Mister D

Mister D stands out among Chicano rappers as the founder and CEO of Southland Records. He first presented his distinctive take on gangster rap rooted in Latino culture through the 2000 album Deep in the Game. While running the label he helped advance the careers of additional Chicano rap acts and continued to issue his own material at a consistent pace, turning the imprint into a hub for aligned artists and collaborators such as Sleepy Malo, Solo, A Lighter Shade of Brown, and others. In 2004 he scored a major success with the track "Gangstas Get Lonely Too" and appeared on several singles that featured vocals from G-funk crooner Nate Dogg. Over the subsequent decade he maintained a steady flow of output that encompassed numerous collaborations, mixtapes, and full-length projects, among them Year of the Gangster in 2009 and Still in the Game in 2015.