The following is a list of notable Chicano rappers, both individuals and groups. "Chicano rap" is defined as a "subgenre of hip hop that embodies aspects of the Mexican American or Chicano culture."
Chicano or Chicana is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. Chicano was originally a classist and racist slur used toward low-income Mexicans that was reclaimed in the 1940s among youth who belonged to the Pachuco and Pachuca subculture.
Arturo R. Molina Jr., better known as Frost, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Los Angeles. He charted in the 1990s with his first four albums: Hispanic Causing Panic, East Side Story, Smile Now, Die Later and When Hell.A. Freezes Over. His most successful single is "La Raza" which hit number 6 on the rap songs chart in August 1990. His 1990 debut album is credited as the first Chicano rap album.
Latin hip hop is hip hop music that is recorded by artists in the United States of Hispanic and Latino descent, along with Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean, North America, Central America, South America, and Spain.
Mexican hip hop is a form of hip hop music from Mexico, performed by Mexican artists and artists of Mexican descent. The growth of hip hop as a genre has led to various adaptations of it depending on a region and language.
Chicano rock, also called chicano fusion, is rock music performed by Mexican American (Chicano) groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. Chicano Rock, to a great extent, does not refer to any single style or approach. Some of these groups do not sing in Spanish at all, or use many specific Latin instruments or sounds. The subgenre is defined by the ethnicity of its performers, and as a result covers a wide range of approaches.
A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body that emerged among Mexican American youth in the 1940s. Lowrider also refers to the driver of the car and their participation in lowrider car clubs, which remain a part of Chicano culture and have since expanded internationally. These customized vehicles are also artworks, generally being painted with intricate, colorful designs, unique aesthetic features, and rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires.
Chicano rap is a subgenre of hip hop that embodies aspects of the Mexican American or Chicano culture.
Alvin Lowell Trivette, known as A.L.T., is an American rapper. known for the 1991 hit "Lowrider " and the 1992 hit "Tequila".
Roberto L. Flores, also known as Ese 1218, and better known by his stage name Lil Rob, is an American rapper, producer, and actor.
Fahd Azam, known professionally as Mr. Capone-E, is an American rapper. He is the owner of the record label Hi-Power Entertainment.
Caló is an argot or slang of Mexican Spanish that originated during the first half of the 20th century in the Southwestern United States. It is the product of zoot-suit pachuco culture that developed in the 1930s and '40s in cities along the US/Mexico border.
Knightowl, born Ramon Corona, was a Mexican-born American rapper. He began recording in 1993. His fame came with the hit singles Daddy I'm In Love With a Gangsta and Here Comes The Knightowl.
"Vato" is the first single by Snoop Dogg from his album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. The song features B-Real and was produced by The Neptunes. The word "vato" is Chicano slang for "homie".
Ménage à Trois is an independent label compilation album released by Baby Bash, his fifth overall release. The album is made up of tracks from 2003's The Ultimate Cartel, 2002's On Tha Cool & 2001's Savage Dreams when Baby Bash was known as Baby Beesh.
Somethin' 4 the Riderz is a compilation album by American rapper, Frost. The album was released in 2003 for 40 Ounce Records. It contained Frost's unreleased and hard to find songs. The album featured many guests including Ice-T, Above the Law, King Tee and DJ Quik.
Proper Dos is an American hip hop group formed in early 90s in California, composed of rapper Frank Villareal and producer Ernie Gonzalez. The duo released their debut album, Mexican Power, in 1992 through Skanless Records, which peaked at #32 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers. Their second album, We're at It Again, was released in 1995, followed by Heat in 1998 and Overdose in 1999.
James Trujillo, better known by his stage name Jay Tee, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California. He has been a part of the city's scene since the early 1990s as the lead member of N2Deep and Latino Velvet along with Baby Beesh. Even though N2Deep's 2000 album Slightly Pimpish/Mostly Doggish was a solo album, it was not until 2001 that Jay Tee released a solo album under his own name, So Cold.
Ronald Ray Bryant, better known by his stage name Baby Bash, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California. His first two albums, Savage Dreams (2001) and On Tha Cool (2002), were released by the independent Houston-based label Dope House Records under his former stage name "Baby Beesh". It was changed to "Baby Bash" before he signed with Universal Records in 2003 and released his pop rap single, "Suga Suga", in July of that year. The song became his first hit, peaking at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and serving as lead single for his third album and major label debut, Tha Smokin' Nephew (2003).
Blaxicans are Americans who are both Black and Mexican American descent. Some may prefer to identify as Afro-Chicano or Black Chicana/o and embrace Chicano identity, culture, and political consciousness. Most Blaxicans have origins in working class community interactions between African Americans and Mexican Americans. Los Angeles has been cited as the hub for Blaxican culture. In 2010, it was recorded that 42,000 people in Los Angeles County identified as both Black and Latino, most of whom are believed to be both Black and Mexican American.