The Whoridas

Well today I've decided to post a few songs from the debut Delicious Vinyl album of (ex?)Hobo Junction affiliates The Whoridas-- a group made up of Saafir's little brother and his cousin, King Hasaan and Mr. Taylor, respectively. The following is quoted from Davey D's 1997 Review of The Whorida's Debut LP "Whoridin'" because I think it's kind of an interesting take on the music and I can't think of anything supremely interesting to say about this shit except that it's hard as fuck:

For many the Whoridas have long been a mystery to those who've come to associate Bay Area hip hop with one particular style and sound. To start, the Whoridas broke the mold by being Westbound. Here in the Bay almost all of Hip Hop's legendary crews ranging from Too Short to Hammer to Souls Of Mischief have come from Oakland's East side. Song after song would talk passionately about the rough and rugged ways of East Oakland. It's a bit ironic because East Oakland has been talked about so much that many have forgotten the rich history and the progressiveness that has been a part of West Oakland where the Whoridas are from. Historically West Oakland at one time had a thriving bustling downtown area within it's African American community that rivaled the traditional downtown that was owned and controlled by whites. Merrit College was an intellectual haven on the West side of Oakland that gave birth to the Black Panther Party. Nowadays (1997) West Oakland is known for not so nice Acorn Housing Projects and the now defunct Campbell Village where notorious drug lords like Felix Mitchell ran some of their operations. For years many of West Oakland's majestic Victorian houses were left abandoned and parts of that side of town took on the name 'Ghost Town'. You just didn't hear about too many slammin' artists hailing from the West until Saafir and his crew The Hobo Junction which included The Whoridas came along. It's important to note this because with their emergence came a different sound and style that has expanded the definition of Bay Area hip hop.

For many, our first taste of these Westbound artists came when Saafir and Hobo Junction squared off against Casual,Souls Of Mischief and the Hieroglyphics Crew, all who hailed from The East side of Oakland. It was a heated, intense, one-of-a-kind emcee battle that took place on the Wake Up Show a couple of years back. The end result was some near physical confrontations and gunshots being fired...after the battle. The battle went way beyond a crew of emcees flipin' scripts. It reflected the long standing rivalry between East and West Oakland. It was during this battle that Mr Tailor and King Sann of the Whoridas stood out. They were definitely about holding their own on a lyrical tip. And left folks fiending for some material from them. Folks who were up on the Bay Area's underground rap scene already had product from the Whoridas. These guys could be seen hustlin' homemade tapes every day in front of the now closed Leopold Records in Berkeley. Most of these tapes were limited edition excursions into the musical mindset of a very creative crew. Their rhyme style was different Their beats were different, yet they managed to keep a certain flava about them which let you know that they were from the Bay.



Now on to the music:

The Whoridas "Taxin'" w/ Third Rail Vic: This was my fucking JAM the summer of '97. It's not remarkably Bay-Area sounding since the beat is pretty east-coast influenced, but the production is really where the east-coast influence ends. Also, worth mentioning? 2nd verse, the dude Third Rail Vic does his best Saafir impression and pulls it off pretty fucking remarkably. Frankly, I'm not convinced that this dude isn't Saafir with some sort've voice-module fucking with his voice a la Del and Unicron. Well, either that or Saafir just flat out ghost-wrote this verse. But, anyway, dude's flow on the "now here's a little bit of fundamental, subliminal, acrobatical flipping shit 'cause I funks for mine" part is fucking real.

The Whoridas "Stackin $'s" w/ Eye-Cue: This beat is on some typical Big Nous lo-fi, grime-ball shit and it's ugly and dirty as hell... in a good way. I love it. The somewhat random violence and confusion of the horn stabs on the hook kill it while Hasaan and Tailor ride out.

The Whoridas "Till the Wheels Fall Off"w/ Eye Cue, Third Rail Vic, and J-bo[?]: The album's obligatory crew track. It works though. Hot beat by Jay-Z (no, not that one) who produced most of Saafir's classic"Boxcar Sessions" LP while the Hobo-sexuals just ride on this shit.

-e