Vellione

Oakland, California rapper Vellione (aka Vell/Vellqwan) tapped the sounds of '90s rap with his tales of gritty street survival. Delivering bars with a voice reminiscent of 2Pac over production that recalled late-'90s Dr. Dre, Vellione jumped from guest slots on other rappers' mixtapes to his own solo material. Early singles like "Top of the A.M." (featuring Ldf and Stevie Joe) and "Hennessy Don't Help" (featuring 4rAx) featured the production talents of the Mekanix, who would also go on to produce his debut effort, Stranded on the Wire (Livewire), which was released in late 2016. ~ Neil Z. Yeung