Hip-hop’s fresh faces
FOR THE PAST quarter-century, L.A.’s hip- hop history could practically double as a Dr. Dre biography. His imperial cosign and indelible beats helped launch the careers of N.W.A and Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Tha Dogg Pound, the Game and Kendrick Lamar. His latest protégé, psychedelic rap and soul fusionist Anderson .Paak, might be the biggest breakout star of 2016—pretty good for a headphone billionaire who’s about to blow out 52 birthday candles. In recent years, however, there are signs
that Dre’s monopoly is slowly dissolving. A new generation of artists has absorbed the street wisdom and hydraulic bounce of its predecessors, but pushed the sound forward to match today’s eclectic, social-media– obsessed era. There’s Dre’s fellow Compton native, YG—the Snoop of the Snapchat era—who released this year’s most scathing political anthem, “FDT (Fuck Donald Trump).” There’s Long Beach’s Vince Staples, arguably the greatest chronicler of inner-city rivalries since Ice Cube. Meanwhile, TDE remains the most influential West Coast independent label since Death Row. And you can’t forget Interscope gangsta-rap pragmatist and Rihanna favorite, Boogie, or Odd Future, who built a fluorescent carnival empire on the fringes of rap and skate culture. Here we highlight the rising stars next in line: artists beloved on blogs, in pop-up shops on Fairfax Boulevard and on the grittier expanses south of the Santa Monica Freeway but who have yet to infiltrate the mainstream. They’re different ages, ethnicities and genders, but they are united by their rare talent, their refusal to conform to industry cliché, and the fact that most of them grew up in Inglewood and South Central. Raised on the titans of gangsta rap, they
used YouTube, SoundCloud, Twitter and Facebook to build die-hard fan bases, rather than radio and major-label money. If the last generation glamorized gang life, this one respects the tradition but makes sure to show the consequences. They’re entrepreneurial, wary of institutions and ready to take over.
“I’m a natural gangster, but I just got this gift that’s taken me away from gang life.” —G Perico
The first thing you notice about G Perico is his hair. It’s a Jheri curl so lustrous, you’d think Eazy E’s spirit offered a special-made activator gel. Yet it’s the South Central rapper’s sneering alto timbre and kinetic ’hood chronicles that make him the city’s best unadulterated gangsta rapper in more than a decade. G Perico falls somewhere between gangsta- and pimp-rap legends DJ Quik and Too Short, combined with the entrepreneurial savvy of 50 Cent. For the past two years, the 28-year-old has owned and operated his own store, So Way Out (10722 S Broadway), not far from the 111th-and-San Pedro turf where he grew up.
“I’m a natural gangster,” he says matter-of-factly. “I was raised and groomed to be a gangster, but I just got this gift that’s taken me [away from gang life].” Despite his dark tales, G Perico preaches a positive message. He mentions his friends, many of whom are dead or in prison, and claims music offered him a second chance and a path out. The major labels are calling, but he’s waiting for the right partnership. Though his lyrics bear close thematic similarities to past icons, G Perico has added new cadences, urgent beats and the untold stories of those sitting in cells or lying in caskets. “Gangsta shit never gets old,” he says. “People still talk about Scarface and Bugsy Siegel almost a hundred years later. I’m talking about similar things but in a fresh and evolved way.” à Hear G Perico’s work at
soundcloud.com/g-perico-1.
23 January–March 2017 Time Out Los Angeles
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