My YouTube algorithm spat up a fascinating video the other day. I realise this makes me sound like an old man, but hey, you’re reading a review about the South Central Cartel. You’re probably old too. Anyway, there was this Australian fan of West Coast gangster rap who was visiting Compton and South Central Los Angeles to see the childhood homes of Eazy-E and Kendrick Lamar, as well as where they filmed Friday and Boyz N Da Hood. It’s not quite regular tourist spots – L.A. does actually offer Hip-Hop tours – but the energy in the video reminded me of the disconnect that can exist between black communities and white rap fans. For many listeners, the violent environments that 90s rappers put on the map were many miles away from the safer white neighbourhoods, particularly ones abroad. This YouTuber didn’t talk to any locals to ask how the area has changed, or to hear from people who actually lived through the 1990s in places like Rosecrans. Instead, he stayed in an Uber and treated it like a safari, rolling up to people’s homes to slowly roll the window down and point “that’s where Kendrick grew up. Ain’t that amazing? Okay, next stop driver!”. More bafflingly, he was rocking an NY Yankees cap throughout. It was just bizarre. Turns out, this is a poverty porn peddler who documented swanky holiday resorts and has since pivoted to being a Tupac-centric channel, and huzzah, his views have skyrocketed.
As uncomfortable as this video was, it highlights that most people are only familiar with (and interested in) a handful of rappers from Los Angeles when it had a rich network of artists stretching beyond just Dre and Snoop. South Central Cartel were one of these crews, who found success with 1992’s “South Central Madness“, which was almost called a classic by our elder statesman Matt Jost back in 2005. The follow-up, “N Gatz We Truss” (1994) made it up to #32 in the Billboard 200. It feels off calling them underground in that sense, because they were very much a thing, even collaborating with household names like Ice-T and 2Pac. Truth be told, I wasn’t overly familiar myself, mostly knowing them because two of their members are named Prodeje and Havoc, which still feels uncanny that Mobb Deep also happened to have those names around the same time. L.V., the vocalist on Coolio’s monster hit “Gangsta’s Paradise”, is also a member of the South Central Cartel.
After all these years, the South Central Cartel returned this year with “West Kept Secret”, a title that hints at their reputation for being underappreciated. The album contains remixes of older songs, mixed in with a couple of new tracks. The Cartel, much like Compton’s Most Wanted, lacked some of the crossover appeal or political commentary that helped N.W.A. broaden their audience beyond the hood and hardcore hip-hop fans. Still, there’s a raw, direct-to-the-point quality to SCC that is difficult to resist and I found many of their beats slam hard while remaining funkier than James Brown’s sweatrag.
For longtime S.C.C. fans, many of these tracks will be familiar, with half of this 8-track LP being remixes of older material. As a newer listener, it’s a perfect introduction and highlights that their newer material fits right in with their older performances. Picking apart who is in the current line-up of South Central Cartel isn’t the easiest task, but what I can deduce is that Havoc (a.k.a. Havoc the Mouthpiece) isn’t a current member and there’s been some back-and-forth recently between Havoc and Prodeje (who is now known as Big Prodeje, as there is also a member called Young Prodeje -also known as Cali Pitts). LV remains a member, although I’m unclear on the other members Havikk The Rhimeson, DJ Gripp and Luva G. There is also DJ Kaos, who also has copycat names (UK dance DJ and a German graffiti artist).
“Be Patient” appears twice, with a superior remix kicking off the record and coming with a video. The cheesy acting might be a bit much for some, but it’s something that was part and parcel of rappers trying to tell a story (which would often end up as skits). The song is reflective of Big Prodeje’s status as an OG:
“From my time in a cell, writin’ rhymes n’ I dwell
On the street tactics gettin’ caught up in the theatrics
With addicts that I served on the block
To enemies I tried blastin’
Gotta live with my eyes open and fasten
Get typed from chicks I don’t remember
While my woman weren’t even writin’
When I called her, we started fightin’
So I’m strugglin’ with the killer in me
Not to flip my damn wig
And turn this tre’ into a ten year bid
Little devils tellin’ me you gotta do what you gotta
But my angels sayin’ Hold On and Keep in Control
He want your soul down
And the whole town thinkin’ I’m just a failure
So I’m goin’ to lay these lifelines like pipelines I tell ya
How the real do, got back my life with my steel fool
And real riders only do what the real do
And my rap partners you won’t see me around
I’m with my Evil Side Gz still puttin’ it down”
Prodeje’s flow sits between the smooth authority of MC Eiht and the tight pocket of King T, and “On the Grind” confirms he’s still an emcee who’s easy on the ear.
The remaining tracks are remixes of their earlier material. From their debut LP we have “Ya Getz Clowned” which contains cleaner recordings of the same verses and some scratching that gives it a bigger, punchier feel. It’s a proper remix, not just slinging on a guest verse. 1994’s “N Gatz We Truss” isn’t on streaming platforms, so getting “Do It SC Style”, “Rollin’ Down the Block” and “Lil’ Knucklehead Trapped Out” is a welcome preview of their most fondly remembered album, and they each have a thick bassline that feel “trapped out”, designed for expensive sound systems to drive slowly to. The “Do It SC Style Remix” is my favorite song on the whole project, boasting a crowd-friendly hook you can chant and the right level of animosity in the instrumental to remind listeners they ain’t playing.
“West Kept Secret” feels like it could have been a Greatest Hits compilation, with the sprinkling of new songs included as bonuses. The death of Greatest Hits records is one reason why a lot of older artists get overlooked these days, because when I was regularly purchasing CDs, seeing a Run-DMC Greatest Hits or De La Soul Greatest Hits record felt like an essential listening experience for any rap fan. They were stepping stones to then picking up the older albums to hear these songs in their original environment. S.C.C. did have a Greatest Hits record in 2003, but it was a limited release. If you’re curious about the history of L.A. gangster rap, the Cartel have plenty of albums to dive into, and “West Kept Secret” is as good a starting point as any. They may be underappreciated all these years later, so hopefully this record puts a few more people onto them and their legacy. They would probably do numbers online touring wealthy white neighborhoods, or gawking at the gentrification of places in and around South Central, but I respect that they stayed in their lane and built on the respect and admiration they have with core fans. Keep doing it SC Style.
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