RapStation

There’s a sense Tendai “Baba” Maraire takes music extremely seriously. As a seasoned musician who routinely tours with revered hip-hop trio Digable Planets, is the leader of the Chimurenga Renaissance project and makes up one-half of Shabazz Palaces, Baba’s intense focus as his hands hit the drums is captivating. Along with Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler, his counterpart in Shabazz Palaces and co-founding MC of Digable Planets, Baba is preparing to release two new Shabazz albums on the same day — Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star and Quazarz Vs. The Jealous Machines. Both albums are available on July 14 via Sub Pop Records. Until those drop, two lead singles — “Shine A Light” and &ldqu

South Central Los Angeles G-Funk rapper G Perico is on a roll. After dropping his most recent project, All Blue, the Jheri curl-sporting artist is focused on continuing his winning streak, which includes The Fader naming him one of L.A.’s “most promising” new voices in rap. In Part I of the RAPstation interview, the 29-year-old opened up about his gang affiliation, how his life has changed and (of course) his hairstyle. In Part II, he talks about growing up, his ultimate goals and how he’s been working on his autograph.  

Hailing from the rough streets of South Central Los Angeles, burgeoning artist G Perico really saw music as his only salvation. At 29 years old, the Jheri curl-sporting G-Funk rapper is finally getting noticed by not only his peers, but also industry tastemakers. From his 2015 breakout single “G-Shit” to his latest album, All Blue, he doesn’t shy away from his gang affiliation and stays true to exactly who he is. While Perico’s music is in the same vein as gangster rappers like Eazy-E, N.W.A, Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg, he manages to put his own unique spin on the G-funk sound, and give it a freshness perfectly suited for the new millennium. 

As he was dipping out of his ‘hood, Perico had some time to talk Jhe