THE DEY

Who They Are Despite their Puerto Rican heritage, the DEY's members — rappers Emilio ''Yeyo'' Cancio-Bello and Rafael ''Divine'' Torres, both 25, and singer Élan Luz Rivera, 22 — represent three very different places. While Yeyo was a salsa and hip-hop fan in Puerto Rico, Divine was idolizing Big Pun in the Bronx and Élan was singing doo-wop on Broadway in Paul Simon's The Capeman. For their debut, an EP titled The D.E.Y. Has Come (out Oct. 2), they wove those influences together.

Why They're Exciting The Black Eyed Peas with a Latin twist, the DEY caught the ears of producers J.R. Rotem (Rihanna) and Stargate (Ne-Yo), who worked on Come. The disc's energetic club cuts and swooning ballads (our favorite: ''Taken'') are delivered in Spanish and English. It's a sociopolitical statement, notes Divine, who adds, ''[The Latino] community needs to be recognized.'' Plus, it sounds damn sexy. ''Spanish is a Romance language,'' says Élan. ''Who doesn't understand romance?'' — Simon Vozick-Levinson

EW.com Exclusive ''No Looking Back'' (to hear it, use the player below)