RaindropHustla

Well, since we’re talking about lost West Coast shit:

What exactly do you know about I Smooth 7?

Well if you’re like me, not too much. I remember liking this video the few times I saw it BITD, but it wasn’t until I randomly came up on the “Coolin On The Ghetto” instrumental last year or so did I realize what a seriously masterful beat Battlecat laced this dude with. No, seriously. It popped up on shuffle today and got me to thinking about this cat’s music; last year I tried to find some more info on dude and came up with bupkis. Zero. Zilch!

Which is why I love the internet- because just months later, another search reveals DL links to his unreleased album Ghetto Life, and some scans of his CD reviews in The Source and Rap Pages. I guess Smooth was in a group called Ghetto Godz, and what’s more- dude was a Good Lifer.  Guess I shoulda known, seeing as I frequently bang the Volume 10 album he appears on (on the track ”A Real Freestyle”). (Might just have to do a post on that guy now.)

All that said, this album is a bangin’ slice of g-funk (beats by Battlecat, Rick Rock, and DJ Slip!) with that very Cali pro-black/thinking-man flipside, just the sort of rap I always want to hear. The link below is for what is unmistakably a cassette rip, so the sound is not so great- but I happen to think it’s totally worth it.

I Smooth 7 - Ghetto Life