Song Of The Week: 7/5/20

Song: "This Is Los Angeles"

Artist: WC

Album: "Guilt By Association"

Year: 2007

Place Of Origin: Los Angeles, California

Years Active: 1987 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"This Is Los Angeles" is like a day in the life of a gang banger in South Central, Los Angeles. Complete with the daily hustlin', drug dealing, gang violence and dealing with the police, either trying to stay a step ahead or dealing with the brutality when they get caught. Just kinda everyday life on the streets of South Central in gang territory.

WC DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1989 - We're In This Together (as Low Profile) (Priority Records)
* did not chart on Billboard 200

1991 - Ain't A Damn Thang Changed (as WC And The Maad Circle) (Priority Records)
* did not chart on Billboard 200

1995 - Curb Servin' (as WC And The Maad Circle) (Pay Day Records)
* #85 on the Billboard 200

1996 - Bow Down (as Westside Connection) (Priority Records)
* #2 on the Billboard 200
* certified platinum

1998 - The Shadiest One (Pay Day Records)
* #19 on the Billboard 200
* certified gold

2002 - Ghetto Heisman (Def Jam Records)
* #46 on the Billboard 200
* certified gold

2003 - Terrorist Threats (as Westside Connection) (Capitol Records)
* #16 on the Billboard 200
* certified gold

2005 - Westside Heavy Hitter (self-released)
* did not chart on Billboard 200

2007 - Guilt By Affiliation (Def Jam Records)
* #49 on the Billboard 200

2011 - Revenge Of The Barracuda (eOne Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2013 - West Coast Gangsta Shit (w/ Daz Dillinger) (Dilly Recordz)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON WC:

WC is a west coast gangsta rapper who resides in Los Angeles, California. He was actually born in Houston, Texas but moved to L.A. as a young child. His roots in rap music got it's start back in 1987 when he and DJ Aladdin formed the group called Low Profile. They released one album which was produced by Ice-T. DJ Aladdin began working with Ice-T shortly after that release so WC formed another group called WC And The Maad Circle. This group featured his brother, DJ Crazy Toones, creating the beats and also featured a young up and coming rapper called Coolio, who of course had huge success later on with the singles "Fantastic Voyage" and "Gangsta's Paradise". The Maad Circle only released two albums, but WC struck up a friendship with another legendary L.A. rapper at this time, Ice Cube. Ice Cube decided to form a rap supergroup at this time in 1995 featuring WC and Mack 10. This group was called Westside Connection. Their first album, "Bow Down", was a huge success for the trio, peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200 charts and has since been certified platinum. This would be the biggest success that WC has attained in his musical career to date. Westside Connection would only release one more album before disbanding as their were some issues between Ice Cube and Mack 10. There were rumors that Ice Cube was going to re-launch the group replacing Mack 10 with The Game, but that never came to fruition. WC's official solo debut release was 1998's "The Shadiest One". He would go on to release three more solo albums, 2002's "Ghetto Heisman", 2007's "Guilt By Association" and 2011's "Revenge Of The Barracuda". He also collaborated with Daz Dillinger on the 2013 album "West Coast Gangsta Shit". That was the last full length release for WC though he has made appearances on other artists albums, such as MC Eiht and Paris to name a few. WC is very well respected among rappers of all genres, but especially in gangsta rap. He was very lucky to have two of the godfathers of gangsta rap in his corner, Ice-T and Ice Cube. Many have called him the originator of the C-Walk or Crip Walk. WC's younger brother and long time DJ for him, DJ Crazy Toones, passed away in 2017 of a heart attack. WC is very much one of the pioneers of west coast gangsta rap and he also dabbles in film as well. He's not as well known as rappers like Ice Cube or Eazy-E, but make no mistake, this dude is hugely influential in rap circles. WC is a top tier emcee in my book no doubt.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Ice Cube
Mack 10
Daz Dillinger
Kurupt
Xzibit

TEN WC SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Roll On 'Em (feat. DJ Crazy Toones, Xzibit, MC Ren and Maylay)
2. Pay Ya Dues (as Low Profile)
3. Bow Down (as Westside Connection)
4. This Is Los Angeles
5. Westside Slaughterhouse (as Westside Connection)
6. Gangsta Nation (as Westside Connection)
7. You Know Me (feat. Ice Cube and Maylay)
8. Keep It 100
9. The Streets (feat. Snoop Dogg)
10. Just Clownin'