Instead of dreaming the darkness away, they confront it, and present an alternative through their music. As they put it, they “Came to make you feel good, make you feel real good, bringing love from the hood.” They’re trying to inject hope and positivity into hip-hop, but they’re doing so without ignoring the harsh facts of life. This trio’s music is rooted in the tough realities of urban life in the U.S. The mood throughout Merry Go Round, Tres Delinquentes’ third album, is upbeat and optimistic, yet this isn’t any “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”-type nonsense. There’s also Latin rhythms here and there, as on “Return of the Tres”, which, as the title indicates, contains the catchy, bright trumpets of their previous hit single. They alternately rap in English, Spanish and Spanglish, and are continually supported by a big, uptempo backdrop of booming bass, quick scratches and a live funk groove, supplied by O.G.

Tres Delinquentes’ two MCs, Kemo and Ives, are nimble wordsmiths whose main goal is to generate positive vibes. While Delinquent Habits do share a funk influence, bilingual rhyming skills and a love for marijuana with Cypress Hill, they actually have more in common with the straight-up-rhymers of California, groups like Jurrasic 5 and The People Under the Stairs, whose goal is to keep hip-hop moving in a positive, fun direction while staying true to its history. At the time perceived by some (or at least me), to be Cypress Hill tagalongs, perhaps due to Sen Dog’s production on their debut, Delinquent Habits have since blown past any such thoughts, and made the thinkers ashamed that they ever had them, by creating their own unique, upbeat brand of hip-hop. With all the article, podcast, and video options for telling such stories in the modern era of journalism, it seems like an extremely ripe time for sifting through production credits and documenting conversations with some of these originators.Delinquent Habits were all over MTV in 1996 with “Tres Delinquentes”, a snappy hip-hop track with a hook supplied by mariachi trumpets. When I stop to think about the number of producers out there who never really had a chance to tell their story, especially from rap’s early and pre-internet years, it makes my head explode.

I’ve spoken to producers like Eddie James and Joc Max to help document important bits of history about lesser-known but vital instrumentals and songs. This is an issue I’m passionate about improving. Scratch magazine was a vital publication that so many of us still love and yearn for today because it finally gave producers well-deserved recognition for their contributions to the genre. Though there were some journalists out there doing vital work on the subject, documentation of important DJs and producers still leaves a lot to be desired. This is one of the most disappointing aspects of rap coverage in the genre’s first two decades. With the exception of a few paltry lines from an undated interview, there isn’t really anything out there documenting his creative process or insights. He isn’t even mentioned on the group’s current about page from their website, apparently because he is no longer a member. Style at all, which is surprising when you consider that Delinquent Habits had some solid commercial success-especially in their early years. In fact, I really struggled to find many quotes from O.G. Coker’s writing is still engaging and very worthwhile, I just wish there had been more about the group’s DJ/producer included. Style was not-even though he played a key role in connecting with Sen Dog of Cypress Hill and getting the group signed to Ruffhouse/Columbia. Though Delinquent Habits’ MCs Ives and Kemo were quoted in the article, O.G.

Times write-up about the group from Cheo Hodari Coker. In the process, I did a little online digging and found a nice 1996 L.A. Earlier this week I randomly posted the “Tres Delinquentes” video in the Micro-Chop twitter feed just because I felt like it.

Delinquent habits delinquent habits