Several artists from California were recently asked to name the “best L.A. Hip Hop album of all time” by XXL. The list features various emcees, including Ras Kass, sharing their answers to this question.
Ras Kass, who often represents his hometown of Carson, California in his raps, says Dr. Dre’s The Chronic,earns his nod.
“That’s a really hard question,” he says. “The Chronic, maybe. It just changed music. I think it just changed Rap, period. [It’s] a masterpiece that opened the door for a whole new crop of rappers, Kurupt and Nate Dogg. Yeah, The Chronic to me may be the greatest West Coast, L.A. album.”
The Chronic, which was released in 1992, was also Compton, California’s MC Eiht‘s pick.
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“Outside of my shit, I’d say, to me, it’d have to be The Chronic,” he said. “It was just the time, how West Coast Rap music was. I think The Chronic because of the direction it took as far as the creativity of West Coast music…It was just so diverse, but it dealt with typical L.A. and a lot of L.A. subjects. So I’d say The Chronic was probably the best time for L.A. Hip Hop.”
Eiht goes on to say Dr. Dre’s 1999 album 2001, often referred to as The Chronic: 2001, was “okay” and “the shit,” but not as strong as the first Dre effort. Hopsin, who hails from Panorama City, California, says 2001 surpassed not only The Chronic, but also all other albums from this area.
“The Chronic: 2001, for sure,” Hopsin says. “That’s the one that I still bump.”
Blu, Warren G, and Ab-Soul are among other acts interviewed for this piece.
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Ice Cube‘s AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d. city and Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle are also named in the list.
RELATED: Still Smokin’: The 20th Anniversary Of Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic”
