Rasco

San Mateo native Rasco, whose name stands for “realistic, ambitious, serious, cautious, and organized,” first performed with the West Coast hip-hop collectives Various Blends and Cali Agents. His commanding baritone and direct lyrical approach drew widespread notice after the 1997 single “The Unassisted” topped the Bay Area Hip-Hop Coalition chart, the independent hip-hop chart in Hits magazine, and Sway and King Tech’s nationally syndicated Wake Up Show for four consecutive weeks. Stones Throw issued his first full-length project, Time Waits for No Man, the following year; Paul Nice, Peanut Butter Wolf, and Evidence of Dilated Peoples handled production duties. The EP The Birth followed in 1999. After departing Stones Throw for Copasetik, Rasco delivered Hostile Environment in 2001 and Presents Hip-Hop Classics, Vol. 1 in 2003. A subsequent disagreement with the label prompted him to launch his own imprint, Pocketslinted, in 2004. That year he also reissued the 2000 compilation 20,000 Leagues Under the Street, Vol. 1 and introduced Minority Report; his next solo album, The Dick Swanson Theory, appeared in 2005.