Roxbury's Finest

Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs - I Got To Have It (video)

Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs - Bug-A-Boo (video)

Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs - Be A Father To Your Child (video)

With my trip to Boston MA iminent, it felt appropriate to tip my hat to one of Beantown's hardest working emcees - Ed O.G.

His first lp "Life Of A Kid In The Ghetto" was a confident debut, full of conscious lyrics with a kind of old skool delivery, alongside jazzy breaks plus a touch of humour here and there. In some respects a similar approach to Brand Nubian's Grand Puba.

His debut spawned 3 singles, whose videos got mad airplay on Yo! MTV Raps in 1991. His next lp (Roxbury 02119) didn't materialise until the beginning of 1994, but was unfortunately overshadowed by the heavyweight lp's of that year from the likes of Nas, Biggie, O.C., Jeru & Gangstarr to name but a few. "Love Comes and Goes" & "Skinny Dip" did get some MTV exposure, however.

Ed kinda fell off the radar in the latter part of the nineties, only to resurface this decade without his Bulldogs crew, courtesy of collaborations with the likes of Masta Ace, Guru, Diamond and Pete Rock, which were featured on a selection of new lp's. Ed's success was not limited by his ability, but possibly by staying in Boston and repping Beantown to the fullest, rather than following Guru down the coast for a bite at the Big Apple.

With a new generation of Boston acts coming through like the Kreators, Mr Lif, 7L & Eso and The Almighty RSO, crate diggers are keen to rediscover Ed's early work which has acted as a foundation for todays Beantown sound.

Boy I can't wait to get over there!