Politically progressive Spanish-language hip-hop artist Jesus Malverde shares more than just his name with the Robin Hood character of Mexican folklore. Malverde, often referred to as "the narco-saint," was a legendary "outlaw of the people" from the state of Sinaloa who stole from the wealthy class and redistributed the wealth among the working poor. Jesus Malverde (the artist) was born in Coachella, CA, into a community primarily comprised of Mexican farm laborers. With few opportunities available to him, Jesus dedicated himself to study and poetry, first writing lyrics with common rap themes addressing street life and culture. As Malverde matured and grew into the legacy of his namesake, he began to produce material that questioned the system around him, challenging both the powers that be and his own people to understand action and consequence. Collaborating with producer Brett Bouldin, a veteran of groups like Funkdoobiest and Cypress Hill, Malverde released his debut record, Mi Palabra (My Word), in May of 2004. Both the record's success and his involvement in the West Coast hip-hop community continued to earn Malverde a reputation as one of Latin hip-hop's leading innovators. His collaboration with Snoop Dogg on the bilingual hit song "Vato" in 2007 introduced Malverde to hip-hop lovers worldwide. Malverde's signing to Universal Music's urban Latin label Machete Music marked his arrival on Latin hip-hop's main stage. La Leyenda Continua has been hailed as one of the West Coast's most important Spanish-language rap albums of 2007. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez