Southside Playaz

The Southside Playaz bore DJ Screw & the Screwed-Up Click's stamp of approval during the late '90s. The trio recorded for Laf Tex Records and debuted with You Gottus Fuxxed Up (1998), followed by Street Game (2000).One of the better offerings from Texas' burgeoning underground rap scene, Southside Playaz' Street Game features some near-cinematic charisma as the trio flosses while still keeping a hard stance. Songs such as "What's Going On," which relax a bit from gangsta posturing to lay into a mellow R&B feel with calm, melodic choruses. Yet even during calm moments such as this, the Southside Playaz still represent the gangsta life, never showing a soft or sentimental side, even when they emote. With their slick production and fine stable of fellow underground Texas gangsta rappers guesting, they seem to understand the formula for quality rap music.