By Mr. Joe Walker
The New Citizens Press
When hear Guerilla Black for the first time you can’t avoid noticing how closely his voice and rap style resembles the late Notorious B.I.G. When you see Guerilla you might think that you are looking at a clone.
Yet, Guerilla is not a genetically created B.I.G. double. Guerilla Black is a rapper from Compton, CA who signed with Virgin Records after establishing himself on the mixtape circuit. His debut album “Guerilla City” is in stores now. His first single “Compton” featuring the self proclaimed King of the Dancehall, Beenie Man, quickly became a top radio and video request, and his current single “You’re The One” featuring Mario Winans is enjoying similar success. If this pace continues, Guerilla may just rival his slain predecessor’s success. When questioned about similarities to B.I.G. in a recent interview, Guerilla said, “It’s an honor. It’s all love.”
Guerilla said he is just one of many of a new breed of rappers from the West Coast hip-hop scene trying to rewrite the West Coast sound. Not sounding like the typical rapper from his area is a plus, according to him. Guerilla said the West Coast market died for seven years ago. He said that Tupac Shakur’s death played a huge part in this change.
“That gangsta stuff is dead,” Guerilla stated. “[Rappers out on the West] don’t understand that times are changing. [They] still want to make that gangsta stuff, yet they wonder why they records ain’t selling. We don’t listen to that [stuff] out here any more. We listening to G-Unit, Twista, Jadakiss, and Lil’ John just like the rest of the country.”
Guerilla said the rappers who paved the way for him did not just come from California. He said the West Coast rappers that are still selling records successfully are the ones who adapted to the changing of the times.
“I can’t see myself making Boom-Clap-Boom-type records, when Snoop Dogg is recording with The Neptunez. I mean, Snoop is with Pharrell and Chad at Star Trackz now. That’s who paved the way for me. That’s why me and Game are going to change how the West is supposed to sound, just like Snoop did,” Guerilla said. “That’s how the West Coast is going to come back to the mainstream … where it’s supposed to be.”
