I once read somewhere that green tea can aid in weight loss by increasing a person’s metabolic rate. I’m sure that Plug Label’s own Green Tea wants to accomplish the same feat with his full length debut release. It’s about an hour of 1980′s boogie influenced hip-hop, electronica, and disco music. Read the review of Places + Spaces

Displeased with the identity clash between themselves and Bad Boy’s typical claim to fame, The LOX sought a release from their contract. The group even resorted to a grass roots “Free The LOX” campaign, culminating with a move to the Ruff Ryders imprint and the release of their second LP. Read the review of We Are The Streets

For what Master P lacked in talent, he more than made up for it with his charisma, marketing abilities, and his production team at the time, Beats By The Pound. They were able to take the trademark No Limit sound that the consumer was used to and make it bigger and better for a larger audience. Read the review of Ghetto D

When thinking about Oakland, California’s own Digital Underground, the old adage “Timing is everything” comes to mind. I honestly don’t think that a new group with the same characteristics as D.U. would have the same success today that D.U. enjoyed when they emerged onto the scene. Read the review of This Is An EP Release.

1992 was a remarkable year in West Coast rap music. After all, it marked the release of Dr. Dre’s seminal classic, “The Chronic”. Most people tend to overlook the other exceptional releases of that year. One of those overlooked albums is the sophomore effort from Compton’s own David Blake. Read the review of Way 2 Fonky

We’d ride around the neighborhood blasting the latest music to hit the streets. In this instance, we rode out to the new Fiend album which he somehow had copped three days before the street date. That was a different time. Read the review of Street Life

Ghostface Killah once said that “family ain’t family no more”. Apparently, this crew missed that memo. The Fam was conceived over half a decade ago as a loose collective unit. Prior to this latest effort, the now tightly knit trio released the pre-album mixtape “Family Affair”. Read the review of Family Business

Professionally known as Cage, Palko continues to use his notepad as a therapeutic release, just as he had during his lengthy stints of solitude at Stony Brook Hospital. Cage has had a decorated career up to this point, working with many notable names in hip-hop. Read the review of Depart From Me.

When Sam Barsh, Gene Coye, and Gabe Noel come together to make music, it is bound to yield some interesting results. Collectively, the trio is known as The Years and their main aim is to take the listener on a musical trip through time. Read the review of The Years

In any given conversation pertaining to the most notable in west coast rap, it’s guaranteed to hear a handful of names. You’ll hear Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, E-40, Ice-T, and maybe even MC Hammer. A couple of names that probably wouldn’t make it into the discussion are DJ Quik and Kurupt. Read the review of BlaQKout