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

For San Francisco's YS, music is a family affair. The 16-year-old R&B singer has a very special "in-house" producer: his dad, Bay Area beatmaker Swampkat.

The Nicaraguan and Samoan YS – aka, "Young Seb" which is short for Sebastian Jessop, Jr. – credits his family-oriented upbringing as the foundation of his blossoming career. He's currently the youngest artist signed to Sony/BMG Latino and, as a member of the Kompound Klick crew, is also the first such artist to release an English-only single, High School Wifey. The song, a giddy and sincere slow jam about teen love, has already topped the charts on neighboring Sacramento's KSFM. Not surprisingly, the ballad – likely the first to use a multicultural rally as a backdrop to young love – is slated to open his debut album Just Getting Started, which features a guest appearance by Frankie J and is set for release in early next year. Handsome, tattooed and sporting long braids, YS plans to support the album with a nationwide high school tour. Of course.

see: myspace.com/youngseb

Updated: March 11, 2008.

Last week's unexpected cold spell in California – marked by below-freezing temperatures – has devastated over 70% of the state's citrus harvest, an estimated $800 million to $1 billion loss. California is the largest producer of fresh citrus in the U.S. Also affected are avocado, lettuce, artichoke and strawberry crops. At least 12,000 farmworkers – primarily Mexicans – have been left without work and many are unable to heat their homes. The deep freeze led to an increase in natural gas prices in California's Central Valley, which combined with unemployment, could force thousands to choose between buying groceries and paying the utility bill. California's governor Arnold Schwartzenegger has declared a state of emergency and promises to offer aid to the affected workers regardless of their immigration status.