West Coast Rap Sucks

Now that I have your attention, let me re-phrase: it doesn’t suck but I feel it’s isolated. The whole Hyphy movement tried to become mainstream last year but never took a hold. To be with Hyphy, it seems you’ve got to reside on the West Coast. The sound just doesn’t click with me. I find myself asking “what is this?” after listening to some Hyphy. Furthermore, it seems Hyphy spoke for West Coast music in general the last little bit—at least that’s how it feels to anyone not from Cali. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way too!

The West seems to want to keep it in house and to only watch out for their people, as you can tell it in their choice of lyrics that pepper almost every song: Dickies, ‘64’s, gangbanging etc. I know that’s how shit is out West and every region does the same shit but it feels more prevalent on the Left Coast. The longer the isolation persists, the harder it is for West Coast music to be marketable.

Hyphy sound is the only sound along with Crunk that I cannot stand. Every Bay artist seems to let Hyphy control them; they’re unable to transcend Hyphy and be on some other shit. As for L.A. and other West Coast shit, the sound is quite archaic. Someone else said it for me, “You can put on a West Coast record from ’89 and it’ll sound the same as shit today.”

The present artists from the West, Bay area included, haven’t done anything for me lately. That is to say, I haven’t been repping someone out West for a while. Because of this feeling, I am hesitant to even give a West Coast cat a chance. Plus it seems like the West hasn’t had anyone to take over since the legends prowled. And they’re still out there doing there thing, which tells me they can still dominate: Snoop and the DPG, Ice Cube and Westside Connection, E-40, Too Short etc.

Game is cool but he’s overrated. My beef with him is he has everything at his disposal to be great. He’s got the money, backing and notoriety to net good ass production and features. Alas, he comes correct with those. The flow’s good but where he falters is content: too much material and name dropping. Plus he’s always on some bullshit, whether it’s with G-Unit, Yukmouth or some other Spider Loc-ish turd. The real image of Jayceon Taylor versus what he tells us through the mic is frustrating. It’s like Game, we know what you are, don’t front. And his whole Black Wall Street fam is like whatever.

In the last I don’t know how long the only Cali cat I’ve felt is Mr. “Ghost Ride the Whip”. Mistah FAB’s got some good ass material but the recent album was a downer. And too, Jacka and Husalah from Mob Figaz are cool but I haven’t heard anything from them in almost 2 years.

What started me on this feeling that West Coast rap was crazy ridiculous (in a bad way) was this group named the Pillionaires. I listened to their tape back in March thinking, 'let me try and see if I can change my outlook.' It was wacker than wack like finding out that Jessica Alba is married. If you’ve heard of the Pillionaires you’d know the feeling. Keak da Sneak is annoying. Even E-40 to me is silly as fuck, now that I look back on it. Ya Boy has never made me say “oh no”. The Pack is a bunch of little kids (no shit). Lil’ Eazy E is pathetic. Yukmouth is so old news. Hot Dollar is hot mess. Guerilla Black is ooo-kay. Zion I is straight. But maybe my expectations are too much. I’m not expecting a ‘Pac or a NWA but I’m looking from some good ass, different than the norm West Coast music.

So with that said, I decided to actually listen to some cats I’ve been hearing about. I choose Bishop Lamont, Murs and Jay Rock. I’m using Dat Piff to provide listens and downloads, so use them for your advantages. Yet I have yet to check some cats out thoroughly: Crooked I, Mitchy Slick, Clyde Carson, Planet Asia, Juice (even though he’s repping AZ) and even San Quinn and Messy Marv.

Bishop Lamont
Bishop Lamont is real. I’ve never heard him before I delved into Nigger Noise. The whole tape is a good ass listen. I’ve listened to it 4 or 5 times all the way through and I’ve rarely switched to the next track. The best way to describe Bishop is that he just raps. He doesn’t try to cater to a certain genre; he offers a little bit of most things. Nigger Noise’s production consists of riding music. And he keeps the features to a minimum. Considering he’s affiliated with Dre, he’s in good hands. Check “Don’t Kill Me”, “Translator”, “Footsteps in the Dark”, “Last Crusade” and “Hisstory”.

Download Mixtape Provided by DatPiff.com

Murs
From listening to “L.A.” in December, I was curious (no homo).So I found his hook-up with 9th Wonder. After listening to it through for the first time, I wondered ‘But doesn’t 9th make any rapper tight?’ That is true. But 9th complements the MC. Murs has more than enough to ride on his own. No song falls flat. Every track has something to say and he doesn’t repeat the same material in every song. Judging from his track record in releasing material, I can rely on him to be productive.

Jay Rock
Jay Rock is decent. I’m not about to say he’s resurrecting West Coast Rap but I like his ferociousness. It’s a plus that he sounds like Shyne too. On Watts Finest 3, he stays hard on thug life but doesn’t think about it or how it affects him. What struck me the most: his running partner throughout the tape, K-Dot, outshines Jay Rock. Anybody got some K-Dot? But Jay Rock rides beats without any hitch so I’ll remember him for the future. Check “Lift Me Up” “J. Dilla Freestyle” “K-Dot Freestyle”.

Download Mixtape Provided by DatPiff.com

The end result is good, as I’ve already changed my mind of West Coast Rap sucking. While I’m still not completely convinced, these 3 have helped. With everything said, I have an open ear. I’d like to know if I’m missing out on something. Especially to West Coast heads, fill me in on what y’all are listening to, drop me some links, MySpaces or even names. I don’t care; just let me in on the fun.