Natives of Floss/Boss/Cost Angeles have been priveliged to get to hear a preview of the second arrival of the West Coast region of music to the top of the industry. There are the O.G’s like Snopp Dogg and Ice Cube leading the way for new MC’s and showing them how to get independant money.
Then you have a seperation in rap sub-groups such as The New West, which are headlined by artist like Bad Lucc, Glasses Malone, Jay Rock, and Roscoe Umali. (The Game has already earned stripes to be placed anywhere in these category’s)
Their style is vintage westcoast beats with new lyrics. The content is usually about what goes on in the hood and how people in the “hood” feel about what matters to them in the world.
But not everybody fits into the New West because either they feel that they don’t have enough “street cred” or was never brought up in the typical “hood” where the ice cream truck comes around on a truck and a cart and you never hung out in front of the liquor store unless you banged.
I call this group, Left of the West. These rappers produce music that is more east coast influenced either with experimental beats or introspective lyrics. Artist like Pac Div, Blu, Shawn Chyristopher, & U-N-I. They might not have been from or to the hood but they recognize the struggles and but that pain as well as creative influence in their songs.
It’s important that we listen and support all of these type of music. Xibit said on the radio about five years back that “we don’t support each other”. I think back to the early 90’s went major artist were in the same music videos and movies, mostly on the east coast, but there is no reason that the west coast can have the same love. I’m not going to hate on a rapper because they are still talking about banging and killing, I still listen to Bow Down by Westside Connection, cause its raw. I actually belived that they where capable of doing what they where talking about. Personaly I don’t think that it is progressive but I have a mind to understand that and most people dont and become easily influenced by music.
And New West rappers should not hate on the Left of the West rappers because its not they fault that they don’t want to sound “hard” on the track. You get more respect in the streets for being who you are than perpetrating. Most of those artist are brave enough to be themselves in time where people would sell out to make a hit and they create songs that are just conceptually mind blowing.
If you feel that you don’t fit in any of these categories then I recognize you too because I see music as music and the industry is totaly differenet. I see the people are starting to care more about the music, now it’s the rappers turn.
- DnM
