Music: Latina singer/rapper Maria Isa grows up

As she looked around the booth-lined basement that was the Dinkytowner Cafe -- was as of last weekend, when the venue shut down -- Maria Isa sounded like an old sailor paying respects to a decommissioned battleship. Never mind that she's still only 22 and has many wars left to fight.

"My first show here was a Yo! the Movement show when I was 17, and it was packed with kids," she remembered in her muy-rapido verbal style (fast and spiked with Spanglish).

Since her coming-out as a Latina hip-hop artist, Maria IsaBelle Perez Vega certainly has grown. The St. Paul rapper/singer has developed in the way that could make her protective grandma ban all men from her concerts. More important, she has blossomed in the way that turns aspiring performers into genuine artists.

Maria's second album, "Street Politics" fleshes out her bomba- and reggaeton-enflamed hip-hop sound with full backing from an eight-piece band. The CD also raises her value as a sociopolitical rapper and cultural ambassador. When Maria sings the title track, she says, "I'm not just representing Puerto Ricans or [St. Paul's] West Side, I'm representing all boys and girls in the hood. I'm saying there's a way to rule and change government from the streets."

The album will be issued on Sota-Rico Records, a company Maria started with her mother and manager, who has instilled artistic passion and cultural pride in Maria since Day One. "Maria can make 'Sota-Rico' a known term, just like our new Supreme Court justice is doing for 'Nuyorican,' " boasted her mom, Elsa Vega-Perez, a longtime activist and philanthropist.

While she traveled to Puerto Rico many times throughout her youth, and still does, Maria said she learned plenty about her heritage just in Minnesota. "My grandmother mostly raised me, because my parents were always working to put a roof over our heads," she remembered. "She lived in downtown St. Paul, but inside her apartment it was Puerto Rico. We talked nothing but Spanish, we ate Puerto Rican food, talked about Puerto Rico."

"People say, 'You're Puerto Rican? What part?' And I say, 'Yeah, I'm from the Minnesota part of Puerto Rico.'"

As she came up through the hip-hop scene, Maria also performed at salsa dance nights and clubs such as El Nuevo Rodeo. The back-and-forth between rap gigs and Latino dance events made her a natural purveyor for what would be called reggaeton music. "I played reggaeton because, to me, it was the natural feel of the drum beat, not because it was popular," she said. "You can call me a reggaeton artist, hip-hop, or whatever, just don't try to box me in."

When Maria was chosen to perform at First Ave's Best New Bands of 2006 showcase, she paired up with members of the Roots-like hip-hop band Leroy Smokes. New, rap-heavy tracks such as the Muja Messiah duet "Never Let Go" rock a little harder with the group. Meanwhile, the sweet-boys-are-dangerous dance romp "Caramelo" suggest the Smokes guys could pass for full-blooded Latin musicians.

"I'm just a guy from Duluth, but we'll go over to Maria's house for a family barbecue and it'll feel like Little Puerto Rico, with the food and the music," said trumpeter/keyboardist Kyle (Highstyle) Borchert. "It's inspiring to all of us."