Malverde

Legends never die. Mexican-American rapper Malverde probably had those words on his mind when he named himself after Mexican folk hero Jesús Malverde, the kitschy "patron saint" of drug traffickers.

Born Jesús Martinez González twenty some-odd years ago in California's rural Coachella Valley, the rapper Malverde is the son of Mexican migrant workers who came to the U.S. through the Bracero Program in the early 60's. Malverde credits his family, all farm laborers, for teaching him the value of hard work, the importance of a good education and a commitment to social justice.

Malverde's debut album, the rap en Español Mi Palabra (My Word) and its fiery single, La Marcha, were released in 2004, quickly placing Malverde at the forefront of the small Latin Hip Hop scene. The goateed rapper with a flair for military accents continued to build his rep with the flute-y She Was My and a guest appearance on Snoop Dogg's remix of "Vato" by DJ Jam. This summer, his song Oye Mami was featured on an episode of HBO's Entourage.

An activist who supports various causes, Malverde was scheduled to put out his second album, La Leyenda Continua (The Legend Continues) later this year, though that release has been pushed back to 2008. However, preview tracks of La Leyenda can be heard on his http://www.myspace.com/malverde ">MySpace, including a Spanish-language cover of Nas' Hip Hop is Dead.