Shade Sheist

From his flow to the beats that he rhymes over, everything about hardcore rapper Shade Sheist screams "West Coast" in no uncertain terms. Sheist has, on occasion, worked with some East Coast rappers -- including Ja Rule and Naughty By Nature member Kay Gee -- but even so, Sheist is very much a product of the Southern California rap scene. Heavily influenced by West Coast gangsta rappers such as Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dj Quik, Warren G, Dr. Dre, and the late N.w.a. agitator Eazy-e, Sheist was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. Anyone who forgets how long rap has been around need only think about how long Sheist has been alive; the Southern Californian was born in the early '80s, which means that he was only a baby when trailblazing old-school East Coast rappers like Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, The Sugarhill Gang (as in "Rappers Delight"), and The Treacherous Three were at the height of their popularity. It also means that he was only two or three years old when Ice-t -- the seminal father of West Coast gangsta rap -- started recording in 1983.

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