Pubdate: Tue, 28 Dec 1999 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 1999 The New York Times Company Contact: Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/ Author: Juan Forero RAP PERFORMER FROM QUEENS FACES CHARGE ON MARIJUANA NEW YORK -- Victor Santiago, a fast-rising rap performer from Queens who performs under the name Noreaga, was arrested Sunday night on narcotics charges after undercover officers spotted him and three other men sharing a marijuana cigarette in his car, the police said Monday. Santiago, 22, was charged with criminal possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor. He was released from custody by Judge Robert Raciti of Queens Criminal Court. The charges against Santiago will be dropped if he is not arrested again in the next six months, said Mary de Bourbon, a spokeswoman for the Queens district attorney's office. The other men who were arrested were also released. Santiago and his friends were parked at 111th Street and 55th Avenue in Corona at 6:10 p.m. on Sunday when a group of Queens narcotics officers noticed the men passing what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette, said Officer Joseph Cavitolo, a police spokesman. Santiago served a three-year term as a teen-ager for attempted murder. While in prison, he met Kiam Holley, another young man from Queens, and they formed a wildly successful rap duo that, in 1997, produced "The War Report," an album that became an underground hit. Last year, Santiago released a solo album, "N.O.R.E.," which sold more than 125,000 copies in its first week. Earlier this year, he released another recording, "Melvin Flynt -- Da Hustler." Reginald Dennis, former music editor of The Source, a rap magazine, said that Santiago's music tried to capture the gritty essence of the streets with simple, rhyming lyrics about topics like drug dealing and violence. The message has resonated with countless fans in New York, Dennis said. "His lyrics rhyme, the words rhyme, but at such a rudimentary level that it's appealing to his fans," he said. In interviews, Santiago has said that he wants to be versatile, writing and singing about the streets he cannot leave behind. "I love it here, and part of the reason why our music comes across as real is because it is real," he said earlier this year in The Los Angeles Times. "We lived through the experiences you'll hear." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk