DELINQUENT HABITS, MAYBE, BUT WORK ETHIC IS ROCK-SOLID.

Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer

Making hip-hop was simple when O.G. Styles, Kemo and Ives formed Delinquent Habits in the early '90s.

``When we did songs, it was for the pure love of doing music,'' says Ives, 29. But in the recording business, it's a different story.

In the last 10 years, Delinquent Habits has hopped from one corporate giant to another. The problem: Nobody knew what to make of the trio's Latin-flavored hip-hop and failed to promote any of its recordings except the first, which enjoyed some success on radio. Otherwise, entire albums were never released.

That hasn't happened since Delinquent Habits formed its own record label. Station 13 was founded in 1998 and became an avenue for the group to record demos, which were sold at shows throughout the United States and Europe.

But the group's reach was limited. While conducting research on the Web one day, the group stumbled across the Latin Alternative Music Conference - the brainchild of New York-based rock en espanol advocate Josh Norek.

The group sent him some copies of its demos.

Norek, who was in the midst of putting together a Latin alternative music compilation for Ark 21 Records, was so impressed that he included Delinquent Habits on the album.

``I think they are one of the few original-sounding hip-hop groups these days,'' says Norek. ``Delinquent Habits definitely have sort of that old-school hip-hop vibe in terms of production - large bass lines, infectious hooks - plus they throw in some great mariachi samples that are irresistible.''

Ark 21 agreed.

Shortly after the release of the ``Escena Alterlatina'' project, Ark 21 signed a deal with Delinquent Habits and co-released the group's album ``Merry Go Round.''

While the sound had a lot to do with the deal, it was the band's work ethic that convinced the label to take a chance.

``Bands that work hard are the bands that succeed,'' says Steve O. Glendinning, the group's manager at Ark 21. ``They work really hard and we think they're going to succeed.''

Delinquent Habits still runs the show when it comes to its career. The group maintains its own Web site (www.delinquenthabits.com) to keep its fans up-to-date about its label, the latest releases and upcoming shows.

Tonight, the trio opens for Run DMC at the House of Blues. Show time is 9 p.m. Tickets are $25, and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations or on the Web (www.ticketmaster.com), or by calling [phone].

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Photo: The hip-hop trio Delinquent Habits - clockwise from top, Ives, Kemo and O.G. Styles - play the House of Blues tonight.