Day 11 – Ras Kass, SwizZz, C-Tru
What West Coast rapper killed a DJ Premier beat? No one ever quite did it like the legendary Ras Kass did. The #goldenchyld of the West. At his peak, he was one of the most proficient rappers and held the torch for California for a good minute, especially having a different flow and vibe, he was able to give something that West Coast rappers weren’t known for, namely being able to rap on East-Coast beats with a unique delivery. A true hip-hop legend, it was an honor for me to have him on my project. The song is called “Dramatik” and he basically used the name of the beat I gave him, to write his lyrics and came up with some hyperboles and figures of speech. The great thing about this record is that it is a dark, slow paced track, more of a trap sounding record, on which every artist raps double-time and at various speeds and flows.
Fellow collaborator C-Tru has been involved with me on a musical level for around 10 years. Being from the West Coast, he’s also a rapper who, in my opinion, can shine on any type of beat. From his voice, and delivery, it’s hard to believe that he is Asian. My Philippino brother from another mother really delivered the goods on this song, creating a killer hook to match the verse by Ras Kass , and the verse by SwizZz.
SwizZz is one of hip-hop’s underground king-pins. He is a member of the legendary independent label “Funk Volume” which is best known for putting out artists like Hopsin & Dizzy Wright. SwizZz, alongside Jared Benton, is one of the lesser known artists on the FV family roster. But don’t get it twisted, he is an incredible rapper, and his flow and delivery are simply second to none. His voice is also highly recognizable, which give him a big advantage over other rappers.
The end-result is a West Coast collaboration over a dark southern style beat, something which is unusual but works because of the versatility and killer flows shown by these rappers. As a producer it’s always important to push artists and get them out of their comfort zone. But it’s even better when artists themselves decide to rap on one of your beats, and it comes out even better than you expected, because they really gave their best effort on the track.