O.C.

On the title track, O.C. asks to be taken "in stride" and tells listeners to "let the rhyme wrap around you like a vine." There are times on his debut when the production's airy ambiance and the emcee's casual approach to storytelling (where odd details form quick vignettes) suggest a casual listening experience, but other tracks hit you over the head. Count the classic "Time's Up" up among these. With Diamond D's driving bass line and O.C.'s anti-mainstream screed ("Perpetratin', facadin' what you consider a image/ To me this is just a scrimmage"), the song is a classic.