El Cholo, as we call him here, is 20 years old. He has been a member of different gangs — or maras — and says he's killed 10 people. Following as excerpts from an interview with NPR's John ...

Cholo rap in OC exists even if nobody is willing to acknowledge, much less write, about it. This ain't gangsta rap; it's straight-up gang rap. There's no real music videos nor commercial ...

Now at 17, Romero realizes he never should have become a member of the Southwest Cholos gang. He is soft-spoken and polite. Sitting with his hands in his lap, he keeps his knuckles turned down to ...