The Kumbia Kings were Latin Grammy-winning group from Texas. Their music encompasses the styles of Cumbia (hence their name), Hip-Hop and R&B. They produce songs in both Spanish and English. The band's producers from the beginning have been Oscar Reyes, III (AB), and Cruz Martínez. A.B. Quintanilla is also known as the brother of the late "queen of tejano music", Selena. He played bass guitar for the group, while Compi played keyboards. Both co-wrote songs for the Kumbia Kings. Though the group has gone through a revolving door of members in recent years amid controversy and finger-pointing, and the Kumbia Kings of today are vastly different than what originated in Corpus Christi, TX over 8 years ago, A.B. and Tony were always the soul of the group. Gone are original members Frankie J and DJ Kane both who have gone on to significant success as solo artists, as well as the group Kingz1 (K1), a collaboration of former Kumbia Kings members who have defected from the group for reason of "internal dissention". Unfortunately, AB, singer Irvin "PeeWee Gonzales" Salinas, as well as Selena's husband Chris Pérez, ( who has now remarried ) also decided to leave the group due to that same "internal dissention". Los Kumbia Kings? 1999 debut album, Amor, Familia, y Respeto, immediately sold over 500,000 copies and earned them a Grammy nomination. 2001 brought the album Sshhh!, which in its first week, was number 2 among all Latin releases, and stayed at the top for almost 2 years. By 2003, the Kings had already earned a nomination for the ?Latin Artist of the Year? at the American Music Awards, along with countless other musical awards and achievements. 4 was released in March 2003. It was a bilingual project that brought together innovative fusions of R&B, pop, reggae, hip-hop, vallenatos, and electro-cumbia hits. Latin all-stars, such as Aleks Syntek, El Gran Silencio, Juan Gabriel, and the Grammy-winning group Ozomatli brought extra dimension to the Kings' already encompassing style. In October of 2004, Los Kumbia Kings released their 6th studio album titled Fuego, another CD that, as well, has gone on to sell over 500,000 copies. This album had again saw the Kings meeting the ?Gold-Standard? in the music industry. On November 2, 2006, Los Kumbia Kings won their first Latin Grammy for their album, Kumbia Kings Live (Best Tropical Regional Mexican Album). Unfortunately, this is a bittersweet victory for the group amidst the controversy and love/hate relationship between the co-founders of the band, Quintanilla and Martínez, as well as the other members (and ex-members) of the group. AB Quintanilla left the group and early in the summer of 2006 formed ?Kumbia All Starz?, a Kumbia King styled ensemble that released their first album in Late September of that year.