The Game is the Last Hope for the West Coast

You know, after a while, everything needs to go after some new blood. That new blood ushers in a new era of whatever. For the East Coast, its happened twice, and in the West Coast it is happening for the first time. First of all, lets draw some comparisons. After years of single-handedly dominating the hip hop scene, N.W.A. emerged from Los Angeles, California. They were led by Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and Dr. Dre. They helped open doors for Tupac Shakur, Digital Underground, Snoop Dogg, and many more. Of these artists, Tupac and Snoop Dogg were able to hold it down. In 1996, Tupac Shakur died, but Snop Dogg carried on the baton and managed crossover appeal, much like how LL Cool J managed to do during the dark ages of the East Coast. However, in 1998, hip hop moved down South, due to the likes of Master P, later Ludacris, T.I., Lil Wayne, Chamillionaire, now Young Jeezy. But, now, the South is going through an burst, they are unstoppable due to the popularity of artists like Soulja Boy. Now, lets head back West. In 2002, the fortunes of the West Coast were forever changed. Longtime West Coast musician, Dr. Dre, finally signed a West Coast artist to his Aftermath Entertainment label. In 2004, The Game joined popular Aftermath act, G-Unit in an order to cross-promote. This paid off when his 2005 debut album sold 1.5 million in the United States, thus going platinum. Although things did not work out for The Game as a G-Unit member, he stayed as a part of the Aftermath team until 2006. In 2006, he decided to move his Black Wall Street Records to distribution with Geffen Records. It was there that The Game solidified his position as a star in his own right. Again, he went platinum and he still dominated the radio. Now, it is 2008 and The Game is still one of the majors, he has respect within the industry and a major hip hop beef (Jay-Z). He has now decided to release artists from his imprint. This can lead to some younger guys on the West to getting their shine. This happened once before with the emergence of The Notorious B.I.G. and Bad Boy Records. Even though B.I.G. did not live to see the final result, he was there to witness the rise of Nas, Jay-Z, and Mase. After his death, Cam’ron, DMX, Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, D-Block, G-Unit and many more New York artists got their fair share of radio-play. Now, ten years later, East Coast is back through the likes of Fabolous, Ja Rule, Mims, Maino, and 50 Cent, who is to say that The Game’s emergence into the hip hop forefront cannot spur the same type of reaction. Back in 1994, who would have ever thought that everybody would be bumping some Jay-Z? Maybe years from now, the statement will be ‘Back in 2008, who would have ever thought that everybody would be bumping some Moral Integrity. Just a thought. It very well might be our near future.

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West Coast is coming back. I hope you realize that. It’s all going to start in Oaklyn. Where? Oaklyn. Oaklyn Records is that label out West. Oaklyn Records is that label, period. Don’t take my word for it, how about looking for your own eyes: http://www.youtube.com/OaklynTV.