If you’re at a stoplight in Los Angeles and a gleaming, glinting German automobile pulls up next to you, and if emanating from its supple leather interior are the smooth sounds of Sade’s “Hang on to Your Love,” it might be G Perico. The South Central native has made a name for himself as a Jheri curl enthusiast raised by the code of the streets, a small business owner, and, foremost, a prolific artist who released three albums in 2017. Though his work and overall persona hews closely to G-funk traditionalism–he’s often compared to some amalgamation of DJ Quik and Suga Free–his world was bigger than the parameters set by _Doggystyle_ and _The Chronic_. In a crowded childhood home, Perico would rap along with Juvenile’s “Back that Azz Up,” his mother listened to Adina Howard’s “Freak Like Me,” his grandmother grooved to Roy Ayers and subwoofers on the block shook and shuddered from the bass of E-40’s “Da Bumble.
