The Whoridas

Emerging from Oakland in the middle of the 1990s, the WhoRidas embodied an evolving strain of hip-hop that balanced toughness with intellect and fused musicality with an unapologetically funky core. The cousins King Saan (Hasaan Mahmoud) and Mr. Taylor (Meikeo Taylor) first connected through shared freestyle sessions, and once King Saan appeared on his older brother Saafir’s 1994 debut Boxcar Sessions the duo moved into formal recording. Their opening single “Shot Callin’ & Big Ballin’” moved 15,000 copies from the trunk of a car, after which Saafir helped the pair secure a deal with Delicious Vinyl. Supported by their production team Hobo Junction, the WhoRidas issued their first full-length effort Whoridin’ in August 1997, followed two years later by the album Hightimes.