The West Coast is in the midst of a major resurgence.
After a long period where national audiences were turning a deaf ear to SoCal, the Bay Area, Seattle and Vegas, it’s apparent that the West is making major noise once again. With young hip-hop stars like Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the Creator, Macklemore and ScHoolboy Q leading the charge, some of the most talked-about music has come from the Left Coast.
So this is as good a time as any to take a look at the West’s storied hip-hop history. While many fans think of gangsta rap when the West Coast’s contributions to hip-hop are discussed, there has been a wide variety of music from the “Wesside.”
Some of the genre’s most iconic artists, from Ice Cube to Snoop Dogg to the late, great Tupac Shakur, were based in the West. And several of the game’s most innovative producers.
Here is a look at 20 of the greatest West Coast hip-hop albums of all time …
