In case you haven't noticed, Cali is active. This year has been a glorious one for the West Coast, highlighted by the recent release Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d. city. But the artist formerly known as K. Dot isn't the only one making major moves. While vets like Game and Snoop Lion have stayed relevant, relative newcomers like TDE's Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q have also released excellent projects this year, Dom Kennedy dropped an anthem with the smash "My Type of Party," and Earl Sweatshirt is back, dissing Complex on his new single.
Not to be overlooked, 19-year-old rapper Casey Veggies is also on the rise. After dropping his mixtape Customized Greatly Vol. 3 earlier this year, he just released his track "Life$tyle" off his upcoming project slated for next year. Before that happens, we got down with the Odd Future-affiliated rapper to talk about his favorite albums.
Rather than go the cliché route and name nothing but obvious classics, Casey kept it funky and talked about the projects that not only shaped his career but his life. So click on, read up, and remember to eat your vegetables.
As told to Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin)
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Nas, Illmatic (1994)
Notorious B.I.G., Ready To Die (1994)
Mobb Deep, The Infamous (1995)
Dr. Dre, 2001 (1999)
Floetry, Floetic (2002)
50 Cent, Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (2003)
Kanye West, The College Dropout (2004)
Kanye West, Late Registration (2005)
Lupe Fiasco, Food & Liquor (2006)
Jay-Z, American Gangster (2007)
Lupe Fiaso, The Cool (2007)
Wale, The Mixtape About Nothing (2008)
Odd Future, The Odd Future Tape (2008)
Label: N/A
Casey Veggies: “I was a part of that project. It was a big part of my life. Doing that mixtape was an important time. That music is so original to me. As young kids, we came from the [same] perspective as what I said about Mobb Deep. We came from the left to people, and that’s what I like about that project. You’d get high and listen to it and be like, ‘Yo, these kids is really crazy, lowkey.’
Ryan Leslie, Ryan Leslie (2009)
Drake, So Far Gone (2009)
Kid Cudi, Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009)
Tyler, The Creator, Bastard (2009)
Label: N/A
Casey Veggies: "Tyler was just all the way left. The music was always dope. That song ‘Blow’ is one of my favorite joints. It was a perfect match of a crazy rapper and the most beautiful melodies, the beats were dope. Great album.
Kendrick Lamar, Kendrick Lamar EP (2009)
Label: Top Dawg Entertainment
Casey Veggies: “His hunger on that project was evident. He felt he was slept-on. With his new ideas and music, he came with an honesty and it was next-level, over-the-top honesty, and over-the-top storytelling. That record was amazing.
Dom Kennedy, From The Westside With Love (2010)
Label: N/A
Casey Veggies: "Just a classic Westside album. You could tell he was trying to staple that Westside feel and tell the world this is worldly music, but it’s just that West Coast vibe. That’s the way he approached it and it’s a great project.
Wiz Khalifa, Kush & Orange Juice (2010)
Trey Songz, Passion, Pain & Pleasure (2010)
Casey Veggies, Sleeping In Class (2010)
MellowHype, BlackenedWhite (2011)
Label: Fat Possum
Casey Veggies: "Great album. Hodgy was speaking for a lot of young kids on BlackenedWhite. That’s one thing I like about Hodgy. He speaks for rebellious [kids], kids that feel left out or are mad because they feel they weren’t treated right. That anger a lot of kids have in them—he was spitting for them. He knows how to express himself.