IN THE MID '90s Hunters Point was as hot as any city or hood in the Bay Area when it came to indie rap, overflowing with classic funk-based West Coast gangsta sounds, which tended to rely more on original music than on samples. H.P. rappers related gritty, realistic stories about life in the ghetto, getting high, and hustling. The first group outta H.P. to gain a national following was RBL Posse, featuring rappers Black C and Mister Cee. In 1993, RBL Posse's album A Lesson to Be Learned sparked the underground hit "Don't Give Me No Bammer Weed," which figured prominently in the trend of pro-marijuana songs. "Bammer Weed" moved well over 100,000 units, while A Lesson to Be Learned has Soundscanned over 200,000 as of March 2001. RBL's 1994 follow-up, Ruthless by Law also sold over 200,000 copies. The album stands as a pinnacle of hardcore Frisco rap, with strong singles like "Bounce ta This" and "Bluebird," as well as hood favorites such as "Pass Me the Zig Zaga" and "M.N.O.H.P."

Before the group's third album, An Eye for an Eye, could be released on major label Big Beat/Atlantic, Mr. Cee was murdered on Harbor Road on New Year's Day 1996. Despite a so-so single featuring Mystikal, the album tanked, and RBL went back to underground status. A collection of B-sides and collaborations surfaced in 2000; meanwhile, legal wrangling with Atlantic has delayed the release of the long-awaited fourth RBL album, Hostile Takeover. Yet their fan base continues to nudge the sales of their two In-A-Minute Records releases, and the new album is slated to drop in May.

H.P. O.G. turned community activist Herm Lewis is often credited with starting the independent compilation movement with 1993's Trying to Survive in the Ghetto, a groundbreaking collection of hardcore Bay Area underground rap featuring several H.P. artists, including Suga Bear, RBL, and Cold World Hustlers. Lewis was an influence in the development of onetime Bay Area rapper-entrepreneur Master P, who used Lewis's blueprint for West Coast Bad Boyz Vol. I, the first commercially successful No Limit Records release. The album featured "Trying to Make a Dollar out of Fifteen Cents," with RBL and P together over Cameo's "Candy" beat; as is his custom, Lewis contributed a positive message to the album as well. West Coast Bad Boyz also led to Bay Area collections including the Cell Block compilation; D-Shot's Boss Ballin'; Bay Area Playaz; 4080'S Mobbin' thru the Bay; GLP's Straight out the Labb; Mac Dre's Rompilation; and Kayree's Blackalation. Lewis went on to release albums such as T-Lowe's Keep It Real (1995), Still Trying to Survive in the Ghetto (1995), and Trying to Survive in the Ghetto 2000 on his own Black Power label. Black Power's most current release is the Odd Couple's Thug Mania. Lewis currently lives in Hercules, although he maintains an office on Harbor Road and stays involved in community events in the Point.

11/5 made some local noise with 1995's Fiendin 4 the Funk, like Ruthless by Law an extremely well-produced album. The group had a modest hit with "Garcia Vegas," an ode to the cheap cigar used for rolling blunts, built around a hook copped from the Time. 11/5 – whose extended posse (including U.D.I. and Cold World Hustlers) was known as the Kill-A-Hoes – continued to put out albums, including 1996's A-1 Yola, 1998's Tha Overdose, and 1999's Bootlegs and B-Sides, a collection of underground favorites. They disbanded in 1999.

Cellski, a.k.a. 2 Took, is a multitalented veteran artist from Bayview who was affiliated with RBL. He produced three tracks on Ruthless by Law (including "Bounce to This") and coproduced another, in addition to rapping on two tracks. He's remained active over the years, appearing on many albums by local artists, racking up numerous production credits, and releasing several albums, including 1998's Hash Browns and Canadian Bacon.

Guce, who also hails from Hunters Point, had a hit with "Western Bay Players" in 1995 that jacked the beat from Al B. Sure's "Night and Day." He has since become a major West Coast artist, recently appearing on the cover of Murder Dog magazine with Sacramento's Killa Tay, with whom, last year, he recorded the album Bullys wit Fullys. In addition, Guce's label, Git Paid Entertainment, has become active in the straight-to-video market, producing several I'm Bout It-like films.

Hitman, who worked with RBL after Mr. Cee died, has released two solo albums on the Right Way label and continues to perform with the group. Another RBL affiliate was N.O.H. (Niggas on High), who released a slept-on album in 1995. Other H.P. artists who their own released albums during the '90s include 11/5's Taydatay, Cold World Hustlers, and U.D.I.

Currently, the artist with the most street buzz from the Point is onetime RBL-member Suga Bear. Right behind him (in terms of hood love, if not sales) are Frank Nitty and the gravel-voiced Baby Finsta, who has yet to officially release any material but is featured on two tracks on the SOHP soundtrack.

E.A.

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