Saturday, December 11, 2010

West Coast Stand Up!


I've been HEAVY on a west coast grind lately. Old and new alike - I've been filled with thirst for showin' love to my coast's musical talents of late. Whether it means old NWA, Classic Dre, post-jail 2Pac, Doggystyle Snoop (excuse me, Snoop Doggy Dogg), always underated Kurupt (Streetlights is a CLASSIC), The Outlawz, WC, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Mac 10, old Eazy-E, The Game, of course Crooked I, Bishop Lamont, Juice, G Malone - I can't seem to quench my thirst and get enough quality West Coast music listening in. I almost feel like I need to apologize for my wife for playin' it so much, or for my tweeples for talking about it nonstop lately.

I mentioned it on my Twitter feed a couple days ago - but the Legend himself, Dr. Dre (note to the new generation: the guy that makes the cool headphones all your favorite athletes wear) was on Power 106 here in LA, and out of the blue (to me at least) - dropped a HUGE cosign to industry newcomer Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick first caught my ear last year with his self-titled EP. Smooth, low-key music. Yeah, the kid is from Compton - but never banged - and doesn't create wild stories to create that image. I was a fan. I really began to OD when he dropped  (O)verly (D)edicated - his skills were being honed, and it was clear that he had a bright future. Listen to HOC (or watch the VID - the kid is mature beyond his years:

"I go in studio sessions, and feel like a nerd/cuz I'm the only ***** there not smokin no herb/ you tellin' me the kush makes you think on level 4?/I'm on 5, you saying that I can level more?/In high school, my teachers thought I was smokin' stress/Didn't know my eyes low cuz of genetic defects/ I stimulate my mind, everytime I think about the end of time/creation of man, and columbine".

I do feel its a little sad that its 2010 - we are nearly 12 years removed from Dr. Dre's last album - and it takes his cosign to garner a west coast rapper attention on the national scale (save a few). That being said, can you imagine what a Dre cosign would do for some of these new age West Coast representers not prone to wear chucks and khaki's such as Dom Kennedy, Pac-Div, or even Shawn Chrystopher? Regardless, check Kendrick's newest video, Look Out For Detox, below.



Oh, and Dr. Dre. just dropped a video for his single, Kush, with Snoop and Akon, which you can check out here.