Craig G

Craig G is a boom bap sage whose devotion to uncut East Coast hip-hop, exhibited with battle raps and detailed narratives alike, is evident across recordings that span four decades. Alongside producer Marley Marl, he made history with tracks such as the hard-hitting "Shout" (1985) and the Juice Crew's "The Symphony" (1988), the latter of which set the bar for the posse cut. G recorded two Marley-produced albums for Atlantic, the second of which, Now, That's More Like It (1991), grazed Billboard's R&B chart. He then went back underground, recording This Is Now!!! (2003) for the D&D label with a roster of high-profile beatmakers -- including DJ Premier -- as evidence of his revered status. His subsequent output has been increasingly philosophical, if no less brash, highlighted by Ramblings of an Angry Old Man (2012), I Rap and Go Home (2016), and The World Is Cooked (2024).