Here are five west coast songs/videos that you might not know, but should know. You can thank me later.

Anotha Level – What’s That Cha Sayin’

I remember catching this video back in the day on TV a few times. I was a big Pharcyde fan and this kind of had a similar vibe that caught my attention. Ice Cube discovered this group and Ice Cube was my favorite rapper back then, so when I spotted him in the video, I knew it was legit. The album that this song is on is also really dope. Ice Cube and Pharcyde are featured on the album.

Young Murder Squad – How We Livin’

When this shit came out, I was trippin’. South Central Cartel put these guys on and I remember that their album was hard to find out here in Tacoma. After searching all day, I finally found one copy of their album at the Lakewood Mall Camelot, back when the Lakewood Mall was still open. I was also on the hunt for a purple Charlotte Hornets jersey.

Celly Cel – It’s Going Down

OK, you should know this one, but I know there are heads that weren’t listening to hip hop back in the mid 90s, or weren’t into the west coast underground. I had Celly Cel’s first album ‘Heat 4 Yo Azz’ back in like 1995, so I was impatiently waiting for his second album to drop. This was the first single off of his second album ‘Killa Kali’.

Dru Down feat. The Luniz – Ice Cream Man

This is off of Dru Down’s first album ‘Explicit Game’ and I think it’s also the first time that The Luniz appeared on record. The Luniz could spit and it’s crazy to look back and see a young Yukmouth (who kills his verse). I remember hearing about how this song created some tension with Master P some years later because of the whole Ice Cream Man thing, but this song was released first. Don’t sell drugs.

K-Dee – Hittin’ Corners

K-Dee was real smooth with his style. He wasn’t really rapping about low riders, dickies, chucks, and things that a lot of his peers were rapping about, but he was from Los Angeles and represented. You might remember a small clip of this video from the movie ‘Friday’ when Ice Cube is watching television. If you some how find a copy of his album ‘Ass, Gas, or Cash’, pick it up because it is DOPE, rare, out of print, and Sir Jinx did a lot of the production on it.