Coming out of Richmond, CA, Laz Thaboy is amongst a new crop of Bay Area artists doing his thing in the post-hyphy, post-Mac Dre era. He doesn't follow the pimp-rap prototype of Too $hort, he's far less gangster-related than Nickatina, he's not as lyrically adept as the Hieroglyphics camp, nor as experimental as Zion I or the Quannum collective. Instead he fits squarely in the middle, dropping solid party rhymes that focus on his trifling ladies, stunting in the hood, Rich City pride, and coming up in the game. He does what he does well, with a catchy rhyme style, witty verses, and hooks aplenty, all backed by hard-hitting 808s and bright synth riffs. Whether he'll rise to the top of a crowded scene, or stay a big fish in a small pond, remains to be seen, but he's off to a good start, and fans of new-school Bay rappers will definitely dig this.