Pittsburg, CA rapper A-Wax has been active since the early 2000's. He initially came up on the scene through his associations with fellow Northern California local sensations Woodie or the Mob Figaz. He would go on to release his debut album Savage Timez in 2001. His story is unlike anyone else's: a white man who ended up joining the Bloods - a notoriously violent gang mostly made of black members - he was arrested and found guilty of manslaughter, sentenced as if he was an adult despite being 16 years old. He spent 5 years in prison where he became fascinated with Hip-Hop culture and started writing songs. Upon his release from prison he met with Woodie who brought him onto the rap scene and introduced him to the Norteños while at it. He has since released over 20 solo and collaborative projects, rapping alongside the Mob Figaz (who would later become sworn enemies due to street beef), Woodie and his East Co. Co. crew, Waka Flocka Flame's Brick Squad, just to name a fe...

One could argue that while it is not getting as much exposure as it used to in the mid- to late 90s (except for a brief return with the Hyphy movement circa 2005-2007), the Northern California rap scene is amongst the most prolific there are. It’s yielded a bunch of great talent like Too Short, E-40, Mac Dre, C-Bo, Yukmouth, San Quinn and many more. It's also built a solid reputation for the independent grind of its artists, most of them controlling their own labels and with movements of their own. The Northern California scene is also known for the many beefs between acts. Sacramento’s Mozzy and Oakland’s Philthy Rich are great examples of that. Both have released well over 20 projects each in the 10+ years they’ve been rapping, showing their dedication and hard work. They also recently engaged into a full fledged war of words with each other, exchanging a slew of diss tracks in the last couple of months. These two were frequent collaborators and there’s no denying Philthy ...