Don’t Get It Twisted
GENERAL By Beware on November 29, 2007 at 9:35 am
After a few unfortunate incidents left the once prominent West Coast rap scene disbanded before the turn of the century, the record companies went looking elsewhere, and many true fans of the Westside left the mainstream behind for the Internet.
Trend-setting websites like DUBCNN and WCRydaz led the way. Their forums brought together like-minded left coast-heads, who spoke on whether or not to support watered down material from once prominent names with no incentive to produce quality. Besides the banter, these sites also helped establish early fan bases for now notable artists like The Game, Crooked I and Mitchy Slick, and helped bubbling cats like Bishop Lamont, Jay Rock, and Glasses Malone grip lucrative deals with major labels.
Despite the online comraderie of the fans though, the artists themselves had a hard time breaking barriers between one another. Very few big acts did songs with up-and-comers and vice-versa. This led to supposed and fictional beefs, less broken bread, and an overall negative stigma for West Coast hip-hop in the public eye.
In recent years, however, The W has gained some momentum on the heals of some blood-red Chucks, and a few potential frontrunners are leading the way in guiding this Left Coast resurgence.
Young Dre, the self-proclaimed Truth, is one of those leading the pack.
The skills of this East LA native are apparent in his energetic delivery and flow. It goes deeper though, as his copious commentary is a mesh of Cube and Snoop. In songs like “Action 45″ and “Hip-Hop Needs Discipline,” Dre speaks on his drive for a revolution of rap and the world in general.
Along with his social commentary, he also holds down the W appropriately. The lead single to his upcoming debut album, “Can’t Be Faded,” features Bay-Area heavy-weight E-40 and a classic Nate Dogg chorus retooled by the G-Funk soulster himself. Over a specially catered beat by JR Rotem, each of the three artists spit that classic West Coast braggadocio over deep keys and a grounded bass-line that could easily blow like the San Andreas Fault.
With more than just sentiment for his home state, Young Dre has the passion to change the stereotype of what a Westside emcee is and should be. If he can do that while still staying true to his roots, he’ll be responsible for much more than bringing the West Coast back. He’ll be one of the main reasons that there’s a new breed of conscious LA-fitted wearing rappers, speaking on way more than just low-lows and palm trees, something that hasn’t been done by a renowned West Coast rapper in years.
Young Dre - Can’t Be Faded Feat. E-40 & Nate Dogg
For more info on Young Dre, check out his MySpace, his website, and of course, his Monumental Monday blog at DUBCNN.com, which features social commentary from Dre and a new track every week.
Props to NIMA at DUBCNN.com for the track and info.
Hell_Rell-For_The_Hell_Of_It-(Best_Buy_Bonus_Tracks)
Trey_Songz_-_Trey_Day_(Bonus_Tracks)-2007
Twista - The Black Jason Of Rap Mixtape
MC Freshco & DJ Miz-We Don’t Play (1990)
Goapele-Change It All
Trey Songz - I Gotta Make It
DJ_Finesse_AG_And_Trey_Songz-The_Ladies_Choice-2007
Streetsweeper_Presents_Trey_Songz-Young_And_Hearless_Pt.2-2005
Tony Toni Tone - The Best Of Millennium Collection
Belly_OST
Boyz N Da Hood OST (1991)
Sunset Park OST
VA-DJ_Khaled_And_Johnny_Dang-The_Crowned_Jeweler_To_The_Stars
2Pac_and_Notorious_BIG-Runnin-CDS-1997
2Pac-Pain-(Cassette_Single)-1994
50_Cent-Rowdy_Rowdy-Promo_VLS-1999
50_Cent-Thicker_Than_Water_(Original_Version)_(Promo_VLS)-2001
8_Ball_and_MJG-You_Dont_Want_Drama-BW-Dont_Make-FULL_VLS
A_Tribe_Called_Quest-Luck_Of_Lucien-VLS-1990
Posted in GENERAL, LOOSIES, STRAY SHOTS
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21 Comments
Interesting post, but I don’t agree with the point about the West “falling off”. Labels like StonesThrow have been putting out consistent material for years, but I guess nobody really took notice. There is a TON of talent on the West, especially on the underground but people have this stupid perception of what an emcee from Cali should sound or look like. I remember playing the “My Vinyl Weighs A Ton” album by Peanut Butter Wolf (StonesThrow Records founder/owner), my homies were fuckin’ blown away by the mic skills that the artists on the compilation had. When I told them that these dudes were from Cali they said I was bullshiting them.
Me, personally, I don’t think they fell off.
The public, on the other hand, I KNOW they feel that the W fell off…hence the resentment from most of their major artists.
Let this be said, if DJ Quik is still making music, and still holding down the W, it’ll never fall off.
does anyone have some Glasses Malone they could up? I’ve only heard dude in passing, and even if he sucks, I want his name to show up a few times in my iTunes - so sick, lol.
http://rapidshare.com/files/15137042/Ghetto_Cyrano.zip
Yo, Where is he now?
peace
Christion’s album ‘Ghetto Cyrano’, sorry !!!
@ Beware - Real talk fam. Did you hear the recent album that Quik put out? Is it dope & worth a buy?
YES…TRAUMA is a dope album from the Quiksta…
QUIK > your favorite producer/emcee
can someone up that Ghostface…both the other links are R.I.P.
Mad propz on the “2Pac - Pain”. I’ve been looking for that one for years!!!!!!
West Coast rap sux for the most part. Either the artist is A. So underground I can’t get with it, B. Some Bay Area Hyphy/Mobb wannabe, or C. Yet another gangbangin’, dope slangin’, half assed Game imitation. Crooked I manages to be lyrical & street, without becoming the stereotypical cliche. I haven’t brought an album from a West Coast MC since The Doctor’s Advocate. I’m usually stuck bumpin NWA, Ice Cube or The Chronic to get my fix. Murs gets some love too.
As far as Gangster ish goes, Texas stole Cali’s swagger.
Damn this tracks are freakin ill. Props big time (pause)
Here’s what I think gives the West trouble - the only stuff getting marketing dollars from the West is too much in imitation of what the WC is supposed to sound like. Part of the appeal of any rap album is the setting, East Coast is dusty snares, cold soundscapes, Upper Midwest is violent as hell, South is wild, spacey, super materialistic, and the West is supposed to be a bunch of pothead gangbangers. So whenever someone says ‘West Coast’ on a record, we’ve got the picture before they can even paint it - it takes a lot of the suspense out of someone’s verse, you know?
Add to that the fact that Tupac has yet to be surpassed, and you’ve got a really heavy burden on the region. There’s so much emphasis on what went on there in the past that there’s no real concern (by the listening public) about what’s going on now. Whenever I read an article about Hyphy, I’m thinking, how can this be more prolific than ‘Pac? And I’m ‘educated’ about rap, lol, so I should know that the Bay and LA are two different regions.
Think about listeners that don’t really know anything about the regional nuances that make rap so enjoyable. They’ve got no fucking clue, except that Pac and Snoop and Dre came from the West Coast. The standard is set pretty high.
Anyway, another request for some Glasses Malone? thanks,
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=RjshYJghDF8
no, isnt scott storch ! but it’s club
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=wt-k1DWMO-0&feature=related
no, isnt Timbo !!! But it’s a banger, here!
Peace Homies !
@ Flea… My Vinyl Weighs a Ton rocks hard… When they flipped the “Definition of Ill (Remix)” off of that original…. whoa!
I don’t think the West fell off either… some folks just don’t listen to music without a crunk feel to it now of days. Sad… because there’s really some good stuff out there.
@ Douglas Howser - I know, somebody needs to post that album and let people know what they’ve been missing!
LMAO @ #9 & 10
East Coast stole our swagger loooong before the south did…but we fuck with the south so its all love…
westcoast = bangin & servin
down south = trappin
eastcoast = servin crack
thats just rap in general right now…not too many different subject matters being talked about…but i must say that we spit it the best…the best producer of all time (Dre) hails from the west…the best emcee of all time (Pac) hails from the west…so how could we ever fall off??…people just think the west has been gone because the eastcoast has biased radio stations that dont play our shit simply because its from the west…but then again its always been that way…cali stations bang everything…if its hot it gets play regardless of where its from…thats how its supposed to be
Crooked I, Quik, Game (ehhh), Yukmouth, Suga Free, Dilated Peoples, Living Legends, Cube & many more all smash on everyone in the east (not including Jay)
i mean seriously…who else is there in the East?…fiddy (LMAO dont get me started), the dip set (talk about ganking the westcoast swag), fat joe (he’s busy tickling Khaleds balls)??…none of them niggas can spit
Joell Ortiz goes hard but he signed with…THE WEST…so did Busta (…and his best CD came out on Aftermath)
yo, all the trey songz is gone!
@ B Lund
Glasses Malone - Electric Chair mixtape (New)
http://www.dubcnn.com/mixtapes/gmalone-theelectricchair/
Supposed to be dope…but i havent heard it.
@ Flea
Quik’s last album, Trauma, is one of my fav albums ever. I love it. Classic shit…fonr to back. Embodies Quik perfectly.
@ KThundo…
“QUIK > your favorite producer/emcee”
^^^ Couldn’t be more tru. His production is the best in the game (fuck the haters, it’s da truth) and his lyrics and flow are MADD underrated.
David Blake…My favorite artist of all time.
Obviously, Kthundo resides on the West. I’m not a hater, fam. Just stating the facts.
Are you serious about Busta’s best album being on Aftermath, you must not have heard genesis, or any of his albums when Flipmode was Official, once he gained muscle he got wack,
just like timbo, fifty, and a lot of other people.
On a side note.
I’m the Best New Producer to drop in the past three years.