DJ Muggs is the primary architect of the "Cypress Hill Sound," hip-hop characterized by Jeep- jolting bass, hard, mid- tempo drums and repetitive, minimalist squeals all rolled into an eminently smokable groove. Since this stoner- friendly derivation of the Bomb Squad collage first hit the airwaves five or six years ago it has made a huge impact on an entire generation of producers, arguably second only to Dre in influence. Delinquent Habits belongs on the long list of Hill- inspired collectives. They're a Latin- tinged outfit that succeeds in the difficult field of "ethnic hip-hop," primarily because they forgo the novelty aspect of the production and pay careful attention to the crucial details. Which is another way of saying that though they may rap in Spanish occasionally, eso no es Gerardo, comprende?

Cypress Hill have covered some of this ground before ("The Funky Bilingual" comes to mind) but Delinquent Habits are the first group to seemlessly integrate hip-hop and Latin elements and pull it off so successfully. The key to the album's success lies in the subtlety-- there are some mariachi horns here and a funky salsa piano there, but the samples never overwhelm the music and the results never approach gimmickry. The rhythms are clearly designed to sound good after a little loco weed, and trust me, they do; there's nothing fast to harsh your mellow yet the slower stuff still commands attention.

Joined occasionally by Cypress Hill's Sen Dog, Deliquent Habits come off on the mic sounding solid but unspectacular-- let's just say that they have the skills to avoid the 60- day past- due bills. The lyrical content is on the positive tip-- taking pride in your heritage and doing the right thing-- and it's never preachy, which in itself is refreshing. Unlike their mentors, there's no "sawed off shotgun/ hand on the pump/ the other on a 40/ puffing on a blunt" stuff here. It's uplifting music from the streets that still rocks the house. And Jesus, isn't that what the kids need these days?

-Mark Richard-San