Arianna Puello

Information is thin on the ground about Arianna Puello, the Spanish rimadora of Dominican origin. She was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to Spain when she was eight, and within a frighteningly few years -- as early as 1993 -- she was popping up with rhymes with various crews. But what the diminutive Ms. Puello is lacking in biographical data, she supplies in her songs, which chronicle life on the street with an angry clear-sightedness and fierce poetry. Musically, she exudes a swagger that rivals but doesn't directly imitate her American inspirations, including biggies like Redman and Nas. Early on, she worked with a series of outfits -- NO del KRIB and Disculpos del Micro among them -- and she released her solo debut in 1998.