Cartel de Santa, Latin hip-hop’s best kept secret, moved silently with its third production, released in Mexico back in 2006. Now Volumen Prohibido is being released stateside after a surge of demand by impatient hip-hop fans that smuggled the CD across the virtual border with the help of the ultimate coyote called the Internet. This group from Santa Catarina, Nuevo León, Mexico represents the underexposed undercurrent of artists of the overall Latin hip-hop scene. When you talk about the commercial froth that Latinos have been exposed to on a mainstream scope, it’s no wonder enthusiasts turned to the Information Superhighway. Members Babo, Dharius, DJ Agustin and Rowan Rabia bring to the table overly confident bass lines matched by very intricate vocal cadences intertwined with hypnotic hooks unheard of on this side of the Rio Grande. Their gruff style of hip-hop en español is riddled with not much else but creative license, showing that they’re setting the pace for the rest of Spanish rap.  

MyRadio Worthy: “Cheka Wey,” “Conexión Vieja Escuela,” “Mira Quien Vuelve al 100,” “La Ranfla Del Cartel”