EAST BAY HUSTLE
These Hip Hop Roots in a Nut Shell
by Eric K. Arnold
The Bay Area rap story, by and large, has been one of creating opportunity, or "trying to make a dollar out of fifteen cents," to coin a
popular phrase. In celebrating the quality known as "game," exemplified by such ghetto celebrities as Felix Mitchell and in films such as "The
Mack," Bay Area artists have revealed a fascinating, somewhat dangerous subculture, where floss mode is a way of life and economic
"comeuppance" is gained by any and all means at one's disposal. While explicit lyrical content continues to be a hot topic in our society, the
popularity of Playa Rap can be explained by the fact that it speaks to a whole lotta folks out there who feel that these artists relate directly to
their lives, and who touch on pressing urban issues in away that politicians, pundits, and artists with a less-extreme bent have yet to.
Oakland rappers were the first rap artists from the Bay to gain recognition for their efforts, starting with a young black entrprenuer
professionally known as Too Short, who started selling homemade "dirty rap" tapes out of the trunk of his car, on the bus, and at sporting events
at the Oakland Coliseum in the early 80s. In 1985, $hort signed with 75 Girls Records and released his first single: "Girl (That's Your Life)," one
of the first songs to publicly address a growing problem in urban America-crack addiction. With its downtemp, bass-heavy groove behind $hort's
laid-back, street level rhymes, "Girl" remains an archetypical example of Bay Area rap. And while $hort never claimed to be the best rapper, he
was certainly one of the best at marketing his product-which put him ahead of the game at that time. In 1988, Too $hort became the first Bay
Area rapper on a major label; several gold and platinum albums later, he has made his early motto "Don't Stop Rapping" seem prophetic in
retrospect.
Another shrewd marketer who saw an opportunity and made the most of it was MC Hammer, who hit it big with the multiplatinum Let's
Get It Started album, a revamped version of his Feel My Power album, released on his own Bust-It label in 1986. "Ring 'Em" was the song
which could turn a West Coast party out between 1987-88, and features a fast (120 BPM) groove and sampled bells which were considered
slammin' at the time. While Hammer would go on to experience some of the most extreme peaks and valleys of any artist in the last 25 yeawrs,
at the time he was an up-and-coming MC, brimming with confidence.
$hort, meanwhile, was soon joined "in the trunk" by fellow Dangerous Crew member MC Pooh (later Pooh-Man)'s 1989 song, "Fucking Wit
Dank," which also became a Bay Area anthem. The song's success led to the creation of In-A-Minute records, which became an outlet for many
aspiring rap groups from the Bay. "Fucking With Dank" not only sold over 100,000 copies, but also introduced the East Oakland term "dank"
-slang for a potent, pungent strain of cannabis indica-to the world. Borrowing its chorus from Parliament's "Night Of The Thumpasorus Peoples,"
Ant Banks' tight production and Pooh's intoxicating rhymes made "Fucking With Dank" the very definition of a regional hit.
One of the first Bay Area rap songs to be played in the clubs as well as on the streets and on the radio was Digital Underground's
much-loved classic from the 1990, "Freaks Of The Industry," which for some strange reason, was never released commercially as a single.
Utilizing a sample from Donna Summer's 70s disco anthem "Love To Love You Baby," DU's Shock G and Money B reveal their freakish
tendencies in a song that has inspired audience sing-a-longs in clubs coast to coast. Risque wordplay and clever punchlines like "There'll be no
bargin' in and there'll bo no dissin'" have earned "Freaks Of The Industry" tremendous staying power over the years.
Another jam that did triple duty was the Conscious Daughters' "Something To Ride To," a song which celebrated Oakland's car culture and
the activity known as "highsiding" -flossin' through the Town in a fly ride, freshly dipped, down for whateva, with "a zap in my lap and an eight
in my glovecase." Over the radio airwaves, at the neighborhood sideshow, or in the local clubs, this song was everywhere in the Bay Area in
93-94. This Paris-produced gem packs a wallop with liller production and CMG and Special One's female perspective on the game.
By the mid 90s, Too $hort's legacy had taken shape in the form of Dru Down and the Luniz, who would become the next generation of
Oakland rap. The Ant Banks-produced "Pimp Of The Year," which rides over a replayed "Seven Minutes Of Funk" breakbeat and a memorable
chorus of "Yeah...pimp on," was an underground hit for Dru Down and C-Note Records in 1993. Dru's Fools From The Streets album, after
circulating for over a year, was repackaged as Explicit Game and released nationally by Relativity to even greater success; the radio-safe version
of "Pimp...," retitled "Mack Of The Year," was a gold single in 1994. In '95, the Luniz (who scored a deal with Virgin/Noo Trybe after appearing
on several songs on DD's album) also hit the gold standard with the single "I Got 5 On It," one of the all-time "weed" anthems. This song, which
was in escapable in the summer of'95, combined Yukmouth and Numskull's blunted verses with a hook taken from Club Nouveau's "Why You
Treat Me So Bad" and a soaring chorus by Michael Marshall.
Of course, not every Bay Area rap song is about cars, dank, or pimping. Souls of Mischief's "93 'Til Infinity" eschewed the hardcore "mob
music" sound for a jazzier flavor, and although there are some similarities between the Souls' extracurricular activities and the more
run-of-the-mill Playa Rap, few artists from the Bay (or anywhere else for that matter) can match A+, Phesto, Tajai and Opio's intricate,
freestyle-derived wordplay. More trickstas than gangstas, with "'93 ' Til...," the Souls Of Mischief found a wider audience than most Bay Area
artists; their album of the same title went gold and was a hit on both coasts.
While Oakland was in the process of becoming a rap mecca, 35 miles to the north, in Vallejo, CA, something major was in the process of
being cooked up. Following in the footsteps of The Mac (R.I.P.), Mac Dre, from the Crestside 'hood, became a hot commodity with 1991's "Too
Hard For The Fuckin' Radio" released on Strictly Business records. The next year, Ray Luv, a Santa Rosa native who was in a group called
Strictly Dope with a young Tupac Shakur (R.I.P.) before going solo, created a "balla's anthem with "Get Ma Money On." Both were produced
by Khayree, who, following Dre's incarceration (for bank robbery) and Strictly Business' going out of business, went on to start Young Black
Brotha Records and introduce the world to a "ruthless adolescent" from the Crest, Mac Mall, whose 1994 Illegal Business? Album sold 230,000
units, an amazing figure for an indie release.
Meanwhile, across town in the Hillside area, a rapper by the name of E-40, together with family members B-Legit, D-Shot, and Suga-T, had
started a group called The Click and a label called Sick Wid' It. E-40's syllable-splitting, rapid-fire delivery differentiated him from anyone else in
the game, and after a number of early solo and group albums, he scored an unlikely radio hit with 1994's "Captain Save A Hoe." Featuring all
four Click members, "Captain Save A Hoe" is an example of so-called "reality rap" at its truest, as 40 breaks down ghetto economics with lines
like "How come when I was broke you wasn't brown-nosin?" E-40 and The Click's success, which continues to this day, led to a major
distribution deal with Jive for Sick Wid' It.
In the early and mid-90s, a hard-edged San Francisco variant to the Bay Area sound emerged; leading the way were the Hunters Point group
RBL Posse, featuring rappers Black C and Mr. Cee (R.I.P.). In '92, RBL scored an underground hit with "Don't Give Me No Bammer Weed,"
but most figured they would end up as one-hit wonders. However, RBL's follow-up album, Ruthless By Law (released in '94), remains one of the
most consistent track-for-track Bay Area albums and whose irresistible hook of "front, back, side to side" is still doing time on the streets.
Following the tragic murder of RBL's Mr. Cee in 1996, the group has recently rebounded, releasing An Eye For An Eye on Big Heat in 1997.
JT The Bigga Figga, on the other hand, built a home studio in his mother's house, recruited local rappers and formed an independent label
called Get Low Records (named after a dance popular in his heighborhood, the Fillmore district of SF). After releasing Don't Stop 'Til We Major
in 1992, JT followed up the next year with the successful Playaz-N-The Game album. Heavy street buzz around the album elevated the single
"Game Recognize Game" to the KMEL playlist in 1994; the song remains a highly-requested Bay Area favorite and its title has become a maxim
of the streets.
In the thirteen years since "Girl (That's Your Life)," the Bay Area has proven to be a factor in the rap industry, as the region has continued to
consistently develop new artists who have come up from the underground to regional and/or national prominence. While only God knows what
the future will have to offer, you can bet that the Bay Area will continue to be a place where game will always recognize game.
This piece was jacked in large part from Eric K. Arnold's writings from 4080 Magazine back in the day.
For more of his articles on local music in the East Bay Express click here
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CORSAIR PRESS
