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What is Cellski?
Legendary underground Bay Area rapper hailing from the infamous 200 Block housing projects on Randolph Street in the Lakeview district of San Francisco, California. He is arguably one of the best rappers/producers to ever come out of San Francisco and the entire Bay Area. He is a pioneer of the San Francisco rap scene along with other legends including RBL Posse, Rappin' 4-Tay, IMP and JT the Bigga Figga. He raps about the harsh realities of the dark side of the San Francisco landscape, like a West Coast Prodigy of Mobb Deep or a West Coast Buckshot from Black Moon circa 1993. Despite all of the corny stereotypes about Frisco, Cellski accurately portrayed his side of town in the City by the Bay as a drug-infested place full of poverty, gangs, guns, murder, crime and violence. Most of his songs are about hustling, selling dope and surviving in the grimey streets of Frisco. His first album, Mr. Predictor (1995), is a Bay Area West Coast hip hop classic. He has also produced tracks for fellow Lakeview rappers UNLV, Young Ed and IMP. Two of his songs were featured on Master P's classic and commercially successful West Coast Bad Boyz Vol. I & II Compilations ("Stressed Out" and "Roll Yo Vogues" respectively). Like most underground independent Bay Area rappers who aren't signed to major record labels, his music is largely unheard of outside of Northern California and the West Coast.
As a youngsta I've always been around some funk
I'm watchin niggas duck from buckshots of the pump
Bein around this shit made a nigga violent at times
Servin D the dope was beatin em down if they don't sell mine
Cuz you know that's how the fuckin game goes
Niggas gettin beat with bats gettin stomped with steel toes
a nigga was no older than thirteen or fourteen
When the bang was on I copped a gun from a dope fiend
Little six shot, 38 special
When the bang is on you got to be strong livin up the ghetto
Me and my niggas walkin around straight gasin
Mug on mean funkin wit niggas all in my classic
Four deep is how niggas roll up in Frisco
And everywhere you go a nigga got to pack a pistol
The beef is back on but I don't really know the reason
Supposed to be a truce but niggas start bangin season
I'm lettin it be known I'm fadin niggas with the chrome-9
Me and my niggas walkin around with Macs and the 45
So how you wanna handle your biz ya bitch made mark
Leave ya dead two to the head in Ocean View Park
Cuz when the bang is on niggas comin out the cuts
Wit artillery in their hand ready start to buck
at them bitch made niggas tryin to make my day
Cuz that's how it is when you're livin in the bay
~ Cellski "Livin N The Bay" (circa 1994)