The B.U.M.S

In the mid-'90s the duo Brothas Unda Madness injected new life into a dormant West Coast rap scene by following the example of fellow Los Angeles alternative-to-gangster artists the Pharcyde. Support from prominent California morning-show hosts, among them the Bay Area's Baka Boyz and L.A.'s King Tech, allowed E-Vocalist and D-Wyze to secure a place in the regional underground. Their opening single, "Elevation," drew directly from Teddy Pendergrass's intimate classic "Close the Door" and cleared the path for the critically praised debut album Lyfe 'N' Tyme, issued in May 1995. On that release the B.U.M.S. advanced an intellectual hoodlum outlook that fused street philosophy with B-boy posturing, delivering straight-ahead rhymes dense with multiple syllables that contrasted sharply with the relaxed flows then typical of most West Coast performers. The album also contained the underground favorites "Take a Look Around" and "6 Figures & Up," and the pair joined Oakland's Saafir for the hard-hitting B-side "Rain."