A West Coast article

[mrtonguetwista]

THE WEST COAST
All right go get that plaid shirt, strap on those Chuck Taylors and pull down those Dickies (with the cuff and the crease), because we're going to the Westsiiiide  first stop, L.A. Now if Los Angeles is known for one thing in this hip hop game, it's undoubtedly gangsta rap. Explicit lyrics over funkdafied beats. The soundtrack to Compton's race riots and to the Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings warfare. Of course, gangsta rap finds its eighties source in N.W.A., later to be solidified in all of Eazy E, MC Ren, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre's solo endeavors. Dre has to be one of the most important, if not the most important rap personality ever. Money started out by making booty clap beats for J.J. Fad, then did all the classic N.W.A. stuff, and in the early nineties went on to create G-Funk, reviving Parliament-Funkadelics musical heritage with his Moog-infused masterpieces. The heyday of that G scene is unforgettable: Snoop Doggy Dogg was the man, Warren G was on MTV all day, Nate Dogg was crooning, Daz and Krupt were coming up, MC Eiht and DJ Quik were eternally beefing, and Dre was the major sonic architect behind it all (although Quik, Warren and Daz's beats are equally brilliant). As the home of most of those artists, Death Row records was a full-fledged empire who's C.E.O., the infamous Suge Knight, had everybody scared shitless. After 1996, Pac died, Biggie died, Suge went to jail, Dre started his own label, Snoop signed with No Limit and it just wasn't the same. To this day however, Dre crafts hits for all of raps heavy hitters (not without the help of his trusty ghost-producers). Somewhat bridging the gap between LA's mainstream and underground realms is Cypress Hill, creators of a distinctive brand of beats and rhymes loved by cholos, heavy metal heads and pot smokers world wide.

Now the Los Angeles underground, promoted in part by the Beat Junkies DJ crew, is almost the antithesis to the radio-dominating G-Funk culture. King Tee's Likwit Crew (composed of Tha Liks, Xzibit, Defari and Phil the Agony) came to the table with delinquent raps of substance abuse. The Pharcyde brought kooky humor and true school beats, earning them the status of every ravers favorite rappers. Freestyle Fellowship have lyrics so out there only Fritz the Cat understands them. More recently, Dilated Peoples and Madlib's Lootpack won the heats of all the backpackers with their East Coast influenced sound.

Moving North a bit, we get to the Bigidy-Bay Area, and the first cat to mention is Too Short. He absolutely has to be one of the top three realest rappers ever, hands down. First rapper in Oakland, original pimp, original gangsta, and entrepreneur you name it. And the beauty of it is that his whole career, which began in 1981, can be summarized in three words: bitch, shut up. Another key figure, this time from Vallejo, is E-40. He's the slang master. All that fo shizzle my nizzle, pop ya collar talk, that comes from him. Next up is Digital Underground, who are not only responsible for The Humpty Dance at all your frat parties, but also for discovering the single most revered rap figure ever: Tupac Shakur (he used to be their dancer). And, just like in the South, the Yae Area houses tons of regional rap kingpins such as Rappin 4 Tay, Yukmouth, San Quinn and JT the Bigga Figga.

Arguably the most trend-setting crew in the Bay's underground scene is the Hieroglyphics, led by Del the Funky Homosapien. When Souls of Mischief dropped 93 Til Infinity, they set a whole trend of metaphor-heavy freestyle flows. Since then they went the indie route, toured the world, and still sell hundreds of thousands of records. The Living Legends, who also have garnered a massive cult following, seem to belong to Hiero's lyrical lineage. Now if you want to hear metaphysically abstract raps by a bunch of white dudes with long hair who listen to Bob Dylan, you have to peep what comes out on Anticon. That label is based in the Bay but its artists (Sole, Jel, Dose One and Why? to name a few) come from all over. All weirdos. Other underground Bay Area champs include Rasco, Saafir, the politically charged The Coup, and the DJs formerly known as the Invisibl Skratch Piklz.