PHARCYDE Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde

Without a doubt, my favorite album of 1992. Four cool cats having a great time recording a wide variety of styles and deliveries. Punctuated by clever skits and moody interludes, Bizarre Ride is the ultimate antidote to the "hard-as-a-gangsta" vibe that plagued Los Angeles throughout the late 1980s and early-1990s. Don't pass up this unique hip-hop experience! Here's two tracks to get you hyped: "Passing Me By" and "Ya Mama".

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth Mecca And The Soul Brother

For a full discography on Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, visit Sandbox Massive's Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth discography/biography.

SHOWBIZ & A.G. Runaway Slave

Showbiz & A.G. -- also known simply as "Show & A" -- have stayed true to the game since the release of their debut EP, Can I Get A Soul Clap?. Though they are best known for their pioneering early releases, they have only gotten better with time. In fact, my favorite Show & A material is their 1998 EP Full Scale, featuring strictly hardcore beats and rhymes.

GANG STARR Daily Operation

For all your Gang Starr needs, visit the Sandbox Massive Gang Starr Site. You won't be dissappointed!

DR. DRE The Chronic

Though part of the commercial wave started by N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton, The Chronic stands apart as a truly innovative and hard-hitting album. The lyrics are often trite and annoying, and the skits mindless and boring. But Dre's production is truly breathtaking. Though Dre is often regarded as lyrically inferior to Snoop, Kurupt, and RBX--it is actually Dre who delivers the most substantive commentary on an album that many rightfully criticize for its romanticism of ghetto life and sensationalism of violence and drug use. Hip-Hop ethics aside, G-Funk never sounded better than these songs: "Let Me Ride", "The Day The Niggaz Took Over", and "Nothin' But A 'G' Thang".