This weekend, as I started to read Randall Sullivan’s LABYRINTH on the murders of Big and Pac, I noticed how much MC Eiht and Compton’s Most Wanted’s impact on 90’s California rap has been almost completely dismissed by the rise of Death Row Records. Same goes for King Tee. And if it wasn’t for Ice-T’s “Cop Killer” move, it seems like Ice Cube would’ve remained the only L.A. gangsta rapper with a significant résumé, outside of Suge Knight’s arms reach.

Yet, the STRAIGHT CHECK’N EM album is simply a masterpiece. First single ‘Growing Up In The Hood’, which you might remember from the BOYZ N THE HOOD soundtrack, was as good as anything Dr Dre produced. ‘Gangsta Shot Out’, ‘Raised In Compton’, ‘Can I Kill It’, all these songs are still guaranteed to take you instantly right in the heart of Compton. Production is simple but effective. DJ Mike T is in the right line of Cali gangsta DJ’s (Yella, Total K-Os, Aladdin…). And MC Eiht’s voice and flow is so specific, and his accent is so crip, he’s only been matched by Eazy-E and Snoop Dogg in personifying that West Coast infamous swagger that shocked the world from 1988 to 96.

My favorite track of the record :

DEF WISH   Compton’s Most Wanted

And the hood takes you under,

Mehdi.