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Forum name | The Lesson Archives |
Topic subject | 1997-1998: The (not so) dark ages of L.A. Rap |
Topic URL | http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=17&topic_id=171908 |
171908, 1997-1998: The (not so) dark ages of L.A. Rap Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Mon Jun-01-15 01:17 PM
It seems to be a common narrative that the West Coast fell off in 96, and was basically dead until 99 when Dre made 2001. But the more I think about it...it felt more like a Golden Age for local Rap that may not have made it out of L.A., but got major play from everybody in the city. Along with the G-Funk sound that was a bit evolved past what it was in 94-95, the Underground "L.A. Boom Bap" sound was really starting to take place.
Doggystyle, Chronic, and Dogg Food were the most played albums from 93-96...and I'd say that Street Gospel, Tha Shadiest One, and Rhythmalism were the most played in this period. The thing about this time was that artists seemed to feel like "fuck it, we might not get play outside the city, but we're gonna make sure the city loves it!!!"
Here's some of my favorites from this time period:
Tha Comrads - Westside Connect OG's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNP7PGpoIyU
Mack 10 ft. Snoop Dogg - LBC and the ING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Db6kKCDdq8
Mack 10 ft. Big Pun and Fat Joe - Let the games begin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuT7s7Z93lI
Suga Free - Doe Doe and da skunk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDFnGX86kYY
DJ Pooh ft. Threat - Nowhere to hide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y-wFA3yY28
The Comrads - Homeboyz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrTo0DywB6Q
Suga Free - Why you bullshittin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLXoSLEm7OQ (It took me years to realize that this is basically an even more West Coast sounding "Heartz of men")
Suga Free - Inside out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4vQ8-RlptU (officially came out years later, but some of us had the bootleg tape)
WC - Hog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lneTuDx6LcQ
WC - Cheddar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mj7KGGcIfE
DJ Quik - We still party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2pX7ezEKIs
DJ Quik - Down, down, down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIupvCZJaoo
Xzibit ft. Ras Kass and Saafir - 3 card molly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYKbBkb8BSQ
Nate Dogg - Never leave me alone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzveEPBVQtA
Nate Dogg - These days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtxuKO0orXo
Warren G ft. Mr. Malik/Hershey Locc - What we go through: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2swZBkhdhQ
Daz ft. Too Short - It might sound crazy (remix): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRzwluU19Wk
Bad Azz ft. Snoop - We be putitn it down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MqRDGv7EYU
It's even more songs than this. But yeah...at the time, I was in Middle/High School, and wasn't even using the internet, so it didn't feel like the West was "dead" at all to us. The radio still played these songs just as much as the Bad Boy tracks, and surely more than the No Limit ones. Even BET still had a few songs in rotation.
And that's all just L.A....the Bay had some HEAT too. E-40 "Hope I don't go back" and all those songs were out and in rotation as well!
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171909, Ya know, I've recently started exploring this time period of hip-hop Posted by mrhood75, Mon Jun-01-15 01:51 PM
At the time, I was pretty heavily into backpack/underground shit, so I pretty much ignored all the mainstream stuff from the era, from all areas. I've been playing a lot of the NY stuff, but I feel I should get into the West Coast stuff too. Of the links that you posted, the only album I owned at the time was Xzibit's. But I feel remiss that I never gave the WC/DJ Quik/Daz/Nate Dogg albums a chance.
So yeah, I guess as soon as I finish listening to this first Lox album, I'll put on the DJ Pooh.
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171910, I notice that a lot of folks who hated our sound back then tend to Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Mon Jun-01-15 02:02 PM
appreciate it more now. Musically, no way to deny what it was. I didn't understand it back then that the lyrics and content were lacking, but the personality, flows, music, and just the song composition seemed to always be on point. Even the storytelling was still great on tracks like WC "Fuckin with a house party"...I literally think of that song every time I end up at a house party that seems sketchy.
LOL at going to DJ Pooh after Lox. I can say that his album wasn't that good aside from the two singles, though. That Mack 10 "The recipe" album was surely dope, though.
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171911, My homies swear by the Daz/Quik/Battlecat shit from that era Posted by mrhood75, Mon Jun-01-15 03:00 PM
I just never got into it. Probably because I was turned off by the Death Row outside-the-music dumb shit that was going on at the time. Over time, I'm more open to give it a chance. And yeah, I definitely can appreciate their skill as story-tellers.
>LOL at going to DJ Pooh after Lox. I can say that his album >wasn't that good aside from the two singles, though.
I remember watching the homie Mark Luv break "Whoomp Whoomp" at a club back in the days. Club went fucking apeshit.
>That Mack 10 "The recipe" album was surely dope, though.
Never heard it. Will give it a chance though.
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171912, And yeah, that DJ Pooh album wasn't so good Posted by mrhood75, Tue Jun-02-15 12:36 AM
Like you said, it's basically the two singles. And maybe two other songs. It's a shame, because I love DJ Pooh, Kam, and Threat (Mista Grimm notsomuch). Just didn't add up to all that much. I honestly blame the beats.
And that Lox album isn't that good either.
But I am going to download The Recipe.
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171913, Thinking about it all, Pooh had a series of flops, sadly Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Tue Jun-02-15 10:48 AM
from being the lead on Doggfather, to his own album, and even to making "The Wash." There was a time that folks saw him as being one of our next Dre's.
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171914, I expected him to come strong after producing two tracks on "Dogg Food" Posted by mrhood75, Tue Jun-02-15 11:30 AM
Especially considering "NY NY" and "Smooth" were both the shit. But "Doggfather" was a poster child for sophomore let-downs. I never even bothered listening to "The Wash" soundtrack. Better or worse than "Bad Newz"?
It really sucks because I grew up on the stuff Pooh did with King Tee. That's almost as important to my musical upbringing as NWA and Ice Cube. And to see that he fizzled hurts.
Ah well, at least the script to "Friday" was dope.
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171915, Well "The Wash" soundtrack was actually dope, he wasn't involved though Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Tue Jun-02-15 11:55 AM
he just wrote/directed it or whatever, so it still counts toward his overall legacy. But yeah, the music itself on there was slept on...I was really in shock that nobody cared about "On the Blvd" and the title track, being that Dre and Snoop were fresh off of The Next Episode and Still D.R.E....hell, and Bitch please too.
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171916, It was VERY dope. Posted by Remedial, Sun Jun-07-15 09:02 AM
>he just wrote/directed it or whatever, so it still counts >toward his overall legacy. But yeah, the music itself on there >was slept on...I was really in shock that nobody cared about >"On the Blvd" and the title track, being that Dre and Snoop >were fresh off of The Next Episode and Still D.R.E....hell, >and Bitch please too.
As you mentioned, I was extremely surprised that On the Blvd never really took off. That probably just has to do with it not having a video. It's one of my favorite Snoop and Dre collabos, especially when they start trading verses.
That soundtrack was very well put together and I could easily rate it up there with High School High and Juice, which are my two must own hip hop laden OSTs.
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171917, a few West Coast gems from that period Posted by PoppaGeorge, Mon Jun-01-15 03:18 PM
Tha Alkaholiks "All Night" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi4FgleGmWk
Dilated Peoples "Third Degree" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCLl1ISqYwc
Loot Pack "Psyche Move" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAg7lLjqE2M
Ras Kass "Soul on Ice" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp6QI7pQ1Ds
Dan the Automator "4:17" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Imtyf1CXk
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"Where was the peace when we were getting shot? Where's the peace when we were getting laid out? Where is the peace when we are in the back of ambulances? Where is the peace then? They don't want to call for peace then.
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171918, Haha. I pretty much bumped all of those relentlessly Posted by mrhood75, Tue Jun-02-15 12:34 AM
Especially Aklaholik's "Likwidation." One of my favorite albums period from that era.
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171919, I really forgot how dope Likwidation is Posted by PoppaGeorge, Wed Jun-03-15 12:00 AM
I've bumped Coast II Coast so tough that I genuinely forgot about Likwidation. I started listening to it again about two months ago. There was so many gems on that album I'm actually kinda pissed I've been overlooking it.
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171920, THIS is the route I went Posted by astralblak, Tue Jun-02-15 11:20 AM
Soul On ice 96 tho fam
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171921, close enough though Posted by PoppaGeorge, Wed Jun-03-15 12:00 AM
Ras Kass got bumped all through '97 so I figured I'd include it anyway.
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"Where was the peace when we were getting shot? Where's the peace when we were getting laid out? Where is the peace when we are in the back of ambulances? Where is the peace then? They don't want to call for peace then.
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171922, How was that Comrads album? Posted by 13Rose, Mon Jun-01-15 02:36 PM
I have their CD single still. I remmeber liking a video for a group called the Whooridaz (sp). Were they any good?
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171923, Comrads album was bangin to me back then. Doesn't hit as hard Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Mon Jun-01-15 02:49 PM
as WC's at all, but some songs still sound good.
Who-Ridaz had some bangers, they were from the Bay but had a L.A. sound more so than Mob from what I heard them make. More of a BBQ, Lowrider sound.
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171924, The first Whoridas album had some dope shit on it. Posted by mrhood75, Mon Jun-01-15 02:53 PM
They were the more "street rap" arm of Hobo Junction, but they made more rider music.
Till the Wheels Fall Off f/ Eyecue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1xwNe6DpSI
Taxin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwat2WG3OF4
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171925, Starting around 95 the Bay carried the torch.. Posted by ry 213, Mon Jun-01-15 09:37 PM
LA rap was overshadowed by their neighbors to the north. There was still a lot of heat dropping though:
Daz - RRGB Lil C Style compilations Quik, Suga Free etc Menace Clan - Da Hood Bad Azz
plus everything you mentioned earlier...
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171926, L.A. and the Bay were about equal in 95, even though L.A. had more hits Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Tue Jun-02-15 10:53 AM
mainstream wise. 96, Bay had a whoooole lotta tracks that should have been bigger mainstream.
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171927, Xzibit - Recycled Assassins is so overlooked Posted by Anonymous, Mon Jun-01-15 09:58 PM
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171928, My God that's such a banger Posted by 13Rose, Mon Jun-01-15 10:08 PM
That beat is beautiful. The flows... Dope album too.
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171929, That beat is one of my favorite ever...Montage killed it Posted by Anonymous, Mon Jun-01-15 11:13 PM
and the lyrics...greatness.
"...slumped a n*gg* just for looking, didn't know he was blind so I find mankind is a serious threat to another of his kind when there's something to get and I bet when feds jet through the spot to see what they got, nobody saw shit cuz it's not cool to break the rule of the code of the streets..."
X kills it with the full circle story of his two brothers too.
and yes, that album is a few slip ups away from being an all-time classic in my opinion.
Chamber Music 3 Card Molly What U See Is What U Get Handle Your Business Focus Deeper Los Angeles Times Inside Job Let It Rain (although not my favorite Liks collabo...especially after Killin' It) Recycled Assassins
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171930, he's too advanced for his own good Posted by astralblak, Tue Jun-02-15 11:22 AM
he didn't get a second chance to see the glock pointed at his hood...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgBwrDq-xMc
and then Xzibit come through and crushed the building with a POWERFUL nightmare vision
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171931, Great song. Posted by micMajestic, Thu Jun-04-15 01:16 PM
>
Let my love slide in and never slip out
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171932, Likwidation was one of the best rap albums of 1997 from anywhere Posted by Bombastic, Tue Jun-02-15 06:07 AM
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171933, Killin' It and Contents Under Pressure are my joints! Posted by Anonymous, Tue Jun-02-15 08:00 AM
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171934, Yep, those and Funny Style, Pass Out, Awww Shit, & Tore Down. Posted by mrhood75, Tue Jun-02-15 11:32 AM
Plus Captain Hook and the title track. Yeah, that whole album is the shiznit. But damn, Tash was fucking bitter about his ex.
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171935, And see y'all skipped maybe my two favorites on the whole album Posted by Bombastic, Tue Jun-02-15 07:25 PM
in Feel The Real (tho maybe this is the bitterness u were referencing) and All Night (J-Ro's closing verse on here is his career peak).
Those two and Contents Under Pressure were the three for me.
My boys and I played this everywhere despite living in three different cities at the time, whenever we got together for a weekend road trip this album was being played all the way through several times.
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171936, Killin it was one of them neck breakin beats Posted by PoppaGeorge, Wed Jun-03-15 12:04 AM
IIRC, that was the joint I got stuck on when I first got the tape (i.e. I listened to that song for 2-3 days straight non-stop).
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"Where was the peace when we were getting shot? Where's the peace when we were getting laid out? Where is the peace when we are in the back of ambulances? Where is the peace then? They don't want to call for peace then.
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171937, ^^^ Posted by astralblak, Tue Jun-02-15 11:23 AM
.
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171938, I felt it was a bit disappointing compared with ''Coast II coast''... Posted by Jakob Hellberg, Tue Jun-02-15 05:53 PM
It was definitely good though; I think my problem was it was just too fucking long and too many tracks-I dug the efficiency of the first two Liks albums Also, I had it on vinyl and long albums with lots of skits and stuff was always a chore even if I don't remember many particular cuts missing the marks-it's more the combined impact of the Liks for 70 minutes or so...
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171939, like it better than Coast II Coast but know most of the OG fans disagree Posted by Bombastic, Tue Jun-02-15 07:17 PM
I really think the run length is the biggest part of that when it comes down to it, because the songs were more memorable on a case-by-case basis.
And I can understand that in today's context but man every rap album was long in 1997, plus this would end up being the last great Alkaholik album so now having it stuffed with prime-cut-Likwit-shit doesn't feel like a bad deal.
To me this was Tash at the pinnacle of his bouncing-on-the-top-rack-in-Tetris flow.
I had him, Deck and Andre Benjamin in my Top 5 MC's during that late-90's era.
When Tash dropped a 20-track-solo album a year or so after this was when i was like, 'alright, you gotta scale back a bit'.
The skits aren't great but they're so short that they were never worth even skipping on the disc for back then.
I can't really think of what I'd say could definitely be cut.....maybe the WhoRidas song or one more towards the end I'm forgetting.
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171940, Kurupt Streetz is a Mutha album was a slept on banger.. Posted by Alphabet, Tue Jun-02-15 07:20 AM
It came out around the same time as Chronic 2001 so it got over shadowed (shit if I remember right it came out the same day!...lol)
I think because of the massive anticipation of 2001, Streetz didn't get it's just due as a really good album. Plus Kurupt's previous double album wasn't getting the best of reviews, even though We Can Freak It is still is his biggest song to date.
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171941, Oh for sure, a lot of L.A> people actually prefer Streetz to 2001 Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Tue Jun-02-15 10:42 AM
It was surely more Regional. And yea, the double album was a flop, but still had bangers. I forgot to post "Ask yourself a question" which was def a hitter.
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171942, I prefered "Steetz Iz a Mutha" too Posted by mrhood75, Tue Jun-02-15 12:15 PM
Me and whole crew, actually. But I don't want to extrapolate the feelings of my circle of homies across the entire Bay.
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171943, I did an "Album vs Album" thing a few months ago on IG/Twitter Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Tue Jun-02-15 12:24 PM
Shockingly, it got HUGE, especially once Bomani Jones started responding to the questions.
When I did "2001 vs Streetz"...most of Twitter picked 2001, since it's folks from everywhere. But my IG is majority L.A. people, and nearly all of them picked Streetz!
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171944, C-walk is a classic Posted by 3xKrazy, Thu Jun-04-15 01:56 PM
> but still had bangers.
the album was just too diluted with the 2 cd's east coast/west coast nonsense
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171945, that album is Good as fuck Posted by astralblak, Tue Jun-02-15 11:25 AM
he just spit his ass off on that record
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171946, as a midwest kid...people used to look at me strange bumpin it Posted by tomjohn29, Sun Jun-07-15 02:02 PM
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171947, I never copped 2001 Posted by 13Rose, Wed Jun-10-15 09:08 PM
I caught the fade on that Immobilarity. After that bad experience I never went back for 2001. I just went ahead and copped Streetz iz a mutha and never looked back. I love that album. I play it more than any Dr. Dre album. Snoop only has one album better IMO. The posse cuts go so hard man. I even know the skits like the back of my hand.
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171948, Liks, Lootpack, Dilated, Defari, Alchemist, Xzhibit, Raas Kas... Posted by My_SP1200_Broken_Again, Tue Jun-02-15 10:21 AM
....thats just off the top of the head from that mid late 90s era ...crazy amount of dope shit coming from all directions
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171949, ^^^ Posted by astralblak, Tue Jun-02-15 11:28 AM
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171950, I keep forgetting ALC is an L.A. dude Posted by Dr Claw, Thu Jun-04-15 03:45 PM
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171951, Word to Scott Caan and the Whooliganz Posted by mrhood75, Thu Jun-04-15 04:24 PM
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171952, yeah, i get em mixed up..but Muggs is from Queens... Posted by My_SP1200_Broken_Again, Fri Jun-05-15 09:43 AM
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171953, 3X Crazy - Keep It On The Real Posted by fluicide, Tue Jun-02-15 10:48 AM
this was a hood hit - bay area https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo8tPTpaPiY
Brotha Lynch (from Sac I believe) You Will Die from Loaded - another hood classic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83zfOIscXUM
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171954, I almost feel deprived that I didn't hear most of these Bay songs til Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Tue Jun-02-15 10:56 AM
college. BTW, a newer artist named Netta Brielle sampled the 3x Krazy song, it's actually called 3x Krazy too
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171955, That got moderate play when I was in college. It was the cut, tho. *edit* Posted by Marbles, Tue Jun-02-15 11:31 AM
I should spell out that college was in a very small, rural college town in the early to mid 90s. This was before folks were downloading music too. We relied on BET and newsgroup discussions/recommendations in order to find music.
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171956, ^^^^Yeah, that shit was ill. Posted by mrhood75, Tue Jun-02-15 11:33 AM
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171957, thanks Posted by 3xKrazy, Thu Jun-04-15 01:57 PM
nm
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171958, lol Posted by fluicide, Thu Jun-04-15 05:47 PM
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171959, I wonder what happened to Bart... Posted by mrhood75, Thu Jun-04-15 05:52 PM
Agerman went gospel. Keek Da Sneak got big then went sorta crazy. Dunno about Bart tho.
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171960, I always thought Bart was supposed to be the crazy one Posted by fluicide, Thu Jun-04-15 05:58 PM
Keek is cool, I know people who know him. They just say he likes to um...get on a good one sometimes (all the time)
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171961, LOL. This is what I was alluding to... Posted by mrhood75, Thu Jun-04-15 06:13 PM
>They just say he likes to um...get on a good one sometimes (all the >time)
Another dude I was supposed to interview, but completely flaked out. After we drove all the way up to Sacto.
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171962, Wow. I bet that story is hilarious.. Posted by fluicide, Thu Jun-04-15 06:21 PM
plus there's so many rappers around there you probably ran into 20 others
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171963, RE: 1997-1998: The (not so) dark ages of L.A. Rap Posted by Manuels Burrito, Tue Jun-02-15 04:25 PM
Yo DJ R-Tistic,
Were you listening to the Project Blowed affiliates around this time? Have you put together a Project Blowed or Goodlife mix? Some of the best stuff came out around '97/'98. Albums like:
Aceyalone - A Book of Human Language Abstract Tribe Unique - Mood Pieces Abstract Tribe Unique - South Central Thynk Taynk Omid - Beneath the Surface (an incredible Blowed compilation) Of Mexican Decent - Exitos Y Mas Exitos The Nonce - The Sight of Things
Plus a bunch of underground albums by groups like CVE and Hip Hop Klan circulating on tape and CDR.
Peace
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171964, I definitely wasn't listening to it back then, but I heard the Defari, Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Tue Jun-02-15 04:35 PM
Dilated type acts on late night radio in that period.
What I realized, especially in this post, is that this time basically lead to two completely different sides of L.A. fans. The more G-Funk/Gangsta, borderline commercial fans, and then the underground/Project Blowed type of fans. There was some overlap here and there, but not much.
I definitely gotta check out those albums, the only one I'm familiar with is Aceyalone. I remember Self Scientific and even Black Eyed Peas being in that scene back then, but I was too young to take part in it!
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171965, There's actually a lot of overlap between the two sides Posted by mrhood75, Tue Jun-02-15 04:45 PM
It's not really as overt listening to the music itself, but it's there.
Take of the dudes mentioned above, Abstract Rude. Dude is the epitome of a Project: Blowed type rapper. But he came up with Lay Law and DJ Slip (of CMW) as his mentors. (A side note, he was also the little known third act that was supposed to launch Michael Jackson's MJJ record label)
Myka 9 from FreeStyle Fellowship raps on the original version of the "NWA and the Posse" album.
Volume 10 is just as much as a "gangsta rapper", content-wise, as any of the dudes mentioned in your o.g. post.
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171966, Oh with the rappers, it was for sure. Even shows booked artists on both Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Tue Jun-02-15 04:58 PM
sides. But with the fans, not as much at all.
Most of my friends who are born and raised in L.A. like me, from my generation, barely know those names. It depended on age, and even exactly where you lived...it seems like Mid City and Leimert Park were much more involved with the Project Blowed/Underground scene.
I would say that there were surely more fans into the Underground side that were also into the G-Funk side than vice versa. A lot of the Underground fans who I knew here were more into East Coast Boom Bap than G-Funk or Commercial East Coast.
With Volume 10, most people I know would see him as a one hit wonder. Sadly, half the people who live "Pistol Grip Pump" may not even know his name. When Napster was poppin, the song was almost always mislabeled as being made by "Mack 10"...which was also because of the confusion of Mack 10 and T-Boz remaking the track.
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171967, RE: There's actually a lot of overlap between the two sides Posted by Manuels Burrito, Tue Jun-02-15 05:00 PM
Good points. Also, RBX has appeared on Myka 9 and Freestyle Fellowship albums.
And, Ganjah K dropped a chill-inducing verse on "Akebulan" from the "RBX Files" album. Peep the 2nd verse:
https://youtu.be/Zfsfx0DKg_Q
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171968, RE: There's actually a lot of overlap between the two sides Posted by Manuels Burrito, Tue Jun-02-15 06:30 PM
Another Blowed / Dogg Pound collab:
Ganjah K "Ups & Downs" feat. Snoop Dogg, produced by Daz:
http://youtu.be/J1U-XBtxPkY
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171969, RE: There's actually a lot of overlap between the two sides Posted by Remedial, Sun Jun-07-15 09:25 AM
>Myka 9 from FreeStyle Fellowship raps on the original version >of the "NWA and the Posse" album.
This is the first time I've heard about this and also the first time being made aware that there was a scratched version of NWA and the posse.
Why'd they scratch it, if you might know?
Also, IMAGINE if he had stayed down with that crew?. He might have been one of the greatest gangster rappers of all time today.
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171970, Self Scientifc!!! Posted by astralblak, Tue Jun-02-15 11:35 PM
The Best Part https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixCIVKSvHQ4&list=PL4GyFdp5YdmNrbnxhsBUPYXZAaIg1giDe&index=20
The Self Science https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTU_Bz0t3p4
The Return https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3DwefWObL0
Three Kings f/ Krondon & wack ass Phil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paHPKfjwRkI
Love Allah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6daeavmKQY
Cash Craft https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo9U8BzanTk
Degrees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beVyMuoM60w&list=PL4GyFdp5YdmNrbnxhsBUPYXZAaIg1giDe&index=15
man, listen... i was disappointed their album wasn't a classic
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171971, I keep trying to figure out what went wrong Posted by 13Rose, Wed Jun-10-15 09:15 PM
Every song they dropped was dope. Album came...
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171972, right!!! Posted by astralblak, Thu Jun-11-15 01:23 AM
but tell me the ones I linked aren't gems
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171973, RE: 1997-1998: The (not so) dark ages of L.A. Rap Posted by cbk, Thu Jun-04-15 12:53 PM
>Some of the best stuff came out around '97/'98. Albums like: > >Aceyalone - A Book of Human Language >Abstract Tribe Unique - Mood Pieces >Abstract Tribe Unique - South Central Thynk Taynk >Omid - Beneath the Surface (an incredible Blowed compilation) >Of Mexican Decent - Exitos Y Mas Exitos >The Nonce - The Sight of Things >
yup, all those!
gotta pull out ABOHL again.
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171974, It's striking how much there was overlap between LA & the Bay scenes Posted by mrhood75, Tue Jun-02-15 04:51 PM
at the time. Or maybe it's striking how segregated they seem now.
This post has much looking back at a lot of the "gangsta" albums from that era. Was Swoop G from the LA or the Bay? Looking at the track-list/guest appearances/production credits on his album, I can't tell. I think he's from LA. Only reason I'd know Bad Azz is from LA is this post.
I dunno, maybe it's because a lot these acts were on Priority.
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171975, There was overlap, but the majority of Bay acts didn't get as much play Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Tue Jun-02-15 05:02 PM
in L.A., especially on radio. There were a good number of folks here who played Bay music, but it didn't go as deep.
I remembered ALL the main names from back then, so even beyond Short and 40, that would be Dru Down, Mac Mall, Spice 1, Ant Banks, 3x Krazy, The Who-Ridas, Celly Cell, Mac Dre, even down to the folks like Little Bruce and Dre Dog. But I really only knew who they were because their albums were all at Sam Goody and The Wherehouse. I would catch a few of their videos on Rap City, sometimes even The Box, but that was it. Me being younger had a huge impact, since I was 12-14 at this time, and also the fact that the internet wasn't really going until 1999 when it came to music.
Listening to all the Bay music I put on the Timeline, I find it crazy that barely any of it really made it to L.A, because it sounded so similar. A few songs would make it randomly, like "It's going down tonight" but we missed a good majority of the bangers. Local radio was way different, though...so it was also about the fact that L.A. rappers were hanging at the studios daily, while Bay ones wouldn't make it down as much.
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171976, great pick on the Sugga free and Quik "Inside Out" Posted by mistermaxxx08, Wed Jun-03-15 01:19 PM
dug how Quik sung that song from that distant vibe.
very Slave inspired and dug that bass Groove.
Rappin 4 tay,celly cell and dru down had some bangers back then as well.
i had a cold Bay Area Compilation with Ant Banks and others it was a Banger.
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171977, Good post. Posted by Brew, Wed Jun-03-15 02:42 PM
I stayed on board with LA rap throughout. No it wasn't nearly as far-reaching and potent as the early-to-mid 90s were for the area but there was definitely some great music coming out of LA during the late 90s, including many of the songs you posted plus more.
I'm yet to read all the replies but I'm saving this one for later.
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171978, Okay, based on this post, I sought out a bunch of these albums Posted by mrhood75, Wed Jun-03-15 09:48 PM
(Bought the second Xzibit album when it dropped; ridiculously dope)
Haven't had a chance to make it through them all, but yo, I'm really liking the album from The Comrads and Allfrumtha I. Which is sorta surprising, since I've never like Mack 10, but his associates appear to be dope. The beats are really strong. Which of course makes DJ Pooh's misfire look even worse.
Next up is WC and Mack 10's "The Recipe." Figure I'll give Mack another day in court.
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171979, Man, yeah I loved that production in that era from the Mack 10 side Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Thu Jun-04-15 02:31 PM
"County jail" used to get some play on L.A. radio, but it's all the way forgotten about now. A lot of us forget how big Mack 10 was...seeing him portrayed in the TLC movie, a lot of people almost see it as being backwards that he was able to get T-Boz. But Cube was still a King of L.A., and he was his right hand man for a minute.
And yeah, The Recipe was completely slept on, but had hits.
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171980, RE: Man, yeah I loved that production in that era from the Mack 10 side Posted by mrhood75, Thu Jun-04-15 04:43 PM
I had halfway negative experiences with Mack 10, so I've always given his "era" the side-eye, even retro-actively.
Back in 2000(?!?!?!), I got flown out to Chicago to interview him for a cover story I was writing. It was in advance of "The Paper Route", not that long after he married T-Boz, and while he was rolling with Ice Cube as part of the Smoking Grooves tour. The idea was that he was going to do a photo shoot, then I'd interview him for a bit, then he'd go and do the show.
Well, dude was literally 4 hours late to the shoot. Which was awkward. But I at least got to kick it with the photographers, label rep, and wardrobe girls, who were all cool. Then the photo shoot took like another hour. By the time it was over, he had to head out to the venue. So I got to talk to him for all of 15 minutes en route to the show. And that was 10 minutes too long, because he was one of the least interesting rappers I've ever interviewed. And "The Paper Route" kinda sucked.
But still, listening to the albums from cats in his camp, they had something. And I'll give his first few albums their day in court.
In the meantime, this "Shadiest One" joint is dope.
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171981, Shit! Yea, I actually never heard many good stories about him Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Thu Jun-04-15 05:36 PM
And by 2000, he was basically done. But his first three albums, and everyone he linked up at the time? Definitely something like a legend. AND he literally put Inglewood on the map, as he promised in his first single.
Everyone talked about how he was abusive toward T-Boz. But even folks in Inglewood never really say anything good about him. I know his own hood stopped dealing with him, and most of the ING rappers had something out for him, such as Da Relativez/Young Soldierz/Big Wy. So I'm not surprised that the interview was pretty dry as well.
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171982, Some Of My Favs from 97-98 Posted by Luke Cage, Wed Jun-03-15 10:14 PM
Psycho Realm-Super underrated album. Some Dark shit with a lot of heart & good production. This first album is what Cypress Hill's 4th album should have sounded like.
Liquidation-Underrated gem of an album. J Ro & Tash are in prime form.
40 Dayz & 40 Nightz-Xzibit's best album in my opinion.
Rasassination-Probably the most lyrical West Coast album of that era.
This was also around the time when a lot of the more underground LA stuff started to bubble in late 99 going into early 2000...The Lootpack, Madlib,
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171983, man I love that Psycho Realm album Posted by astralblak, Wed Jun-03-15 10:41 PM
Showdown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gPVRckG2sY
The Big Payback https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ9ewxgtMqI
Stone Garden <--- possibly my favorite on the album; you know what I'm sayin' esse, we all die at the end muthafucka... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIMeK9IH3Pc
La Conecta Py. II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9zgZEJVQwI
Psycho City Blocks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMilpIeYcBo
and I just recently watched Blue Velvet and realized when B Real is wyldin at the beginning of "Bullets" he's riffing on Dennis Hopper's insane character from the movie
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171984, Stone Garden is the shit Posted by Luke Cage, Thu Jun-04-15 10:10 AM
The whole album bangs but that track is definitely my favorite as well.
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171985, What's the second dude's name in this pic? Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Wed Jun-03-15 11:12 PM
http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luwxltTc9H1r56i7uo1_1280.jpg
I see him with Murs ALL the time, always talk to him, but never knew his name. He's one of the coolest dudes ever, but you would never know when you see their wild ass stage show!
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171986, RE: What's the second dude's name in this pic? Posted by Manuels Burrito, Wed Jun-03-15 11:33 PM
2nd from the left is Sick Jacken I think. 2mex interviewed him on his podcast... Dope interview with a lot of Psycho Realm history explained.
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171987, Yeaaaaaaaaa that's right! I'm mad I forgot Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Thu Jun-04-15 02:28 PM
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171988, That's Sick Jacken. Him and Murs toured together back in 2010 Posted by mrhood75, Wed Jun-03-15 11:34 PM
He was on the "Fornever" album. He's also the guy that still does guest appearances.
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171989, Sic Jacken is super cool Posted by Luke Cage, Thu Jun-04-15 10:06 AM
Really underrated dude and one of those guys that everyone seems to really like.
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171990, Agreed. His first 3 albums were all excellent but... Posted by Brew, Thu Jun-04-15 08:21 AM
...this one is def best in my opinion, too. I actually liked a lot of his later work as well, though he never reached his early peak again.
>40 Dayz & 40 Nightz-Xzibit's best album in my opinion.
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171991, Yeah 40 Dayz was a dope album... Posted by Alphabet, Thu Jun-04-15 08:40 AM
I dug Liquidation and appreciated Rasssassination alot more now than I did then...Im not really hip to Psycho Realm but I'll give it a spin tho..
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171992, check #54 Posted by astralblak, Thu Jun-04-15 10:24 AM
.
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171993, gotta re-listen to this one too! Posted by cbk, Thu Jun-04-15 01:02 PM
>Rasassination-Probably the most lyrical West Coast album of >that era.
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171994, MAAN, it's even more songs I am just now remembering. Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Thu Jun-04-15 02:41 PM
Mack 10 - Backyard Boogie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZE9xZsqjNM (You STILL hear this a whole lot out here)
Kurupt - We can freak it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU5EUAh8q34 (Same as above, but played even more)
Ice Cube - Ghetto vet...one of his best songs post WSCG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRQ5wlkVznE
Kurupt - Ask yourself a question (Prod. by Dre): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDQziPY0N9g
Dr. Dre & LL Cool J - Zoom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk9UIFjuRbg
Dilated Peoples - Work the angles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2kYVCl8Kh0
All Frum Tha I - County jail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu6ZSpMwv-c
Mack 10 - Gangsta shit is like a drug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWk73dUGSKk
DJ Quik ft. Suga Free - No doubt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFiRWtDK5bg
Jayo Felony - Nitty gritty (Diego but still): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJxxakEXQ8Q
Shaq ft. Peter Gunz, Prod. by Quik - The way it's goin down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLaea9Du85I (It was Shaq, but that beat!!!!!)
Dogg Pound and Luniz - My buddy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR-CQjAgJYk
Tray Dee ft. Daz and Jayo Felony - Way too crazy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph2E0mMyFjM (Completely slept on from Rush Hour sdtk)
WC - Fuckin wit uh house party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt4pxiU20-g
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171995, No Doubt had a major resurgence in my daily listening in 2012... Posted by Brew, Thu Jun-04-15 02:48 PM
randomly. No idea how I came across it again but this was one of 4 summers I got a house in Newport with a few of my buddies and this song was a daily play (sometimes multiple plays) on the beach. Love that track. That beat is ludicrous. Just listened the other day actually.
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171996, Man, my dad was like 55 when I first played it for him, and even he Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Thu Jun-04-15 05:57 PM
liked it. And Suga Free's whole delivery on there was just perfectly funky LOL
>randomly. No idea how I came across it again but this was one >of 4 summers I got a house in Newport with a few of my buddies >and this song was a daily play (sometimes multiple plays) on >the beach. Love that track. That beat is ludicrous. Just >listened the other day actually.
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171997, Yea man. That song got so many comments... Posted by Brew, Fri Jun-05-15 09:11 AM
on the beach that summer from people who hadn't previously heard it. Like "yo what's this? beat is dope"
I love Suga Free so much. He enhances every song he's on, with few exceptions.
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171998, RE: MAAN, it's even more songs I am just now remembering. Posted by mrhood75, Thu Jun-04-15 04:34 PM
>Dilated Peoples - Work the angles: >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2kYVCl8Kh0
This one was a HUGE underground hit. Even when I went out to Chicago, it got play all the time. DJ Revolution's scratches on that are so ill. Beni B said it was very much ABB's most ordered/shipped single.
>WC - Fuckin wit uh house party: >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt4pxiU20-g
Bumped this for the first time today on the way to work. "Looking like the Elephant Man with a Jheri Curl..." had me cracking the fuck up.
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171999, It's wild, the Dilated songs only got play on the late night shows Posted by -DJ R-Tistic-, Thu Jun-04-15 05:25 PM
Never heard them during the "Rush Hour" or before-school mixes.
And maaaaan, that WC line!! LOL I literally rented Elephant Man from Blockbuster because I heard that line and was like "Who the hell is the Elephant man? He sound ugly!!!" That whole song is hilarious...and that shit was sooooo relatable to us back then. "What that stand for on ya arm?" "Niggas Havin Cash" because NHC = Neighborhood Crip...he was in the wrong hood and they saw that tattoo.
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172000, Backyard Boogie was the joint man Posted by 13Rose, Wed Jun-10-15 09:21 PM
Forgot about that. And Gheto Vet is definetly the last classic song I heard from Cube. I did like Fuck Dying on the low.
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172001, I think that Quik was the only one I was on heavy in this time... Posted by Dr Claw, Thu Jun-04-15 03:41 PM
outside of the cats that were low-key hitting like XZ, Liks, and of course the Lootpack...
I can't remember which magazine, wanna say the Source gave it a low rating, I went and checked that CD out, and was like, "THESE MOTHERFUCKERS LIED"
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172002, Semi-underground 12" by Buc Fifty (aka Buc Wead of Da Wascals): Posted by mrhood75, Thu Jun-04-15 05:50 PM
Still Breathin' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkd-I6rnJiw
One of two 12"s on the very short-lived Soul Assassins records. Produced by Alchemist.
I'd include the Baron Ricks 12" too, but he was from Harlem.
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172003, Krondon Posted by Luke Cage, Fri Jun-05-15 02:56 AM
Most people only know him from when he was a part of Xzibit's Strong Arm Steady crew but he had been putting it down for a minute in LA in the late 90's into the 2000's:
Know The Rules-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szSuautV-DA
Black Gold- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1Coc1eFhS0
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172004, Speaking of Strong Arm..I was a fan of Phil Da Agony.. Posted by Alphabet, Sat Jun-06-15 06:36 PM
Around that time....He had that 'dont rhyme where you think he should rhyme, but it rhymes eventually' type of style going on but I really fucked with it...
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172005, I know it's not from the time period, but... Posted by Remedial, Sun Jun-07-15 09:37 AM
> Around that time....He had that 'dont rhyme where you think >he should rhyme, but it rhymes eventually' type of style going >on but I really fucked with it...
Had to say that his The Aromatic album is criminally underrated and really could have made an impact if it was promoted right.
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172006, RE: Speaking of Strong Arm..I was a fan of Phil Da Agony.. Posted by Luke Cage, Sun Jun-07-15 09:08 PM
Phil is definitely underrated. I always thought he was one of those MC's that was a good mix of street and straight up MC type of Hip Hop. If he was in a different situation I could have seen him blowing up even beyond just the LA underground for sure.
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