As a West Coast native, much of my life memories were shaped by the greats in West Coast Hip-Hop – from remembering exactly where I was the day Tupac died (on the Bay Bridge), to discovering my first love Warren G (thanks to my dad) on a now foreign thing called cassette tapes.
The West Coast has so many legends and hits worthy of paying respect and homage to and the new project, Cold Chilling – Compton from indie label PRMD does just that. The project serves as the first in a series that reimagines classic Hip-Hop from various regions. The nine-track album, which mixes nostalgia and chill vibes, includes covers of classic songs by artists such as: Dr. Dre, Tupac, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube, just to name a few.
Compton features a collective of unsigned artists who were discovered online through viral videos such as Dan Henig, The Rooks and more. The end result is an interesting blend of pop, R&B and blues. My personal favorites on the project come in the form of the classic Ice Cube track “It Was A Good Day” by Danelle and the horn breakdown in Ripe’s cover of Warren G’s “Regulate”.
For their next series, PRMD is tapping into the East Coast Hip-Hop with tracks from artists like Tommy Boy and Naughty By Nature, and needless to say, I’m very interested to hear the finished product.