THAT'LL BE $500, $WEETHEART

The Mac: predecessor to other rhyme virtuosos from Vallejo like Mac Dre and E-40. Super producer Khayree’s first beats on wax. Khayree would go on to concoct a slew of Bay Area classics for legends like Mac Mall, Mac Dre, Young Lay and Ray Luv (just to name a few), but it was mainly Mac Dre who kept The Mac’s name in the street for at least a decade after the pioneer was gunned down in cold blood in a case of mistaken identity shortly after his second release "Enuff Of This Shit" which I think only came out on tape (anybody got it?). An "R.I.P. The Mac" patch was on every Mac Dre jacket I ever saw him wear, and one of his final releases before that fatal day in Kansas City was "The Game Is Thick #2" in honor of his mentor.

The Game Is Thick, as far as I know, is the first Vallejo rap song to appear on wax, and the first 12” single from Vallejo as well.

"But I Get Nasty!!" is essentially the instrumental version of the b-side “But I Get Paid!!” I should say q-side because the sides are labeled G and Q in honor of the turf jacket fashionistas, GQ, that kept the nuttin’ nice Vallejo crew in fly gear. Look closely at the front cover and you’ll see a white GQ hat on the dash of the root beer brown ride on the right with the trues and vogues and the mustard and mayonnaise. On the back cover The Mac’s personalized GQ-made jacket is worn by a homegirl named Nikki who has her back to us, but you can tell she’s not wearing anything else but the jacket, because her bare ass cheeks are hangin’ out the bottom of it. Loved it more than Ice T "Power" and the SI swimsuit issue combined. Anyway… I guess Khayree didn’t want anybody jackin’ his beats, because instead of just muting the vocals, he had The Mac record a phone sex conversation over the top of it with a chick who fakes an orgasm at the end of it. I especially dig the way he incorporates the sound effects from the vocal version to make sense with the convo. “Hold up, I gotta piss.” Listen to it; you’ll catch my meaning. I salute both Khayree and The Mac for going this extra yard, and adding some signature spice to their 12” single selection. Artists don’t give that same effort anymore; these days, it’s always just: street version, radio version, instrumental. What happened to bonus beats? What am I saying? People don’t even put out 12” singles anymore. That’s an argument I should’ve made in ’95, but I was too drunk to give a fuck. And now I’m caught in a time warp.

If you ever overhear a group of so-called Nation of Thizz-lam tried-and-trues referring to some “OG Shit,” quiz ‘em about this record. If they’ve never heard of it, they don’t know what the fuck they talkin’ ‘bout—pull they fuckin’ card and vic ‘em for the blue pills!

P.S. If you didn’t think og bay area macks thought real hip hop skills were important back in the day, check the liner notes: “ Scratches: The Mac.” Then check what DJ Universe did for Too $hort on “Born To Mack.” You thought wrong, Jack. Now download it and soak game.

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