mac dre had it all though, for real. he was a prototype for the only bay model that's winning right now. straight weirdo shit. that energy that only a real bay area psychonaut could come up w/. lil b, young l, roach gigz, kreayshawn, etc. are all disciples of everything dre represented and it makes sense cause they were the first generation to listen to him when he was doing that phase from when they were ~12 until now.
the difference between dre and the new crop of bay eccentric rappers is that dre actually had real street credibility so he was able to cultivate a more 360º persona as a rapper. he could rock on some gangsta shit harder than 95% of all rappers, and on some drug shit he could take a punk rock junkie past their comfort zone, cause he understood and lived both of those aspects of bay culture. he was equal parts berkeley weirdo and crestside thug. now you get either/or, everyone is one dimensional.
lil wayne, waka and gucci all have different ratios in which they embody these characteristics. they're able to capture what the hood is looking for and also what the suburbs, and hipster markets are looking for too. and it's amazing how much these markets are merging too. go in any hood in the united states and you're gonna see kids of all different levels of thugness wearing hollister and abercrombie and fitch w/vans (see chief keef). mac dre wore abercrombie and vans in 2003 lol.
who has this combo in the bay currently? i'd argue that while nobody has it to the extent dre did; kreayshawn, lil b, young l and roach gigz come closest to the ratio where the appeal and relevance lies. that's why people and media give a shit about what they're working on outside of our little area.
