3x Krazy

Emerging from Oakland in the mid-'90s amid a handful of like-minded acts, the West Coast gangsta rap trio 3X Krazy kept its hardcore edge across the rest of the decade even as the members gradually shifted focus to individual solo paths. The lineup of B.A., Agerman, and Keak da Sneak first surfaced in 1995 on the Sick-O EP, whose cover showed the three members wearing straight jackets. Two years afterward came their initial full-length release, Stackin Chips (1997), which included high-profile appearances from Yukmouth and E-40. Issued on Noo Trybe, then connected to Virgin via major-label ties, the album helped 3X Krazy secure a substantial West Coast following, leading the group to deliver Immortalized (1999) and Real Talk 2000 (2000). By that stage the members had already begun launching solo careers, Keak da Sneak's proving the most active. Around the same time two compilations surfaced, 20th Century (2000) and Best of 3x Krazy, Vol. 2 (2002), both incomplete and uneven in their coverage.