Money Harm and Sincere Gubano, better known as the Product G&B, were a struggling singing duo when they phoned Sony's New York recording studio in 1998, trying to reach a producer named Out West.

Out West, who was working with actress/singer Jennifer Lopez, wasn't there, but, the two were told, Fugees member Pras Michel was. From six blocks away, they ran to the studio.

"We ran up on him; he thought we were gonna rob him," Money Harm recalled recently, from the Southern California hotel room where the pair awaited rehearsals for a concert with Santana.

"So, we was like, 'Nah!'" Sincere said. " 'All we wanna do is perform.'"

Two years later, the Product G&B are in big demand, as performers and producers. They're the singers on Santana's #1 hit "Maria Maria" (

HREF="http://media.addict.com/music/Santana/Maria_Maria.ram">RealAudio excerpt), and they've worked with the likes of Michel's Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean, as well as 98°. Michel is even helping them record the first album of their own, expected in July, on Wyclef's Refugee Camp label.

Not Just A Bunch Of Rappers

But on that propitious day in 1998, Money Harm recalled that at first, "The way [Pras Michel] was looking [at us] was like, 'All right, another [bunch of] rappers.'

"He said, 'You all sing? You look like rappers,' " Money Harm said. "He's on the phone with [Wyclef], and they're speaking in Creole. … Next thing I know, he said, 'I'm putting you on my next three singles.' "

Two weeks later, according to Sincere Gubano, the two were on the radio with Khadeija, on the song "Here We

Go," which helped propel New York DJ Funkmaster Flex's The Mix Tape Volume III: 60 Minutes of Funk — The Final Chapter to #4 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Within a month, they were in the studio with Wyclef and Santana,

co-writing and recording "Maria Maria," with Money Harm (born Marvin L. Moore Hough) getting the lead vocal. The song, with its "Carlos Santana" chorus, is one of the major hits off Santana's Grammy-winning 1999 album, Supernatural.

The Hempstead, N.Y., duo — whose name is short for "Product Ghetto & Blues" — also wrote "Fly With Me," which wound up being performed by 98° on the "Pokémon" film soundtrack. Their song "Family Affair" was on the soundtrack to the hit HBO series "The Sopranos." They also recorded a track, "Run Away," with Wyclef and Earth, Wind & Fire, for Wyclef's second solo album, due July 11. And their single "Bust a Nut," with Marie Antoinette, will appear on the soundtrack to the upcoming movie "In Too Deep."

"Ghetto and Blues is like the new music revolution: not R&B — G&B," Sincere Gubano (born Dave Devine McRae) said. "We're getting ready to smash the industry, you know what I'm sayin'? Like a big explosion. We both lead-sing and rap, so we're like a male Lauryn [Hill]."

Their Own 'West Side Story'

The 22-year-old singer/rappers grew up on conflicting sides of an ongoing turf war in the projects of Hempstead, on New York's Long Island. They drew on that "West Side Story"–like partnership in the creation of "Maria Maria."

"Me and [Money Harm], we used to battle each other; we did not like each other at all," Sincere Gubano said. "You know, something like the 'West Side Story' kind of thing. A lot of people started getting killed. It started getting out of hand: People getting shot from my side; people getting shot from his side, [some] getting killed, [some] getting jumped. [So] me and him decided to unify, you know what I'm sayin'?"

The two said they were not familiar with Santana's work before they met him in the studio.

"[Wyclef]'s like, 'Man, this guy is big; he's a legend — like Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix. I said, 'For real?' " Money Harm said. "He was afraid we would say the wrong thing to him."

The group hopes Santana will play on "Dirty Dancing," a Wyclef-produced meringue/hip-hop tune, on their debut album, Ghetto & Blues. The album will touch on flavors from hip-hop to jazz and reggae.

"The album has a versatility to it," Sincere Gubano said. "You've got that raw hardcore, you got that pop. ... When you listen to it, you're gonna feel like, 'Damn, these kids are deep.' We're gonna make you think.

"We got a song called 'Wish You Well,' [which says] 'I'm not sweatin' you — I'm sorry baby, but it's not gonna happen.' [On]'Scramble,' we're talking about how everybody scrambles to do what they want to do," he said. "You got young females out there who strip just to get through school. ... You could be doing anything just to get by. ... [On the song]'Whenever You Want It,' that's basically letting everybody know that the Product can give you whatever you need."