Shoreline Mafia quickly ascended hip-hop’s ranks thanks to an approach that exudes reverence for genre icons—they’ve cited as influences JAY Z, Paul Wall, Nelly and Three 6 Mafia—as well as the fresh, elastic production favoured by modern rappers. For example, the Los Angeles quartet’s debut full-length album, 2020’s Mafia Bidness, opens with the propulsive “Run It Back”, which samples Juvenile’s 1999 hit “Back That Azz Up” and features one of L.A.’s most beloved contemporary artists, 03 Greedo. Founding members Ohgeesy and Fenix Flexin originally met in 2012, bonding over a mutual love of graffiti, and later started collaborating with Rob Vicious and Master Kato. The group officially formed in 2016 and debuted the following year with the independent mixtape ShoreLineDoThatShit, which featured the kinetic earworm “Musty” and the trap-influenced “Nun Major”. The troupe’s career progress accelerated after they signed a major-label record deal in spring 2018: subsequent mixtapes and EPs conveyed an appreciation for the brooding, cinematic production heard on Memphis and Houston hip-hop as well as the laid-back, playful delivery of Atlanta’s finest. Although Flexin left the group in spring 2020, the group forged ahead as a trio; even with his conversational flow out of the mix, they exude the kind of era-transcending originality that establishes and then sustains careers.