Controversial and unapologetic, Don Dinero has been one of the main figures in Latin hip-hop from the start. Now El Padrino del Hip-hop Latino is back with El Último Guerrero, where he shares mic duties with N.O.R.E. on the first single “Muévete.” Batanga caught up with Mr. Money at a Manhattan diner next to the classic New Yorker Hotel where, over an appetizing plate of nachos and a few brewskies, he explained his plans to save Latin hip-hop.

Is there a difference between West Coast and East Coast Latin hip hop?
Of course. Hip-hop is “tell me where you’re from.” I was discussing that with someone the other day. El tipo who is doing hip-hop in Nicaragua has something different to say than el tipo from Honduras, for example. The guy from LA is not going to be telling the same story as the guy from Miami … Latin hip-hop is the only music that’s from here. Everything else is imported. Reggaeton comes from Puerto Rico, guaguancó and salsa comes from Cuba, bachata and merengue from Dominican Republic, cumbia from Colombia… you feel me? So at the end of the day, the only music that comes from here is hip-hop. We called it Latin hip-hop, but hip-hop has no tongue; it’s a culture. Graffiti, break dancing, DJ-ing, and MC-ing. I happen to be an MC, another kid in the ‘hood would be a DJ… you feel me? You’re going to see a difference, you have to.

Can you talk about your new single with N.O.R.E.?
“Muévete” was the first crossover bilingual song. What I’m trying to do with my music is bring a little touch of English to the Spanish game, and a little touch of Spanish to the English game. So those who don’t really understand Spanish will get half the song and will be able to ask a Latino, “What does he mean by that?”  Maybe I can add a couple of Spanish words to their vocabulary. Hip-hop can educate people, it tells them “this is what I’m going through and this is how we speak.”

This is your third album with Universal. What should people expect?
Expect the unexpected. People will decide what the album should mean to them. I don’t even know how I do what I do. I wrote this album in ten days. It just comes to me. I would be asking [my friend] Greco, “What do you think of this song?” I just write from my heart. Whatever I feel with the beat, I put it out and let the people decide.

Are there any other collaborations?
It’s all my guys. All my artists and my producers—that’s basically it. Not because I don’t want to collaborate with anybody, but it’s easier to use somebody else’s name to make a hit record. I’ve done it the old school, the hard way, and I like that. I like to be the underdog, to come out of nowhere. My album, it’s a classic album.

I’ve noticed the collaboration trend crossing over from hip-hop to other genres like pop.
It has to do with the business of the game. If you can do a song with Chris Brown and he just got 4,000 spins, guess what—the radio is going to spin your song. I know that if I did a song with Don Omar they’re going to spin it, but it’s a lot harder for me to do a song with Temperamento, who nobody knows, and Don Dinero, who brings controversy, habla de la calle, de sexo… yo soy un poeta de la calle (talks about the street, about sex…I’m a street poet). My job is to let you know what’s happening in the streets. My stuff is for real. We all want the same thing my brother, take care of our families. I don’t want anybody to shoot me either. The difference is that I’m a warrior so I’ll jump in the line of fire in order to represent. That’s the difference between me and the majority of people out there. I’m willing to put it all on the line and a lot of people don’t do that.

When people talk about the Latino urban movement, there’s a misconception that all there is to it is reggaeton.
I got an award this year for reggaetonero of the year and I don’t do reggaeton. That’s how lost they are in the genre. My job, my responsibility, is to show you the difference. It’s ignorance that comes from not knowing.

Corporate people from the labels saw a big dollar sign stamped on all these reggaeton acts from Puerto Rico. If they hadn’t seen the possibility of a quick profit, these people would still be in Puerto Rico doing their music for crowds of a few dozens. They’re screwing a lot of these kids coming up by signing them, putting out their music and giving them a few thousand dollars.

Where do you see Latin hip-hop going?
I feel like I’ve been chosen to be the one to break it open. I think once we break it open—
 just like reggaeton—and they realize that Latin hip-hop is good for business, then all the sponsors will start throwing money, and you will start seeing more Latin hip-hop artists get signed. I’m OK being the guy that takes the stairs so everybody else can take the elevator. I sacrificed my career for the last three years when I wasn’t doing reggaeton, not because I don’t like it but because I haven’t gotten the right phone call from the right people. Radio program directors don’t want to put their job on the line by taking a risk and going against the trend. A program director is not supposed to pick the music for the listeners, he’s supposed to let it play and research it, and if the people like it, put it on rotation. But they’ve gotten a little bit bigger in the Spanish game, that’s why I’m going to go to English now. My next album is probably going to be an English album, so I can blow that up and show the industry that a Latino can reach a broader market than any other artists in this genre.

My Block Royal movement stands for love, loyalty and respect. Who’s gonna lead us without trying to rob and cheat us. I’m the Emilio Estefan, with a touch of Puffy and a twist of Jay-Z. I’m going to keep working and grinding to make the business better for the young Latinos that are coming up so they can became better businessmen.