West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records, the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and others.
Kevin Danell Mann, better known by his stage name Brotha Lynch Hung, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer from Sacramento, California who has been described as "the creator of horrorcore rap." He is also a former 24th Street Garden Blocc Crip gang member, which is a Crip-affiliated street gang based in Meadowview, Sacramento.
Criminal Minded is the debut studio album by hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions, released on March 3, 1987 by B-Boy Records. It is considered a highly influential hip hop album and one of the first in the gangsta rap genre.
Raymond Tyson, better known by his stage name Ray Luv, is an American Bay Area rapper from Santa Rosa, California, United States, who is best known for his contribution to the Bay Area hip hop scene in the mid-1990s.
The term hyphy is an Oakland, California slang meaning "hyperactive". More specifically, it is an adjective describing the hip hop music and the culture associated with the Oakland area. The term was first coined by Oakland rapper Keak da Sneak.
Joseph Thompson, better known by his stage name JT the Bigga Figga, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive from the Fillmore, San Francisco, California. He has produced music on over one hundred albums, for artists including Daz Dillinger, Master P, The Game, San Quinn, and Messy Marv.
Lathan Williams, better known by his stage name Young Lay, is a San Francisco Bay Area-based gangsta rapper.
Jamal Rocker, known professionally as Mac Mall, is an American rapper from the San Francisco Bay Area who became known in the mid-late 1990s.
Thizz Entertainment is a Sacramento-based originally, independent record label, started in 1999 by rapper and music producer Andre Hicks, who was professionally known as rapper Mac Dre. Best known as a poster child of the hyphy movement that swept through the Bay Area in the 1990s and early 2000s.The label was relocated to the S.F. Bay Area shortly after his untimely death.
Illegal Business? is Mac Mall's debut album. It was released on July 13, 1993, and is considered a classic West Coast rap album. It was produced by Khayree. A single, "Ghetto Theme," was released, for which Tupac Shakur directed the music video. The album peaked at #71 on the Billboard charts. The album sold more than 125,000 copies.
Illegal Business? 2000 is the third studio album by the American rapper Mac Mall, from Vallejo, California. It was released on March 23, 1999, via Young Black Brotha Records' sublabel, Don't Give Up Productions. The album peaked at number 185 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and at number 54 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States.
Untouchable is the second studio album by American rapper Mac Mall from Vallejo, California. It was released on April 23, 1996 via Relativity Records. Production was handled by Mike Mosley, Khayree, Rick Rock, Ant Banks, Cold 187um, Kevin Gardner, Prodeje, Robert Redwine and Tone Capone. It features guest appearances from Ant Banks, Big Hutch, Do Thangs, Kokane, Ray Luv and Young Lay.
Christopher Francis Ries, known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He rose to fame as one-half of the Philadelphia-based hip hop duo Young Gunz, which he formed with rapper Neef Buck in 2001. That same year, the duo joined the larger Philadelphia-based hip hop group State Property; both acts were signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records by the same time.
Young Black Brotha is the 1993 debut LP by Mac Dre, not to be confused with an earlier Mac Dre release, Young Black Brotha (EP). The album contains several new recordings as well as most of the tracks from the rapper's previous EP, What's Really Going On?, and three tracks from the sessions for Back N' Da Hood, including the full version of "My Chevy" featuring Mac Mall – the first 1 and a half minutes appeared on the original EP. Some of Mac Dre's vocals were recorded over the phone from prison, after being incarcerated for a string of bank robberies in 1992. Young Black Brotha peaked at #93 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it Mac Dre's most commercially successful work.
The Best of Mac Dre is the first "best of" album by Mac Dre. It was released in 2002 by Sumo/Thizz Entertainment ©. It is the first compilation of his hit songs, later followed by The Best of Mac Dre, Vol. 2 & 3. Though Mac Dre was killed by gunshot on November 1, 2004, his Bay Area legacy lives on through his music. This album features other Bay Area hip hop legends such as Keak da Sneak, Messy Marv, and San Quinn.
Major Norton, better known by his stage name Dubee, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California.
The Trackmasters, also known as Poke & Tone, is an American hip hop production duo composed of music producers Poke and Tone, best known for their commercial hit records in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. Frank "Nitty" Pimentel joined forces with the duo to complete the success of "Trackmasters". Throughout their career, they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including Destiny's Child, Nas, R. Kelly, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Will Smith, Jay-Z, Cam'ron, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, The Notorious B.I.G. and 50 Cent.
Digi+Phonics is an African American hip hop production team, composed of California-based record producers Tae Beast, Sounwave, Dave Free and Willie B. They currently serve as the main in-house producers for Carson-based record label, Top Dawg Entertainment. Digi+Phonics work significantly on projects from all the members of hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, who are also signed to Top Dawg and is composed of rappers Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul. Their best known productions include "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" by Kendrick Lamar, "There He Go" by Schoolboy Q, and "Terrorist Threats" by Ab-Soul. They frequently co-produce songs together and put the finishing touches on the projects released by Top Dawg Entertainment.
Edward Lee Magwood, best known by his stage name Eddie Barnz, is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is also a noted cartoon maker, known for creating the YouTube series "Elmo Faces Poverty". He released his first commercial single "Welcome 2 Pistolvania" featuring Ab Liva from Philadelphia rap group Major Figgaz and Clipse group Re Up Gang in 2007. His Dougie Fresh sampled single, "Uh Uh On" received local and national play.
Black Market Records is an American record label based in Sacramento, California, founded in 1989. Its acts included Brotha Lynch Hung and X-Raided.
