I remember buying this tape at the only music store in Sunnyside, WA. I was staying at my grandparents house one summer and spent every spare dollar I had shopping there buying whatever tapes or cds looked dope. I was just getting into Master P (Ice Cream Man era), and this had his name on it so I found it to be a must have.
Back in the early 90s before P was riding for NOLA he was deep in the NorCal rap game alongside stalwarts such as Too Short, JT the Bigga Figga, 4 Tay, 40 Water, and a pair of Dres (Dog and Mac respectively). During this time period P had a different group of running mates such as E-A-Ski, Dangerous Dame, King George, and Sonya C who all make appearances on this tape.
What makes this interesting looking back on it is that it represents what was happening in the Bay at the time but more specifically San Francisco. JT and 4 Tay were both “big names” when I heard this, but I still wasn’t hip to Dre Dog, UNLV, Cellski, and Cougnut who were all doing some big work in the streets of SF.
This record has one great song, the Cameo jacking “Trying to Make A Dollar Out of 15 Cents” a collaboration between Master P and RBL Posse. Honorable mention goes to Cellski and UNLV (Baldhead Rick and SB outta Lakeview) on “Stressed Out” which is rapid fire raps over a real laid back beat. All in all this is a compilation of low level hood rap that I’m sure was very well received in the bay but today sounds dated and a bit corny. Feel free to judge for yourself.
Listen to West Coast Bad Boyz Vol. 1
