Rasco - Mixtape

1. Rasco - Classic 0:00
2. Rasco - Time Waits for No Man (feat. Encore) 4:35
3. Rasco - View to a Kill 9:05
4. Rasco - Hip Hop Essentials 12:44
5. Rasco - Hey Love 16:54
6. Cali Agents - Neva Forget 21:57
7. Cali Agents - The Anthem 25:36
8. Rasco - Dues And Dont's 28:53
9. Rasco - Real Hot 33:00
10. Cali Agents - Baby Girl 36:19
11. Cali Agents - Microphone Madness 40:26
12. Rasco - Unassisted 44:19
13. Rasco - Outro (Shout Outs) 48:48

Keida Brewer (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as Rasco (a bacronym for "Realistic, Ambitious, Serious, Cautious, and Organized"), is an American rapper.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Rasco became associated with hip hop in California. His first album was released on Stones Throw Records. He is also a member of the rap group Cali Agents with Planet Asia.

The Bay Area’s thriving underground hip-hop scene during the mid to late ’90s often goes unnoticed. Built on the DIY ethos of forefathers like Too $hort, the Hieroglyphics crew, and E-40, independent artists began to do some serious street-level music hustling. They built their fanbases through grinding tapes and vinyl records at various independent outlets, venues, and street corners throughout the area. They backed it up with a commitment to touring, in order to bring their music directly to potential fans. By the late ’90s, some of the best of these Northern California-based rappers and crews began releasing their first nationally distributed albums and even creating their own labels.

One of these artists was Keida “Rasco” Brewer. The San Francisco-based rapper had started his career as a backup dancer and hype-man for the independent crew Various Blends. While working with the crew he began to develop his own lyrics and rhyme style, and was encouraged by the members of the group to pursue his own recording career. Naming himself after an acronym that he came up with to motivate himself in high school (Rasco = Realistic, Ambitious, Serious, Cautious, and Organized), he struck out on his own, armed with a deep monotone baritone and hard-hitting flow.

Rasco signed with the then-nascent label of the San Jose-based DJ Chris “Peanut Butter Wolf” Manak, Stones Throw Records, and released his debut album Time Waits For No Man 25 years ago. It was also the first full-length hip-hop album released on the now legendary imprint.

I’ve written a good deal of tributes celebrating the albums of 1988, considered by many to be hip-hop music’s banner year. Many of the best hip-hop albums released 35 years ago possess clarity of vision and a straightforward execution. In this respect, Time Waits For No Man has a lot in common with those classic LPs of ‘88. Rasco takes a no-nonsense approach, mostly focusing on being a dope emcee and preserving hip-hop culture. The production roster for the album reads like a who’s who of dope West Coast beat-creators working in the late ’90s. But even though Rasco works with many different producers, the album still possesses a singular sound.

The best songs on Time Waits For No Man have a stripped-down, uncluttered approach. One of the prime examples is “Unassisted,” the album’s first single, which is reminiscent of late ’80s tracks by many of the golden age heroes, presenting hip-hop at its raw essence. Rasco introduces himself to the world over a bare bones track by Fanatik, who samples the drum breakdown and guitar stabs from Joe Farrel’s “Upon This Rock.” Rasco steps to the mic with undeniable authority, rapping, “Playing me close, heads is flown at the flag-post / At half-staff you done stepped on the wrong path / You hear the whistle of the missile coming full speed / It's hip hop to the core, I'm the full breed.” D-Styles’ furious scratches at the end of the track augment its golden era feel.

Like much of the independent hip-hop released in the late ’90s, much of the album’s content is targeted towards how mainstream rap music is forsaking its roots, and rappers who were rewarded by major labels for creating fake personas and releasing easily cookie-cutter, paint-by-numbers music. Throughout the album, Rasco argues that emcees need to bring the rawness of music back to the forefront.

Time Waits For No Man is at its best when Rasco keeps things simple. On “What It’s All About,” the album’s second single, Rasco delivers lyrical lessons over a shuffling, stuttering beat by DJ Design. “Please, get out of my face I spits mace,” he raps. “Where hip-hop is coming to rush your whole place / Face the lyrics that shut your whole case / First out of the box and still lost the whole race.”