Who better than Snoop Dogg to take you on a hip-hop tour of the west coast? (Maybe Dre, but he’s holed up in a studio somewhere toying with the ill-fated Detox record.) This compilation marks the 25th anniversary of Priority Records, the label responsible for unleashing hip-hop powerhouse NWA on the world, not to mention Snoop and Cypress Hill. The West Coast Blueprint showcases the evolution of the genre over the past quarter century, stretching from the mid-’80s to the present. That west coast sound would be unrecognizable without the influence of Priority Records.
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2010.