion, Frankie J and Baby Bash. Her second single, the '80s throwback "I Know What You Want," should tide over her growing fan base while she preps her solo debut slated for a 2008 release.

see: myspace.com/melissalujan

America Ochoa, aka Ms. Krazie, will tell you she's the "hardest" female rapper in the underground game. The 21-year-old Chicana from the barrios of Northern Cali commands a lot of respect with her feisty flow and raw lyrics. Imagine a chola version of Gwen Stefani – come on, it's not that hard – spitting about her "vida loca" with the aggression of MC Ren and you've got Ms. Krazie as well as, possibly, the makings of a Chicano rap all-star.

According to published biographies, the bleached-blonde Michoacana grew up with music – her father was a musician – but didn't start rapping until she discovered Mexico's Control Machete as a teen. In 2004, disillusioned by the slim opportunities for female artists up north, Krazie packed up and moved to SoCal. Not over a year later, she released her debut, Brown is Beautiful. The album's bilingual, hardcore rolas scored points with fans and catapulted her above other "rapperitas." But the porcelain-skinned MC's popularity – and archetypal looks – soon inspired copycats to create bogus Ms. Krazie MySpace profiles. (The pages have since been removed, but Krazie found time to call the MySpace clones out on the intro of "Sittin in the Parque," the second track on her... MySpace page.)

Ms. Krazie is set on taking over the game with her second album, Firme Homegirl Oldies. Songs like "Straight Teasing" show off Ms. Krazie’s sweet and sour flow against seventies soul and fifties girl-group samples while the lyrics in "Mommys Little Girl" keep it more than real.

see: myspace.com/mskrazie

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.