Getting "Deep N The Game"

Lil Ric f/ Mr. Brainy "Mobbin' Through the Town"


Lil Ric f/ G.R.O.P.E. "Step Above the Rest" (prod. by Larry D.)

When Master P (or his grandfather?) received a large insurance settlement just before the turn of the decade, the young entrepreneur used the money to open the No Limit storefront in Richmond, CA in 1988. After putting out his debut album Get Away Clean on In-A-Minute Records and distributing copies through his store, it didn't take long for P to cut out the middle man and begin pressing up his own product on the newly formed No Limit Records.

Middling sales of the label's early releases, however, were tempered with the regional success of P's West Coast Bad Boyz compilations, which featured tracks from Bay Area underground stars such as JT the Bigga Figga, Cougnut, Rappin' 4-Tay, Young Cellski, C-Bo and P's own group TRU. The goal was to organize the stars of the burgeoning Bay Area scene to showcase the wide-ranging talent of the region (something that P would prove incredibly adept at doing once moving his operation to New Orleans).

Tucked away among the "bigger" names on the that first compilation, Anotha Level Of Game, was Lil Ric -- a rapper/producer from Richmond. His self-produced track, "Mobbin Through the Town" would lead P to release Ric's debut full-length, Deep N Tha Game, on No Limit in 1994 (his only entry in the NL catalog). Produced almost entirely by Lil Ric (though JT the Bigga Figga and Larry D. lend their skills to two tracks), the record proved to be one of the strongest releases from the label's early years.

Featuring a sound that is decidedly top-down, block-cruising g-funk, Ric boasts on the strength of his game with tracks like "Real-2-Reel", "Playaz and Hustlaz", "Fuck A Bitch" with Silkk and C-Murder, and the Warren G-evoking, KC and the Sunshine Band sampling "Ride Wit' Me".

"Mobbin' Through the Town" f/ Mr. Brainy and "Step Above the Rest" f/ G.R.O.P.E.* showcase the best aspects of this record -- Ric's ability to easily ride laid-back, weed-infused cuts and then switch it up double-time when needed, and trunk-rattling bass -- and are two of the stronger cuts on an LP that is worthy of spinning front to back.

*Little can be found on G.R.O.P.E. (or Grope) beyond a feature on Lil Ric's It's Like Armageddon release on Noo Trybe Records in 1998, and a couple of features on records from C.I.N. and Mafioso. As always, any additional information is appreciated in the comments.