Indie rap powerhouse Ceschi Ramos, NOFX's Fat Mike and The Get Dead's Sam King—collectively known as the Codefendants—released their debut album, This Is Crime Wave, earlier this month. The eclectic set comes with an unexpected verse from a West Coast legend—The D.O.C., who contributes to the infectious single, "Fast Ones" and its accompanying video.
The video, which arrived on March 9, boasted appearances from a roster of underground Hip Hop staples, including 2Mex, Freestyle Fellowship’s Myka 9, Awol One and producer Factor Chandelier. But it's The D.O.C.'s appearance that nobody really saw coming. After getting in a near-fatal car accident in 1989, his career was brought to an abrupt halt. Suddenly unable to speak or rap, he continued writing for N.W.A, Dr. Dre and other Hip Hop heavyweights as he wrestled with this new reality.
Nearly 35 years later, what was thought to be impossible became possible when Fat Mike played The D.O.C. some of the Codefendants' music. As he raps in his verse, "But I saw light on that fuckin mic /That fuckin Fat Mike played some shit that I fuckin liked." The rest was history.
“Once I finally got to meet The D.O.C. I was struck by how humble, wise, hilarious and down-to-earth the man was,” Ramos told ROCK THE BELLS in a recent interview. “He was extremely supportive of what we were doing. Although I knew I was in the presence of a Hip-Hop giant, it felt natural to be around. There was a moment when I helped record some of The D.O.C.’s vocals on this track and noticed he was pretty shy about having people around him, even though we all genuinely thought his voice sounded unique and amazing.”
“Fast Ones” serves as the fifth and final installment of The Codefendants’ ongoing video series. Find it below and check out the full album here.
