Death Records Now

The record label has been out almost as long as Def Jam. In the 90s Houston had some of the most gangster and violent hip-hop, even more so than the West Coast that gets most of the credit for gangster albums. Most of the Rap-A-Lot early releases have gone pretty much unnoticed and only acknowledge by those who dig deep for hip-hop music. So, for this post I’ll be shedding some light on the forgotten city of H-town and some of it’s gem.

In my opinion these are great albums that could make a great addition to your collection:

1991:Geto Boys: We Can’t Be Stopped- This one is a straight classic and it’s what put Texas on the map. I will not going into detail as I feel this album is already known by most fans, who can forget Mind Playing Tricks on Me?

1992 Big Mello: Bone Hard Zaggin- This album is on some pimp-smooth sh*t. The album has great production that’s great for riding in the car and I would dare to say that it’s better than the overrated The Chronic. Mac’s Drive ‘Lac’s is the highlight song in my opinion that would give you that southern player style that represents Texas.

1991:Convicts:Convicts- This album is the best ignorant rap album in history. It has some of the most ignorant views, but it’s done in a way that’s appealing for being so straight forward without holding back. The songs are set to old-style Houston beats, strictly harmonicas and church organs. It’s basically the genius of ignorant rap.

1992: Ganksta N-I-P: The South Park Psycho- This one is simply a horrorcore/gansgter rap album. NIP says some of the most weirdest things on this album, like clamming he has had sex with 90 year old grannies to women having sex with pit bulls. Check out it out, if you like dark topics…

91& 94: Scarface: Mr. Scarface Is Back/The Diary- These two albums are pretty much known by most, so I won’t say anymore.

1993: Seagram: The Dark Road- This rapper is from Oakland and he was shot to death in 96. The guy talks about dark subject matter and life experiences. Seagram makes a lot of reference of the devil, acknowledging Satan as ruler of the world. This is really Sea’s best LP, the dark roads has the old school samples from Tom Tom Club, Isaac Hayes, Zapp, & Chocolate Milk. It also has some groovy feel to it reminiscent to DJ Quik.

BQ: What is your favorite album from Texas?
Out of all those I HIGHLY recommend Big Mello: Bone Hard Zaggin. Dope.
Johnny Blaze: Yeah, definitely check out Bone Hard Zaggin, Mr. Scarface Is Back, The Diary, We Can’t Be Stopped first and see how that goes. The production is old-school southern Texas style, nothing like the east or west…
s. perrotta – sense makes dollas: Yeah I know, sometimes it gets boring to hear the same thing over and over in this section, wu-tang, nas, mobb deep… and yeah I agree Wegonefunkwichamind is dope. I just mentioned these because I felt most people here would like it, and another two of my favorites is 1989: Willie D – Controversy & 1991: O.G. Style – I Know How to Play ‘Em to add to your list…

I’ve got to say – it is hella refreshing to know that someone on here likes early 90s southern hip-hop…

Rap-A-Lot has spawned a lot of great rappers and has an unbelievable back-catalogue of albums – the label has stood the test of time incredibly well and although its well past its peak and influence, its still one of the great hip-hop logos and was crucial in giving southern hip-hop a regional platform to build on – and definitely proved, at least in the long run, that there was more to the south than Bass music…
The label branched out a lot with west coast and midwest acts which I think is notable, and is probably one of the reasons why acts like E-40 and Spice 1 collaborated with so many southern artists and helped promote and expand the south’s appeal…

Geto Boys and Scarface go without saying…

Convicts never did that much for me personally – they had some decent tracks and a great gimmick, but I can’t help but lump into a pile of solid but unremarkable Houston groups like and Too Much Trouble and Trinity Garden Cartel…

I’ve been throwing out Ganksta N-I-P’s Interview With A Killa on a lot of horrorcore-oriented questions and he’s an incredibly underrated rapper skill-wise as well and his debut has stood the test of time well – the southern equivalent of Esham if anything…

Wegonefunkwichamind is my personal favorite of Big Mello’s though – that album is not far away from classic status and epitomises southern g-funk at its finest – raw grooves with deep vocals and lumbering basslines…

Meanwhile Seagram’s probably the closest the west has come to Big L – without the relentless punchlines – his shit was unbelievably raw and The Ville is classic Bay Area shit… the Bay has a plethora of great 90s rappers that never quite got their dues and Sea is definitely one of them…

A few others that would fall into your category…

Blac Monks – Secrets Of The Hidden Temple
Coop MC – Currency
DMG – Rigormortiz
E.S.G. – Sailin’ Da South
5th Ward Boyz – Rated G
Snypaz – Livin’ In The Scope
The Terrorists – Terror Strikes: Always Bizness, Never Personal
Willie D – Play Witcha Mama

BQ: Probably Devin the Dude’s To Tha X-Treme – the production was perfect and its definitely his most varied in terms of subject matter… He’s just so entertaining to listen to and all of his albums have a degree of nostalgia in that they’re really fun and lighthearted but still offer some deep material…

watch in 480p

Tupac’s Interview about the Beef with Bad Boy Records

I always say this beef wasn’t meant to be Pac over reacted at 1994 when he got shot he didn’t know who to trust. BIG and Pac should have sat down and talked about it,to squash this beef. But What can you do?

Dto Da Z Productions
Drazan aka Drazo
Please say your oppinion on this beef in the comments.

The East CoastWest Coast hip hop rivalry was a feud in the early-mid 1990s between artists and fans of the East Coast and West Coast hip-hop scenes. Seeming focal points of the feud were West Coast-based rapper 2Pac (and his label, Death Row Records), and East Coast-based rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (and his label, Bad Boy Records).

Death Row vs. Bad Boy

Any hip-hop artists out there who wants to be an artist and stay a star, and dont wanna have to worry about the executive producer trying to be all in the videos, all on the records, dancing Come to Death Row! — Suge Knight at The 1995 Source Awards

2Pac vs. The Notorious B.I.G.
2Pac
Who shot me? But ya punks didnt finish, Now ya bout to feel the wrath of a menace Nigga, I hit em up.

B.I.G
Who shot Ya? Separate the weak from the obsolete, hard to creep them Brooklyn streets, Its on nigga, f*ck all that bickering beef.

From late 1995 into early 1996, 2Pac would appear on numerous tracks aiming threatening and/or antagonistic slants at Biggie, Bad Boy as a label, and anyone affiliated with them. During this time, although Biggie never directly responded, the media became heavily involved and dubbed the rivalry a coastal rap war, reporting on it continuously. This caused fans from both scenes to take sides with one set of The songs harsh content was viewed by detractors as Shakur having gone too far and taking the feud to another level. Although Biggie denies directly responding to 2Pac, many of B.I.G.’s songs can be speculated as being an answer to Shakur’s slurs.

Duration : 0:3:31

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2Pac ft Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight (Only Fear of Death)
D to Da Z Productions
Edited by: Drazan aka Drazo

Philip David Charles “Phil” Collins LVO (born 30 January 1951)[1] is an English[ singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboardist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for English progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist.

Collins sang the lead vocals on eight American chart-toppers between 1984 and 1989; seven as a solo artist and one with Genesis. His singles, often dealing with lost love, ranged from the drum-heavy “In the Air Tonight”, to the dance pop of “Sussudio”, to the political statements of his most successful song, “Another Day in Paradise”. His international popularity transformed Genesis from a progressive rock group to a regular on the pop charts and an early MTV mainstay. According to britishhitsongwriters.com he is the forty-eighth most successful songwriter in U.K. singles chart history based on weeks that his compositions have spent on the chart.[5]

Collins’s professional career began as a drummer, first with obscure rock group Flaming Youth and then more famously with Genesis. In Genesis, Collins originally supplied backing vocals for front man Peter Gabriel, singing lead on only two songs: “For Absent Friends” from 1971’s Nursery Cryme album and “More Fool Me” from Selling England by the Pound, which was released in 1973. On Gabriel’s departure in 1975, Collins became the group’s lead singer. As the decade closed, Genesis’s first international hit, “Follow You, Follow Me”, demonstrated a drastic change from the band’s early years.

His concurrent solo career, heavily influenced by his personal life, brought both him and Genesis commercial success. According to Atlantic Records, Collins’s total worldwide sales as a solo artist, as of 2002, were 150 million. He has won seven Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and two Golden Globes for his solo work.

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac (or simply Pac) and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He has sold 75 million albums to date and is one of the best-selling music artists in the world.[3] In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, Shakur was a promising actor[4] and a social activist. Most of Shakur’s songs are about growing up amid violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society and conflicts with other rappers. Shakur’s work is known for advocating egalitarianism. Shakur was initially a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.]

Shakur became the target of lawsuits and experienced other legal problems. He was later shot five times and robbed in the lobby of a recording studio in New York City. Following the event, Shakur grew suspicious that other figures in the rap industry had prior knowledge of the incident and did not warn him; the controversy helped spark the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. Shakur was later convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to one and half to four and a half years in prison.[8][9][10] After serving eleven months of his sentence he was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion “Suge” Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records. In exchange for Suge’s assistance, Shakur agreed to release three albums under the Death Row label.

On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. He died six days later of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest at the University Medical Center.

Duration : 0:4:22

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