Omar Cruz

During the middle and later years of the 2000s, Omar Cruz rose among the leading Latino rappers based in Los Angeles, his following on the underground mixtape circuit securing a contract with a major label. Born in Los Angeles to a Colombian father and a Mexican mother, he spent his early years in South Central L.A. near Crenshaw inside a predominantly African-American neighborhood, though his schooling took place across town in safer Culver City. Early on he drew inspiration from Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, and above all N.W.A, later counting among his influences the Latino rappers Cypress Hill and Big Punisher along with the Los Angeles rappers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and 2Pac. As his involvement in the hip-hop scene deepened, he took the name Blunts LLA (i.e., Latin Lyrical Assassin), sought career guidance from the successful Latino artists Estevan Oriol (photographer) and Mr. Cartoon (tattooist), and formed a partnership with Luis "LuLu" Torres, owner of the independent label B.Y.I. Entertainment (i.e., Beyond Your Imagination). Under the Blunts LLA moniker he issued the underground mixtapes City of Gods (2004) and Blow (2005); he then abandoned that name for the subsequent releases The Cruzifixion (2006) and 2007 B.C. (2007), both hosted by DJ Skee. Cruz entered a joint recording contract with Interscope and Geffen in 2006 and began steady work on his major-label debut album, tentatively titled Sign of the Cruz, which was introduced by the lead single "I Hang with My Dogz."