The current whereabouts of LA rappers who made some noise in the late 80’s and early 90’s most likely isn’t something that you spend a lot of time thinking about during your daily operations, right? If it is, chances are you’re a blogger. The thing is, during a series of seemingly unrelated coincidences the other week, I discovered that pretty much every 90’s rapper from the West Coast has released new music in the last year or so. I’d assumed that most of these guys had given-up on the music game by the turn-of-the-century and opened up barbershops or gotten their real estate license, but it turns out that I couldn’t be more wrong. Let’s take a quick look at some of these old warhorses still churning out CD’s not named Snoop, Ice-T or Ice Cube…
MC Ren
The often-forgotten secret weapon in NWA‘s arsenal, the Villain In Black managed to release some quality solo work after the group crumbled, pretty much up the the point where he joined the Nation. His latest CD was released in 2009.
South Central Cartel
Despite churning out cookie-cutter Gangsta Rap for almost fifteen years, these guys aren’t quitting anytime soon. Not sure if any of the original members are still left, but damned if their first two CD’s didn’t have some bangin’ pre-G Funk beats on them.
Mack 10
Somehow this douche bagged T-Boz from TLC and put a ring on it, before he went and put a ring around her whole eye. Common got it right when he named this guy Wack 10, since unlike most of these other guys, he was never dope on any level at all. Nevertheless, he released his ninth album Soft White last year, selling 3,900 copies.
MC Eiht
The first three Compton’s Most Wanted albums are LA classics and Eiht has a big fan base in New York as demonstrated by his inclusion of Pete Rock‘s Soul Survivor and Blaq Poet’s recent ‘Ain’t Nuttin’ Changed’ remix.
DJ Quik
Tim Dog‘s lil’ buddy is still going strong apparently, having worked with Snoop Dogg and AMG recently, as well as his new project with Kurrupt from the DPG’z, which was well-received on these here intehnets. Apparently he did a five-month bid in 2006 after he allegedly “pistol-whipped” his sister for extorting money from him…
Spice 1
His self-titled major label debut was awesome, but I didn’t mess with anything after that. Turns out that dude has pretty much dropped an album every year since, including projects with Jayo Felony and Eiht. He was shot in 2007 while sitting in his Caddy out the front of his parents house, but survived and has a new solo planned this year.
WC
Low Profile and the first MADD Circle album are essential chapters in LA rap. The Westside Connection stuff? Not so much. Dub C’s last solo record was Guilty By Association with Ice Cube.
Kam
Best known for his ‘Peace Treaty’ single following the LA riots/uprising, Kam is another disgruntled Lench Mob Records artist wholater recorded a diss record about his cousin Ice Cube. He followed-up 2001’s Kamnesia with Self & Kind last year.
Can you make Breeze come out of retirement, too?
^ Good idea. ‘T.Y.S.O.N.’ is epic.
wha jappen to kid frost, ese????
I think kid frosts son produced “i wanna rock” the snoop track thats doing the round, not sure what the terminator is up to tho.
yo fuck mack 10, if he was from the bay we wouldnt have let him come out. we wouldnt have let him eat enough to get that fat. we dont put up with garbage like that.
and spice 1 from hayward, the bay, fuck la
You need to axe Spice-1 from this list. He’s from Hayward, CA (near Oakland in the Bay Area)
Spice 1 is not an LA rapper.
so if Kam is Ice Cubes cousin does that mean he’s Del’s cousin? one of the best familys in hip hop
Spice One’s “187 He Wrote” is his best album.
Old West Coast music, I collect those shits. A few more rarities just for kicks.
Kokane-Funk Upon a Rhyme
Threat- Sickinnahead
Goldy-In the Land of Funk
Kausion-South Central Los Skanless
The Bums-Lyfe N Tyme
Above the Law-Uncle Sam’s Curse
Mannish-Audio Sedative
CPO-To Hell and Black
Pooh Man-Funky as I wanna Be
King T-The Triflin Album
Spice one is from the Bay. Not from LA
I know it was tongue in cheek but damn I was expecting some surprises not just a list of albums I was aware of…I was expecting Threat, Dove Shack and Raw Fusion or sthn
Kam, technically, was many years ahead of his time. If he came out as a fresh artist today, I don’t doubt for a second that he would receive blog love.
Unlike anybody else on this list (and most “missing” rappers), in terms of lyricism, rhyme schemes and subject matter, he can keep up with a lot of the new heads getting attention.
And DJ Quik is far from “missing”. He releases music every few years and they are fairly high-profile releases at that.
Dam i think E-rule was from LA he had that single listen Up then he just disapered then reapered gotta look him up
I’d love to know what happened to the B.U.M.s. They were dope.
“I’d love to know what happened to the B.U.M.s. They were dope.”
One of them was found dead by the freeway a few years back.
are you kidding?
^ i thought that was one of the guys from The Nonce…?
@apples: Maybe it was The Nonce now you mention it.
I was listenin to Right State Of Mind by The Nonce the other night. Nice album to get lifted to cuz their beats are so minimal. Tragic ending plus their name (Im told) means something like pedophile in British slang!Bad bizness HAHAHA!!
I think even Kokane, Jayo and Egyptian Lover have albums out in the last 3-4 years. What’s next a Yomo and Maulkie comeback? LA Dream Team reunion tour?
what happened to the Mad Kap kids.. that only album they did was bananas. plus the King T, Liks, Xzibit affiliation was a bonus
After Madkap, Coke did the solo tack Questions on Loud (prod by the beatnuts) then went onto be in Colored Section. Sure I read somewhere the BUMS were still about, and yeah terrible name for them and the Nonce, could never admit to liking either group being in the uk hahaha
King Tee is still dope too
Yeah, it’s not as much that I didn’t know these guys were putting out new shit because I more or less knew that all of these guys were- but the point is that LA rappers never put the mic down! These dudes are O.G.’s, they can’t leave them game alone.
I agree that DJ Quick is still very large profile and for that matter so are Daz and Kurupt, but anyone down with the DPGz never calls it quits. Soopafly won’t stop rapping! What about Bad Azz or Lil 1/2 Dead?
showin a little love to da west at least huh?
don’t forget above the law’s (the first release are
classic material)cold 187um:he’s ‘still doin his thing’ too.
That Mc Eiht beat is amazing. Great post!
@ Robbie, yeah that was the guy from The Nonce. I never got hands on that BUMS album, but I liked those singles- Free My Mind and Take A Look Around.
The irony of KAM’s new joint bein’ called “Givin’ It Up” is not to be ignored. He has a few records I’m literally nutso about- “Every Single Weekend” from the Boyz N The Hood soundtrack is my favorite of all though. I didn’t know who he was but that was my favorite joint on the whole tape.
Eiht’s best album IMO was ‘We Come Strapped’. After that, eh.
-D!
that femcee rage is still doin it i think, not droppin albums but i think she had a single or something recently, i used to get amped everytime i heard mc eiht starting out a song, with gee-uh! somewhat like dallas penn’s chea, what a coincidence
Kam was always a dope MC. He had good flow, style and cadance.
T.Y.S.O.N. is one of those Lps that you think, only you know about.
SO slept on. Breeze was amazing!
why can’t i find any info on the rapper breeze from the 90s. had a song called LA or something like that
Kam and Ice Cube are NOT cousins.
http://www.rapindustry.com/kam_interview.htm
You really hate Los Angeles rappers don’t ya.
What’s Shock G doing these days? Did Saafir ever get his spine fixed? Is X-raided out of prison? What became of the other members of Insane Poetry who weren’t Cyco?