JT the Bigga Figga

The 1994 debut from one of San Francisco's biggest movers and shakers is a gritty survey of Bay Area street life. JT comes "straight out of Frisco," "strapped with the nine" and here to "take what's his." His collaboration with Mac Mall, "Game Recognize Game," is the most recognizable track here, though nearly every song bangs. The production is lo-fi g-funk, full of fat bass lines and whizzing harmonics, and owes more than a little to Dre's chronic template.