The ascension of Warren G brought a new layer to the G-funk genre. It gave the already hedonistic, hard-hitting genre: a mellow summer breeze dimension. Regulate.....The G-Funk Era (1994) proved to be a massive success in the culture and charts. "The Regulator" established a new lane and a whole wave of artists entered the fray. These artists came with a style that was mellow but still felt gangsta in aesthetic and content. An identity that this artist has demonstrated in his own playa way.

Hailing from South Central, Los Angeles. Mr. X AKA Xavier Thomas originally got his start as 1/2 of the rap duo Rappinnstine: with his brother Sean. They had a regional hit in 1988 called "Scream," produced by Dr. Dre. These guys were associated with NWA and Ruthless Records yet for some reason released their debut album, The Ultimate Creation(1991) on Qwest Records.

Although, it didn’t do as well commercially. This release would follow through with a connection to Quincy Jones son, QDIII. Amid those years, Mr. X signed to QDIII's label, Jungle Records. Mr. X dropped his first single, "One Time At My Door" in Late 1995. He would later release his album in Early-Mid 1996 to low fanfare. Unfortunately, this would be his only solo album and nothing came after or heard from him since.

As Mr. X himself proclaims, he is a playa from the Himalayas("Any Ol Sunday") The soundscapes are sunshine mellow yet are as potent as some bomb ass weed . Production was overseen by the legendary QDIII (Producer for 2Pac and Ice Cube) and it comes to play on most of the tracks here. Some were produced by others(VMF and Polarbear) but the aforementioned vibes pervade throughout the album. I would argue that this is the perfect Outdoor Roller Skate/Skate Park music. It has a bass heavy bounce that doesn’t overstay it's welcome, even on some of the weak tracks. It's not menacing at all but that doesn’t mean it's squeeky clean.

At first glance, Mr. X's lyrical content is your typical West Coast Gangsta Rap archetypes: Repping Your Set, Lowrider Affirmations, Spitting Game, etc. However, I found it interesting how he is very observant and often has a socio-political approach. This comes through in certain tracks such as "One Time At A Door" and "Dear God". The house party g-funk instrumental of the former complements with Mr. X pleading his innocence for a crime he didn't commit. "Dear God" mentions his knucklehead beginnings but not once does he glorify and in fact, discusses that he wants to leave the hood behind for a better opportunity. He even knows how to present imagery in a seamless way as shown in songs such as "Flossin"

Furthermore, I would argue he's a better singer than he is rapper. Mr. X is moreso a Melodic Hip Hop artist who rap sungs his life in ways that his contemporaries , outside of Nate Dogg, have not truly captured in a colorful manner. His melodic tendecies are amazing and are showcased in songs such as "True To This", "Flossin", "Playa's Life", "Any Ol Sunday", and "So High". He is clearly at his best when he does socio-political House Party jams and mellow, reflective hydraulic joints. He has a sly, charcoal grilled tonality to his voice that makes me wish he should've continued. He can carry a song all by himself and the singing/rapping combo would have never been a bore.

Shout out to all my KTT2 West Coast brehs! Much love

Examples:

Mr. X (1996):
youtu.be/0o3cfG6p6qo?si=-_J8eEEf6h2VsKXK

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flossin hard

gonna peep the rest of album

It’s crazy how west coast many rappers just casually made tunes to live life to

Any olé Sunday the one

Ive heard/read the name "rappinstine" but never the individual name nor any music

Good looks and a nice gem

another banger from aquilla

flossin

Yea. It's a skill that you would think would be hard but these guys just do it seamlessly . I can't explain it

I got you breh

Fr. Another fun fact is that Mr. X and his brother were also mobile DJs for World Class Wreckin Cru, the group Dr. Dre and DJ Yella were originally in before NWA and The Posse. So, they've been around the NWA crew since the beginning

That's gotta be one of my personal favs from him

It's weird that I would hear people compare him to Montell Jordan but I really don't see it tbh This guy felt more Hip Hop than R&B imo