Craig G.

Craig G's career began in the late '80s when he ran with legendary producer Marley Marl and his Juice Crew posse. The Queensbridge rapper teamed with Marley early on, back in 1985, when the two recorded "Shout" and "Transformer," both released by Pop Art Records. Though definitely not as treasured as other Marley classics from the era such as MC Shan's "The Bridge" or Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's "Poison," the recordings were some of the producer's first and remain noteworthy, albeit hard to find, as a result. G's key recordings came shortly afterward, namely the solo "Droppin' Science" and the Juice Crew collabo "The Symphony" (both 1988). The latter track in particular stands out as a landmark moment in the evolution of hardcore rap, establishing the blueprint that endless East Coast posses like the Wu-Tang Clan would emulate a generation later, yet the former remains probably G's most lasting solo performance; both classics later compiled on Marley's House of Hits best-of (1995).