God bless YouTube

Husalah - On The Streets Pt 2
(From unreleased; 200?/Stash World YouTube channel; 2026)

Via the Stash World YouTube channel AKA the internet's number one source for rare and unreleased Mob Figaz music, here's a hitherto-unheard sequel to one of Husalah's best unreleased songs On The Streets. Same beat as the original, but entirely different lyrics. No idea when it was recorded but it doesn't matter because Sob Figaz-core will never get old to mavens of melancholy mob-music.

Don't Overthink About It

Trunk Boiz & Seiji Oda - Go Dumb
(From Right Back In EP; 2026)

My personal song of the summer now has a video on some Planet Of Giants type shit. If I ruled the world Go Dumb would be the Steal My Sunshine of 2026. A cool breeze on the boombox of AM radio bubblegum Hyphy which puts a Zen spin on the concept of Going Dumb. This song is THE shit because it's a literal Floater.

Demolition Men

Biggie Smalls - Biggie Got The Hype Shit
(From demo; 1991)

Дмитрий Дейниченко · Biggie Smalls - Biggie Got The Hype Shit (Demo)

Best pre-fame Biggie demo track ever IMHO. Biggie Got The Hype Shit was one of the first songs B.I.G ever recorded in 1991 with Jesse West on the beat and DJ 50 Grand on the scratches. This shit is Biggie's one real Golden-Era song and sounds like it coulda/shoulda dropped on Select Records with Biggie as the Mr. Hyde to Chubb Rock's Dr. Jekyll. For doz who still think that Biggie stole his Notorious B.I.G moniker from Notorious B1 in 1993, plz note that he introduces himself as "the notorious Biggie Smalls in full effect" on this demo 2 years earlier.

Strictly Dope - Never Be Beat
(From Beginnings: The Lost Tapes 1988–1991 album; 2007)

Dj kael kaelmi & maythayus1 · Tupac Shakur - Beginnings The Lost Tapes 1988-1991 - 04 - Never The Beat

Rewind for the best pre-fame 2Pac demo track ever IMHO. Never Be Beat comes from the era when him & Ray Luv were recording together as Strictly Dope. This song was probably recorded around 1990 but if it had ended up on 2Pacalypse Now then it woulda been tied for best song on there alongside Tha Lunatic. Even annoying Boom-Bap purist blokes like Wicked22 and A.C The Program Director can't front on this song.

Born To Audiomack: Thizz Favourites

Thizz Favourites
1. J-Diggs - Diggs Dance (2005)
2. Dubee - Aye Bitch (2003)
3. Mac Mall - Thizz Hop (2005)
4. Cutthoat Committee - You Ain't My Dog (2001)
5. Mistah F.A.B ft. G-Stack & Bavgate - N.E.W Oakland (2005)
6. Mac Dre ft. Ma$e - Tycoonin' (2005)
7. Bavgate ft. LJ - Keep It Gangsta (2005)
8. Husalah - Since '88 (2005)
9. Cutthoat Committee - Get Stupid remix (2006)
10. Bavgate ft. Yukmouth - The Realist (2006)
11. Boss Hogg, B-Luv, Mac Dre & Husalah - Hustle (2005)
12. Mistah F.A.B ft. Turf Talk & E-40 - Super Sic Wid It (2005)
13. Husalah - Da Mob (2011)
14. Johnny Cash ft. Mac Mall & Bavgate - Midnight In The Bay (2007)
15. J-Diggs - What Would Dre Say (2014)



You f**kin' right I drop playlists that knock whores. They knock whoadies too, I'm ambidextrous southpaw. This is slap, this is knock, this is mob shit, this is 15 songs from various albums and compilations on Thizz Entertainment. Your guess is as good as mine how the Mac Dre & Ma$e song Tycoonin' came to exist. For the unedited version where Ma$e's cussin' isn't edited out, I'd walk to Modesto.

Born To Audiomack: Dre cuts

Mac Dre - Dre Cuts
1. Mac Dre - Mac Dre's The Name (1989)
2. Jay Tee & Mac Dre - Do The Crew (1990)
3. Mac Dre ft. Coolio - California Livin' (EP mix) (1991)
4. Mac Dre & Khayree - Times R Gettin' Crazy (acoustic) (1991)
5. Mac Dre, Coolio & Ray Luv - Wake Up In Da Morning (1994/2001)
6. Dubee & Mac Dre - You Ain't My Dog (2001)
7. Mac Dre - Outrages (2001)
8. Mac Dre - Doin' What I Do (2001)
9. Mac Dre - Shitonaman (2002)
10. Mac Dre - Don't Hate Tha Playa (2004)
11. Mac Dre ft. Zion I - We'll Roll You (2007)
12. Mac Dre & J-Diggs ft. Dubee - Casual (2007)




Listen, you wouldn't wanna miss this. I'm droppin' playlists like gifts at Christmas. I wrapped this playlist up like Christmas night, these songs all shine like Christmas lights. She neva heard Mac Dre deep cuts like these, had her all on her knees like "can I have some more please?" Baby, I got exactly what you need, peep Dre's post-prison sure slaps produced by Khayree. She admirin' the way I compile, the way I blog with style, and how my dad-jokes always make her smile. She neva seen no bloggers from England, white bois makin' big noise in Rap like that Anthrax band.

Bonus Bay Area beats: the Best of Bavgate playlist.

Mostly Tha Beat

Young Bari ft. BossLife Big Spence - That's A Playa
(From On The Radar YouTube channel; 2026)


A pleasant surprise to see one of the best NorCal Rap singles right now on a big platform like On The Radar. What a pity that it's a mimed performance with Bari & Spence looking like Milli Vanilli. This performance has big replay value for me tho because Bari & Spence have got the song's producer Pay$ean up in the video looking awkward but happy to be there. More rappers should give their producers a moment in the spotlight. Without the beats these rappin' arse MFs would be slam poetry battle rappers - a fate more embarrassing than being a stand-up comedian.

That "BAWSE! TALK! WALK! BABY!" bridge near the end before the final chorus comes in is a true Slap-Magnifico moment for me. Very rare double-whammy in a modern day Rap song.

Born To Audiomack: Best of Bavgate

~~ Best of Bavgate ~~
1. Keep It Gangsta ft. LJ (2005)
2. Like Me (2005)
3. The Gate (2005)
4. Touched (2005)
5. Committed ft. Juvenile & Skip (2005)
6. Stay Strapp ft. Turf Talk (2006)
7. Play Bavgate ft. Pooh Sauce (2006)
8. I'm About That Actin ft. Messy Marv (2006)
9. Black Rags (2006)
10. Tyme 2 Shine (2006)
11. Mob Shit ft. Squeeze (2007)
12. T'z Up ft. Mac Mall & Geezy (2007)
13. Park The Scrapers (2007)




Bloggers say they got Bay love, but it never was, they ain't got no Yee like The Breakfast Club. Bavgate started out as one part of the duo Steady Mobb'n in 1991, went solo in the early 2000s and eventually found his final form in 2005 as Thizz Nation's sorta-equivalent of Kokane. Take a soak in Bav's music with this playlist of my favourite songs of his from the Thizz era. Motherf**kers mad because the 'net is jockin' and motherf**kers mad because my posts is knockin'. Keep It Gangsta is a minor classic which should have been a major choon - a two steppin' tune for polar bears and squares alike.

Bari Island

Young Bari ft. BossLife Big Spence - That's A Playa
(From That's A Playa single; 2025)


If Mac Dre was still alive today, this is the type of beat I'd hope he was gabbing over. That's A Playa is Young Bari's best single since I Rep That Blocka in 2011 and I can say that with certainty because I went through Bari's catalogue last year. BossLife Big Spence ain't the best rapper, but he delivers a killer chorus and bridge here so he deserves his verse too. Moral of this song? Say what you see like Roy Walker.

Surf dudes with attitude

"I'm close to the dealer like a gamblin' man
Sticks and drums, but I don't play in a band
Countin' all this money until it hurt my hand
You musta deserved it if my gun don't jam"

Ezale - Make Her Gig
(From Town Taxes album; 2025/YouTube; 2026)


First great Rap single of 2026 is the ninth and final song from from Ezale's Town Taxes album to be blessed with a video. Oakland went from Turf Buccaneers to Surf Buccaneers as Ezale hung ten toes down and caught a ride on Big Blue with the waviest choon of 2025. Ezale is one of the few rappers who makes entertaining sausage-fest videos, but you gotta appreciate him ending Town Taxes with a video where he's surrounded by eye-candy. Why do rappers always wanna fill their videos with blokes whose faces look mean like Halloween?

Related: I was optimistic about Max B & French Montana's Since U Left Me after I heard this snippet. The song just dropped and of course Max ruined it by using Auto-Tune. Oh, how the mighty has fallen off his surfboard and is drowning in terrible musical decisions. Rap's cosmetic dentistry curse strikes again.

Cum On Feel The Boiz

Trunk Boiz ft. Seiji Oda, Ajaya Jones & Lil' Ricefield - I Can Tell
(From I Can Tell single; 2025)


Seiji Oda put Trunk Boiz on a track earlier this year, now Trunk Boiz have returned the favour and let Lil' Ricefield cadge a ride too. This song is unapologetic bait for Bay Area Rap mavens, which means muggins here is the target audience. Real Hip-Hop! They used to do it out in the park(ing lot!)

Say cheesey part 2

LARussell ft. Snow Tha Product - Am I Blurry?
(From Am I Blurry? single; 2025)


To paraphrase the Dag Nasty lads, there's a thin line between slap and slop. When I discover an old Mac Dre song I've never heard before, I'm always nervous on my first listen that one of Dre's goons will pop up with a verse and ruin the track. It's a similar nervousness with a new LARussell song, but instead of a goon's verse, it's LARussell's own lyrics about streaming statistics or Instagram analytics which kill a track stone dead for me. That muhf**ker nearly manages to mess up his own song here by veering dangerously close to becoming a rapping LinkedIn profile. Thankfully he reigns himself in and doesn't ruin a ClayDough production that's the sound of the trans-BART express. Very unexpected but welcome guest appearance by Snow Tha Product looking like a Juggalo burglar.

I should probably pay more attention to what ClayDough produces. He's one of the keyboard lads from The Yee Section who is behind my favourite Seiji Oda song of 2025.

Say cheesey

"It was 2006 I recall
Fresh white tee and it's crisp I recall
'40 dropped Tell Me When To Go that winter
It was all on the flo' that winter
Then $hort came through with Blow The Whistle for the summer
You wasn't outside back then, what a bummer
Nokia phones and H2 hummers
Hey lil' mama, can I getcha number?"

LARussell & Lil' Jon - I'm From The Bay
(From I'm From The Bay single; 2025)


I Need A Freak is the Mumm-Ra of early 80s Electro because that shit is Ever-Living™. LARussell & Lil' Jon are three for three on their collaboration slaps: Having Like This, I Got Flavor and this new one. Johnny The Boxxx called this 'Wholesome Hyphy', which would be the ideal title for the EP LARussell & Lil' Jon have planned. LARussell has the relentless cheeriness of a children's TV presenter and I ain't mad at that after the last half-decade of sour-faced NorCal child gangbangers. EBK Gorilla Zo-core rappers ain't dropping no songs with Mick Foley references.

Blowin' up like a Hawaiian volcano

Strictly Dope - Never Be Beat
(From Beginnings: The Lost Tapes 1988–1991 album; 2007)

Dj kael kaelmi & maythayus1 · Tupac Shakur - Beginnings The Lost Tapes 1988-1991 - 04 - Never The Beat

The undisputed best song 2Pac & Ray Luv (then Ray Tyson) recorded as Strictly Dope. Probably recorded around 1990, but still would have hit perfect on the Juice soundtrack in 1991. 2Pac said "my mouth is like an UZI when it moves so quick, and my lyrics are like the bullets that I'm loadin' it with." Ray Luv said "tons and tons of freaks, I'm a Mac Daddio, writin' def jams while I'm chillin' on my patio." I say "even youse box-brained Boom-Bap purists can't front on a bangeur like this!" Some sharp-elbowed B-Boy breakbeat shit which makes you feel like you're a graffiti character on an airbrushed Shirt Kings t-shirt.

Late pass, gas, grass and lots of cash

Big Hongry - Early One Morning
(From Early One Morning single; 2020)


5 years late on this song, but I'm down for the count like that serf Renfield. Nas was "half-man, half-amazin'", Big Hongry is half-Afroman, half Mac Dre. Early One Morning is more goofy than mainey and it's a pity Hongry didn't run with this style because it hits distinct. Hongry is an IRL sk8er boi which means he can wear a Thrasher hoody without the ghost of NyQuil haunting him to demand he names 3 Geoff Rowley clips.

Hongry hails from Richmond, California, but Early One Morning was produced by some Swiss bloke called Quest Beatz and the video was shot in Switzerland. Damn, son - they got Lil' Debbie lookalike video hoes in Switzerland!

Slob on the Mob

Aone ft. The Jacka & Buss Da Husalah - Mob Right Now
(From Mob Right Now single; 2025)


Spotted via Ray G who reckons Jacka is "hella sweet on this hook." I concur, and the whole song is pretty sweet if you're partial to some fresh melancholy mob-music Jacka-core in your listening diet.

One step for man, it's a giant step for cripple kind

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A post shared by Zack Gerek (@reallilcrip)

Sometimes snippets really are better than songs. Case in point: Change On Me by Lil' Crip here. Name me a harder lyric in 2025 than "half cripple, half machine, I'm built like the Terminator." I'll wait.

True story: every city in Britain has a horrible, bearded alkie bloke in a wheelchair known to the locals as Ironside.

Late pass!

Young Bari - I Rep That Blocka
(From M.O.B Pt 2 The Meeting album; 2011)


Finding out that pre-HBK P-Lo produced Young Bari's On My Own Hype has got me checking out Bari's music from the early 2010s when he was working with various HBK members. I remember the single Mob Solo which Iamsu hooked up, but that shit never much tickled my fancy. What very much does tickle my fancy, however, is this other Iamsu produced single I Rep That Blocka; a notable entry in the Bay meets Bayou soundin'-ass-canon. Youse Bird-brain squares will dismiss this song as "Crash Bandicoot music", but us big-brain connoisseurs know that Rap music is often at its best when it sounds like some ol' robotic, futuristic Crash Bandicoot shit. Doctor Neo Cortex - we comin' for you, brotha!

Turf talk

Young Bari - On My Own Hype
(From Young Bari & J Roc's M.O.B album; 2008)


New favourite Instagram account alert: I'm So Hyphy. Exquisite taste in choonz I do know, and even better taste in choonz I don't know. Picture me not knowing that pre-HBK P-Lo produced Young Bari's On My Own Hype. Plz believe I'm not an anniversary dates bloke, but I gotta appreciate an account which tells me that Beeda Weeda's debut single Turf's Up was released on December 27th 2005.

Beeda Weeda - Turf's Up
(From Turfology album; 2006)


Very impressive that Beeda Weeda could score a Lil' Jon cameo for his debut video innit? The Turf's Up video was uploaded to Beeda's Own channel on February 15th 2006 surely making it was one of the very first NorCal Rap videos uploaded to YouTube.

Ice Cream Man back!

"I got a way with words
And it ain't for nerds
I just hit the gas on the offi-cers"

Ezale - How Much Dope
(From Town Taxes album; 2025)


R U Still Dru Down? Another new video for a song from Ezale's new album which will go platinum on my TV, laptop and tablet. Ezale's so full of Disco-power, there ain't a Got To Be Real cover version he can't devour. I grab my pencil, papers and pad, I listen to Ezale's music like it was my dad. Best of Ezale Audiomack playlist still available for your streaming pleasure.

Russell Athletic

LARussell - Nothin' Like It
(From Nothin' Like It single; 2025)


Ya host Ronaldo Dregan has been tryin' to front on this LARussell single to no avail. As a Brit, I neither know about nor care about Baseball or any other American sport, but that doesn't stop me enjoying this song just like I enjoy Twista's NBA Live theme. What Nothin' Like It manages to do is be a personal anthem for fans of the San Francisco Giants while tapping into the universal feeling of watching your sports team win. It's NorCal Rap music for the local community with so international appeal like B-Legit.