1 - Pharcyde - Labcabincalifornia
In death the producer known as Jay Dilla (then Jay Dee) is heralded a legend, and this is one of his earlier work before he broke ground with his Detroit crew - Slum Village. Meanwhile, the Pharcyde is ridin' hot as LA's alternate underground to the gangsterisms and I do recall this album dropped around the same time as Dogg Food by Daz and Kurupt (better known as the Dogg Pound, or DPG). Even listening to it now this album was a beautiful amalgamation of Dilla's early work and Pharcyde's way out underdog-ish lyricism. Known as the Pharcyde's "dark album" this might be the last time you'd see all 4 together putting together a studio album (though Rock the Bells 2008 provided hope for a reunion in the studio).
2 - Chino XL - Here to Save You All
On the cover of this particular source magazine was Ice Cube throwing up the Westside at the time when tensions between East Coast and West Coast artist started simmering. Inside that issue was probably the longest Hip Hop quotable I ever read by this emcee from Jersey known as Chino XL. Subjectwise, he was Eminem before Eminem hooked up with Dre. Major lyrics, major production. Best known for his random punchlines, Chino stirred up the pot, even pissing off Pac when he got out of prison (On Riiiot, he stated "In this industry, I'll try not to get fucked like Pac in jail), which led an irate Pac to dedicate a line at the end of his classic "Hit 'em Up" (Chino XL - FUCK YOU TOO!). The second single on there, Kreep, flipped the Radiohead classic into a rap version of it with the same self loathing theme. This shit was raw then, and raw now.
3 - Outkast - ATLiens
BET heads like myself knew Outkast as them typical pimp rappers, but we knew there were more to them than just being Southernplaylistic pimps if you ever listened to their first album. ATLiens dropped a couple years later and grabbed the MTV audience with their spaced out next dimensional lyricism and provided the blueprint of some next level production provided by Organized Noize.
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