"They're clownin' on me 'cause of my language. I have to tell 'em straight up, it's called Spanglish." - "Latin Lingo" (1991)

Formed in 1986 by Louis "B-Real" Freese, Lawrence "DJ Muggs" Muggerud and Senen "Sen Dog" Reyes, Cypress Hill emerged from the predominantly Mexican-American community of South Gate, California to become Latino hip hop's first true superstar outfit. Despite being the first Latino rap group to go platinum, Cypress Hill is best known for helping marijuana go mainstream and introducing rock audiences to hip hop.

Filled with blunted rhymes and murky beats, the trio's 1991 self-titled debut showed life on the streets through a funhouse mirror. Hits like How I Could Just Kill a Man, Hand on the Pump and Latin Lingo bridged the gap between the hardcore gangsta rap of NWA and the jazzy vibes of A Tribe Called Quest. Cypress Hill's distinctive sound – B-Real's nasal flow, Sen Dog's call-and-response choruses and especially DJ Muggs' production – would go on to influence acts as diverse as Dr. Dre, Psycho Realm and La Sinfonía.

"The Hill" released three more studio albums in the '90s – Black Sunday, Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom and IV – which spawned stoner anthems like Insane In The Membrane, I Wanna Get High and Dr. Greenthumb. In 1999, the group rewarded its loyal Latin American fan base by dropping Grandes Exitos en Español, a compilation of their greatest hits in Spanish. Over the last decade, Cypress Hill has experimented with rock and reggae on songs like (Rock) Superstar, Trouble and Ganja Bus without sacrificing its Latin flavor. Latin Thugs, a horn-drenched track featuring Tego Calderón is one of Cypress Hill's most popular joints.

When asked if Cypress Hill gets the credit it deserves for its contributions to hip hop, B-Real replies: "I think in some regards we do, but in other regards we're definitely looked over on a lot of shit. I don't really care what [critics] think, for me it's what the fans think and feel. That's what matters to me."

Rapper-producer Sick Jacken (Jack Gonzalez) is one half of Psycho Realm, the Los Angeles hip hop duo he formed with his brother Duke (Gustavo Gonzalez) in the early '90s. The two built a cult following with dark beats and distinctive flows before going into a forced hiatus when Duke was shot in 1999 and became paralyzed from the neck down. In 2005, Sick Jacken returned to the music scene with Sickside Stories. Last year, he teamed up with DJ Muggs to release Legend of The Mask & The Assassin.

We recently chatted with Sick Jacken about Chicano rap, Latino unity and the future of Psycho Realm.

Psycho Realm and Cypress Hill have a long history together. Why did it take so long for you to work with DJ Muggs?

I met DJ Muggs in '93 when I hooked up with B-Real [of Cypress Hill]. I was busy developing my group while Muggs was dominating the hip hop game. I think we got together to do this record when it was time for it to happen. We just let it happen organically.

Legend of The Mask & The Assassin touches on politics, religion and money. Is there one track that is a must-listen?

I like the album as a whole. I don't really like to break it down into individual songs because they play off each other. The concepts of the songs were well thought out and researched. We added a bibliography in the CD booklet so the listener can look into the subjects we wrote about. I don't want to give it away because it's part of the trip. Look up "God's Banker" and then go back and listen to the song. You'll know what I'm talking about.

Is hip hop really dead?

The Psycho Realm never fit into the hip hop scene and that's the way we wanted it. We created our own niche and built on that foundation. No matter what state hip hop is in, it's never going to affect us.

Do you consider yourself a Chicano rap artist?

I just consider it music. If I had to put it in a box, it would be raw hip hop. Chicano rap is a completely different style of music from what we do.

What do you think of the Chicano rap scene?

I don't have an opinion on what other people are doing. I'm too caught up doing my own thing.

Your song "El Barrio" is about Latin unity. Do you think
Latinos in the U.S. are divided?

I think there are definitely some issues between the different groups in the Latin community, but I don't think we're as divided as it seems.

You're on tour right now. What's it like?

Touring is one of the perks of this job. It's also our best form of promotion since we don't have the support from major media outlets. Our shows usually have the same feel of high energy and ritualistic chaos, so I can't say there's a difference wherever we go. Whether it's Budapest, Santiago, Estonia, it's all Psycho.

How did the shooting of Duke affect you?

Duke is my brother before anything else, so the shooting affected me on a personal level. I lost it for about three or four years. When I got back into this, it wasn't under the Psycho Realm name. The dynamic of Psycho Realm doesn't function without the dysfunction of Duke's style. He's still involved behind the scenes and on the production side, but he's hoping to make a comeback on the vocal side. A new Psycho Realm album depends on the outcome of that right there.

What projects do you have in store for the future?

When I get off tour, I plan on recording The Terror Tapes 2 with Cynic. I also want to get started on my solo record soon, I've been wanting to see where I can go on a record by myself. I recently went into the studio with Muggs and Necro to see if anything would happen and we knocked out a few bangers, so you never know where that might lead. You can always see what I'm doing if you check me out on myspace.com/sickjacken or rebelmusic.la/blog.

You may have wondered: are they? A little?
Well, yes. Yes, they are.

Dave Navarro

Age: 40

Shirtless guitarist for Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Ex-husband of Carmen Electra.

Halfsie or Fullsie?

Halfsie: Mexican father.

Christina Milian

Age: 26

R&B singer and actress. Released three studio albums. Appeared in movies Love Don't Cost a Thing and Be Cool.

Halfsie or Fullsie?

Fullsie: Both parents are Cuban.

B-Real, aka Louis Freese

Age: 37

Frontman for Cypress Hill. Famous for a nasal flow and green thumb.

Halfsie or Fullsie?

Fullsie: Cuban mother and Mexican father.

Mariah Carey

Age: 38

R&B-pop diva with 165 million albums sold worldwide. Collaborations from Whitney Houston to Ol' Dirty Bastard.

Halfsie or Fullsie?

Halfsie: Father of Venezuelan descent and Irish-American mother.

Lloyd Banks, aka Christopher Charles Lloyd

Age: 25

Member of G-Unit. Shot seven times less than 50 Cent.

Halfsie or Fullsie?

Halfsie: Puerto Rican mother and African-American father.

Mellow Man Ace was the first hip hop artist to score a hit in Spanglish. His 1989 hit single Mentirosa, a Santana-sampling club jam, had millions singing "Right now you're just a liar, a straight mentirosa, today you tell me something, y mañana otra cosa."

Mellow Man, real name Ulpiano Sergio Reyes, was born in Havana, Cuba and moved to the U.S. in the early 1970s with his family. After a few years on the East Coast, the Reyes family finally settled in the predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood of South Gate, California on the outskirts of Los Angeles. In high school, "Ulpianito" teamed up with Lawrence Muggerud (DJ Muggs), Louis Freese (B-Real) and his older brother Senen Reyes (Sen Dog) to start the rap group DVX (Devastating Vocal Excellence).

But after a few years, his crew's notorious pot smoking and related recreational activities posed a problem for Mellow Man, who had become a born-again Christian. According to the rapper, he "couldn't have one foot in the church and one in the club."

The move to a solo career proved to be more than a moral victory for the caramel-colored, bilingual rapper: his 1989 debut Escape From Havana was a huge commercial success and likely inspired a short-lived boom in Latino rap which catapulted the thuggish ruggish Kid Frost and "Rico Suave" Gerardo to the limelight. A less notable sophomore album followed and Mellow Man was soon dropped from major label Capitol. Meanwhile, his former outfit, DVX, was on its way to becoming the 90's sensation Cypress Hill.

A decade later, Mellow Man has regrouped with older brother Sen Dog to form The Reyes Brothers and in 2006 the pair released Ghetto Therapy – a collection of street joints that combines the lyrical content of Cypress Hill with Mellow Man's rounded corners.

Mr. Cartoon, aka Mark Machado, has tattooed Eminem, Beyoncé, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Pharrell, Nas, Travis Barker and Xzibit – but tattooing is just a side gig.

A street kid through and through, the 37-year-old Mr. Cartoon began his career writing graffiti and drawing murals. At 16, he landed a job as an illustrator for Hustler magazine, eventually moving on to T-shirt designs and album covers for artists Cypress Hill, Maldita Vecindad and Transplants.

But it was a later foray into fine-line tattooing – a style that flourished in California prisons and has become synonymous with gang culture – which he credits with his current success: "[T]attoos reach everybody, because someone can somehow relate. If I walk into a nightclub, I can find only a handful of people that want an album cover, but can find at least 20 people who want tattoos."

Art directors eager to tap the authenticity of working class, Mexican-American street culture have taken notice. Mr. Cartoon was commissioned to design six shoes for Nike, including his personal choice, the Cortez. Vans produced three Mr. Cartoon-designed colorways of their Authentic shoe while T-Mobile put out a Mr. Cartoon edition Sidekick II. If you've played or seen commercials for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, you've seen more of his handiwork.

A savvy entrepreneur, the 37-year-old is also the co-owner of the Joker clothing brand and will soon release his own toy figure. In the quintessential nod to the American Dream, Brian Grazer, the producer of Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind, signed Mr. Cartoon to a three-picture deal, including a movie based on Machado's own life story which debuts in late 2007.