The Price Is Trife

Speakin' of NorCal rappers on the run recording songs, el hombre tremendo BigSleep just put ya host onto this obscure 1992 cassette EP by Filthy Phil called The Manhunt. Story goes Phil was a Richmond turf buccaneer known for popularising the term Player Haters on wax who shot a cop during a traffic violation to avoid going back to jail, went on the run from the FBI, was featured on the TV show America's Most Wanted, and recorded an EP whilst he was duckin' the coppers using samples from his TV appearance for the EP's intro.

So far so fascinating for mob music mavens. But does the EP live up to the legend? In the case of Phil's gameshow-concept song Deadgiveaway, YES! Essentially, it's The $20 AK-47 Pyramid over some dense gangsta-fonk which sounds like a lost Bomb Squad noggin knocker for Ice Cube.

Filthy Phil - Deadgiveaway
(From The Manhunt EP; 1992)


Cool C shoulda hired Filthy Phil's lawyer because Phil was back on home soil and rapping again by 1999. He even dropped a 2002 CD that's somehow even rarer than his two 90s EPs.