(image by ceonyc via flickr)

This week's top story: Marcello Lucero, a 37-year-old immigrant from Ecuador, was killed by seven New York City high school students in an apparent hate crime. Police officials say the group of teens, which includes one Latino, are facing charges of first-degree "gang assault."

New York rapper Felipe Coronel – aka Immortal Technique – relishes a battle.

Like Eminem before him, the Peruvian-born MC made a name for himself in underground hip hop by defeating established rappers in freestyle battles. In 2001, he dropped his debut, Revolutionary Vol. 1. An aggressive political album in the vein of Dead Prez and Public Enemy, the album's most popular track, Dance With The Devil, is a seven-minute lament on the tragic, violent fall of a criminal. His sophomore release, Revolutionary Vol. 2, became an underground sensation in 2003, spawning hits like The Point of No Return and Industrial Revolution.

One year later, the gravel-voiced Immortal Technique teamed up with the ubiquitous DJ Green Lantern (Eminem, 50 Cent) to release Bin Laden featuring Mos Def and Eminem. The controversial track samples a line from Jadakiss' Why to claim "Bush knocked down the towers." This summer, Immortal Technique and Green Lantern are back with a new album, The 3rd World, on indie Viper Records (Coronel is the label's Executive VP). With guest appearances by Psycho Realm, Ras Kass and Chino XL, the record should hold over fans eagerly awaiting Immortal Technique's forthcoming albums, The Middle Passage and Revolutionary, Vol. 3.

In the meantime, they can catch Coronel on the multi-city Rock the Bells Festival tour with hip hop legends A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and Rakim.

See: myspace.com/immortaltechnique

Masters At Work may lack the hits that would make them a household name, but their influence as Latin house DJs goes way beyond the Brooklyn neighborhood where they grew up.

Nuyoricans Kenny “Dope” González and “Little” Louie Vega formed Masters in 1990 after years of playing house and block parties in the Bronx. Vega, the nephew of El Cantante Hector Lavoe, started spinning records at age thirteen. The two were already famous on the Manhattan circuit having DJ'ed at such legendary clubs like Studio 54 and The Palladium.

As a duo, Masters literally synthesized the jazz sounds of '70s New York Latin soul with disco and house, a combination that came to define Latin house with tracks like I Can't Get No Sleep (featuring salsa singer and hottie La India), Pienso En Ti (with Luis Salinas) and the epic Work. As producers, they created material for house diva Barbara Tucker, Jody Watley, Freedom Williams and an up-and-coming actor/rapper by the name of Will Smith. As remixers, they've "Latinized" tracks for Madonna, British funk outfit Jamiroquai and Janet Jackson – and more.

Taking their electronic Latin jazz back to basics, Masters González and Vega formed Nuyorican Soul, a live band with such legendary musicians as Tito Puente and members of the Salsoul Orchestra. Though the pair have also dabbled in solo releases, its their influential output as Masters At Work that has kept them in the mix, both via mix CDs on prestigious labels like Ministry Of Sound and in numerous festival and club appearances throughout Europe and Asia.

Self-described "hip pop" artist Jeannie Ortega is not afraid to talk about her faith. The green-eyed 21-year-old blogs about Jesus and sports three crosses on her album cover. She's just confident like that. When fending off players, she spits out "you think this was gonna be ... easy?"

Jeannette Ortega was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn and began performing as one half of kid group Sugar & Spice (she was Spice) while she was in kindergarten. After graduating from the Brooklyn High School of the Arts in 2004, Ortega released "Got What It Takes" on the Love Don't Cost a Thing soundtrack. She then signed to Hollywood Records with whom she released her 2006 debut No Place Like Brooklyn. It's as eclectic as most contemporary pop. The upbeat party-starter "It's R Time" features N.O.R.E., Gem Star and Big Mato on a traditional reggaetón track while the Kelly Clarkson-influenced "So Done" is gentle pop-rock. The standout Crowded is a club-ready R&B jam featuring underground rap sensation Papoose, an earworm melodic hook and lyrics that revisit the eternal conflict of the cheating boyfriend.

This summer, Ortega toured nationally with Rihanna before joining Frankie J, Luis Fonsi, Nina Sky and Orishas on the Lo McXimo de la Música concert series. She's currently working on her second album. A preview of one her new songs, “Over Your Head,” co-written with Def Jam's Chrisette Michelle, finds Ortega confidently proclaiming "Yes, I'm worth a million bucks and I don't give a f**k."

see: myspace.com/jeannieortega