G Perico is establishing himself as one of the most respected young voices representing Los Angeles in the rap game. In a recent episode of Best Albums, the So Way Out leader cites WC’s solo debut album, The Shadiest One, as one of his biggest influences. The 1998 LP pioneered what it meant to paint a picture of life in the City of Angels.
“On The Shadiest One, he’s doing the shit that I do right now,” G Perico says. “He’s just saying the current LA, what the lifestyle was like back then. How niggas was hustlin, jackin, bangin, fuckin with bitches.”
Although G Perico agrees that the radio hits “Just Clownin'” and “Cheddar” are “dope as fuck,” he says that some of the album cuts are what really stuck with him, including “Fuckin’ With Uh House Party,” “Rich Rollin,'” and “Keep Hustlin’.” The vivid imagery in “It’s All Bad” stands out because of the relatability, knowing how many people were robbing banks at the time the album was released.
“That’s reality, too because all my people, my elders and shit, people that I knew that was from the ’90s era, all of them niggas was robbing banks then a lot of them niggas got caught,” G reflects. “I talk about flockin right now, that’s the shit that’s going on right now that niggas do. But back then, everybody was robbing banks and shit.”
The younger rapper notes that he and WC grew up just down the street from each other, so the Maad Circle MC naming different places, such as the 110 freeway, heightens the believability of the music. Even the funny twist at the end of “Call It What You Want” where WC catches his girl hooking up with another girl is a story that helped G Perico enjoy the project.
“I was just pretty much sitting there listening to the story and I thought she was gonna get caught with another dude,” he shares, “maybe one of his homies or something, something like that and it was actually one of her homegirls and that was funny. It was a tight twist. It was actually like reality. Shit like that be happenin’ more than it don’t happen. So I think just everything about that project is crazy.”
G Perico says that The Shadiest One had an extra powerful impact on him because he discovered it when Cash Money was in its heyday and he was learning what music he enjoyed for himself.
“At the time when that shit came out, I was oblivious to everything,” he explains. “I didn’t have no expectations about music. I wasn’t really listening to shit. But when I got up on it, that shit was dope as fuck. … When I heard that, I was like ‘Oh shit, this nigga is talking to us.'”
With features from Ice Cube, CJ Mac and E-40 and funk-infused production from DJ Battlecat, Skooby Doo and Crazy Toones, The Shadiest One exemplifies the West Coast in the 1990s like few other albums.
“Just the way he put it together, the lyrics, the beats, the timing on everything, the stories,” G Perico says, “you can listen to that shit with your eyes closed and that’s the video right there in your head. He’s basically explaining the whole shit to you so you can close your eyes and just visualize the whole shit.