Lead single "Homeboy" peaked at number 13 on the country charts, followed by his first and second number 1 hits on that chart, "Drink in My Hand" and "Springsteen".
From January 2008 to August 2009, Homeboy Sandman served as the host of “ALL THAT! Hip Hop, Poetry and Jazz” at the Nuyorican Poets Café, New York City’s longest running open mic session (originally hosted by Hip Hop icon Bobbito García).
Manthia Diawara, author of the article "Homeboy Cosmopolitan", writes, "Hip-hop culture gives aesthetic pleasure through ironic and parodic play with mainstream images of black people".
Varela says he found that very surprising as he showed up in a track suite and looked more like a homeboy/chav than an aspiring actor.