Rappers hail from all over the place in Southern California: Compton (Dr. Dre), Long Beach (Snoop Dogg), South Gate (Cypress Hill). But Malibu? No, this isn't a Jamie Kennedy joke.



The quiet beach community is in fact where sizzling newcomer Shwayze calls home. It's also where a rocker named Cisco Adler lives – and at this point, if you're not saying their names in the same breath, you need to flip on the radio.

The rapper met the Whitestarr frontman at one of Cisco's infamous parties after finding out that they had a common love for hip-hop. After that, the two began laying down tracks, with Shwayze bringing the verses and Cisco dropping the beats.

"Malibu's a small town, and we're both from Malibu, so ... we started making music, and here we are," Shwayze told Buzznet simply during one of a series of recent interviews.

"Coconuts," Cisco added. "Banging them together, and then we came back to the studio and made a record."


[Click the picture to view Shwayze and Adler chatting up
Buzznet at the "Hills" season finale in Hollywood on May 12.]

Two years and more than 100 gigs later, Shwayze has a hit radio single in "Buzzin'," is featured in a Pontiac commercial and is scheduled to play the entire Warped Tour this summer.

"Main stage, yes," Shwayze told Buzznet on the yellow carpet at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday in Universal City, California. But then he clarified his remark, saying, "Whatever stage we're on is going to be the main stage."


[Watch Adler and Shwayze chatting up Buzznet at the MTV Movie
Awards in Universal City, California, on Sunday.]

"Last night we started rehearsal," Cisco told DJ Rossstar when he, Shwayze and their live MC, DJ Skeet Skeet, stopped by "DJ Rossstar's Punk Rock Show." "We're trying to switch it up so it's like dynamics ... dynamicness. It's a DJ and two dudes on a mic, so we thought we'd bring in some instruments and electronics. Some dancing women."

Shwayze quickly added: "But it's classy ... very classy. We do it with taste."

The Warped gigs should give the pair ample opportunity to introduce themselves to the masses and build buzz for Shwayze's debut, Lazy Days, which is hitting stores July 15 via Geffen.

Rappers sometimes get so caught up in their singles that their albums wind up lacking, but Cisco promised that won't be the case with Shwayze's effort.

"It's a deep record," Cisco said.

Shwayze backed him up, rattling off a few other highlights beyond "Buzzin' ": "A song called 'Mary Jane' that Cisco does himself. It's amazing. We got 'Flashlight' featuring Dave Navarro."

That's right: If you can believe it, they have the Jane's Addiction guitarist on board – and naturally, he laid down his guest licks while shirtless.

"He came into the studio ...," Shwayze began.

"... and took his shirt off ...," Cisco interjected.

"... [and played a] hip-thrusting solo. It was really good," Shwayze finished.

"Flashlight" is one of about 40 to 50 songs Shwayze and Adler created for Lazy Days, and they later narrowed them down to 11.

So now that you know all about Shwayze and Cisco, their tour plans and upcoming album ... how did the name "Shwayze" come about?

"When I met him, we were just trying to figure out his whole vibe as an artist," Cisco said of the rapper, whose real name is Aaron Smith. "We were sitting around drinking one day, and I was just like, 'You should be called Shwayze,' and he was like, 'Nooo,' and I refused to call him anything else."

For more on Shwayze and Cisco, check out these video clips:


[Click to hear an embarrasing Shwayze moment.]


[Click to find out what Cisco thinks of Miley Cyrus.]


[Click to see who gets an electric shock!]