The West Coast has bred some of the most compelling hip-hop of all time. While New York is unmistakably the mecca of the culture, Los Angeles and the Bay Area expanded what it could’ve sounded like. For LA in particular, acts like N.W.A. and DJ Quik helped paint the picture of what life looked and sounded like over the years. Hot, funky synthesizers seared records and gave it a distinctive edge that separated the city from NY. The funk and soul samples of George Clinton, the Jheri curls, the Raiders hats, all of it is credited to how we understand Los Angeles.How we understand LA hip-hop has significantly changed over time. Artists like Odd Future are just as significant as the street rappers like YG. Moreover, the impact of the internet broadened the scope of what we understand the City of Angels to sound like. Still, when you listen to West Coast hip-hop, there’s a certain type of energy you expect—something that matches the scolding sun and swaying palm trees. Consequently, Noisey has selected five rap albums that’ll help depict what it feels like whenever you visit LA.4 Classic Rap Albums You Should Listen to While Visiting Los Angeles‘The Chronic’ by Dr. DreOftentimes, when out-of-towners think of West Coast hip-hop, they think of Dr. Dre and The Chronic. G-funk was a simple extension of George Clinton’s P-Funk, where synthesizers and hefty bass created something otherworldly. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg just inserted their cool menace to give color to street life in Los Angeles. Every street rapper on the West Coast since has curbed this style in one way or another. Without The Chronic and the rise of G-Funk, there’s no telling where West Coast hip-hop would be today.‘My Krazy Life’ by YGIt’s hard to underestimate just how truly inescapable the reign of DJ Mustard was in hip-hop during the mid 2010s. His sparse, minimal production was the stuff of club legend, the soundtrack to lots of drugs and alcohol flowing through packed parties. Additionally, Mustard could use that minimalism for the sake of menace. YG took full advantage of both on My Krazy Life, one of the defining Los Angeles rap albums in the aftermath of G-Funk. Records like “BPT” and “Really Be (Smokin N Drinkin)” depicted the streets of Compton with the same level of intimate detail as Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city. But it never came at the expense of party anthems like “Who Do You Love?” either. My Krazy Life has become integral to the lineage of West Coast hip-hop.‘good kid, m.A.A.d city’ by Kendrick LamarThe old guard of Los Angeles was quick to embrace Kendrick Lamar when he burst onto the scene. Back in August 2011, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, The Dogg Pound, Warren G, and The Game formally passed the torch to Kendrick during a performance at the Music Box Theatre in Los Angeles.Once good kid, m.A.A.d city came out, the king of the West Coast title felt apt. Immediately christened as a modern classic, Kendrick Lamar told his coming-of-age story with such detail and raw honesty, it still plays out like a movie today. Since then, he had been a little reluctant in embracing the ‘savior’ mantle but never once looked down on his responsibility in representing hip-hop in Los Angeles.‘Cold Devil’ by Drakeo The RulerAfter the monstrous takeover of the Mustard era and Kendrick’s on-and-off appearances over the years, there was a major power vacuum left behind. The emergence of Drakeo The Ruler filled that void with snarls, scoffs, and lingo we’d never heard. Cold Devil is the classic in his catalog, a record chock full of fiery intensity and witty rapping. An extended mag is Pippi Longstocking, he’ll invoke God because he mud walked in Christian Louboutins, crashing a foreign car is just pulling a Paul Walker. It’s the way he creatively invoked references into slang that made Drakeo inimitable. But it certainly didn’t stop descendants from curbing from his flow and delivery. Even Kendrick Lamar tried his hands at it with GNX and “Rich Spirit“. The post 4 Hip-Hop Albums To Play When You Visit Los Angeles appeared first on VICE.